If you’re an ecommerce business owner, repeat customers are one of the best things to happen on your site. They know what they want, they know how to get it, and they come back again and again to buy it from you.
Yet many online stores struggle with consistently attracting new customers and keeping them engaged long enough to make a purchase. The solution? Boosting sales from loyal repeat ecommerce customers.
At OPMC, we constantly do our best to ensure our loyal customers have everything they need so we have a reliable community of purchasing and word-of-mouth marketing supporters.
Being the best at ecommerce plugins, apps, and extensions isn’t enough in today’s digital age. Like us, you need to foster a strong relationship with your buyers. Read on to learn how you can increase your customer interest in repeat business with your ecommerce site.
Why You Need Repeat Customers
As a business owner, it may seem like more of an effort to get repeat customers than to bring in fresh ones. But if you’re able to build up a loyal following and encourage them to buy from you again and again, they can be your most profitable customers.
These are buyers already familiar with your ecommerce brand. They trust that your products deliver on their promises and feel confident enough in their purchasing abilities that they want to return for more. This is especially important when it comes to ecommerce.
Once people have made the leap from browsing online store pages or researching products online before going into stores (or vice versa), there’s no reason for them not go back.
Other reasons include:
Cost Less than New Customer Acquisition
The cost of acquiring a new customer is typically much higher than the cost of retaining an existing one. The more you do to keep your current customers coming back, the more money you’ll save in the long run.
They Become Brand Ambassadors
Once you’ve identified loyal customers, the next step is to let them know how much their loyalty means to your business. When they feel appreciated, they are more likely to spread the good news about your ecommerce online store – saving you marketing costs from high-value user-generated content.
Creates a Community Around Your Ecommerce Business
When you create a community around your ecommerce business, you create an immediate sense of belonging for potential customers and help them feel connected to each other by sharing ideas and experiences on your website or through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
How to Boost Repeat Customer Sales
1 – Always Focus on Customer Service
Customer service is a habit, not an event. It’s about the customer, not you. So, if you’re looking for ways to help boost sales from loyal repeat ecommerce customers, then it all starts with customer service.
This means delivering quality products and services that exceed customer expectations consistently and reliably—every time. One of the best ways to do this is through our Customer Support for WooCommerce plugin.
2 – Leverage Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to get repeat customers. A customer who has purchased from you once, is more likely to buy again. By using email marketing as part of your strategy, you can build loyalty and encourage them to make additional purchases. This will help boost sales from loyal repeat customers in the long run.
Email marketing also allows you to build relationships with your customers by sending them personalized messages based on their previous purchase history or interests. This helps create an emotional connection between the brand and the consumer, which ultimately leads to increased sales and brand loyalty over time.
3 – Build a Loyalty Program
Whether you’re just starting out and looking to build a loyal customer base, or you’ve got a solid foundation of repeat customers and want to strengthen your relationship with them, building a loyalty program is one of the best ways to reward repeat purchasers for their business.
A robust program consists of:
- Determine which customers are most loyal to your brand.
- Select rewards that appeal specifically to your target audience.
- Make sure that your program offers real value to participants.
4 – Personalize Customer Interactions
Continuing with the theme of using customer data to improve the customer experience, personalizing interactions is another way to boost sales from loyal repeat ecommerce customers. This can be done in many ways.
For example, you could send them a postcard when they’re close to their birthday. Or you could send them coupons for their favourite products on a location-based holiday. You could even send them an email asking if they would like something specific and then sending it out as a gift if they say yes.
5 – Collect Actionable Customer Feedback
Collecting customer feedback is a great way to improve your business and keep it competitive. As you begin to collect more and more customer data, you can use this information to make informed decisions about how you operate your business. When your loyal customers see you are making changes that directly benefit and address their needs, they will engage with you more often.
Bonus: Offer Exclusive Promotions
This can be an offer that includes a discount, free shipping, and/or a gift. For example, you could offer your customers an exclusive promotion such as “Buy two items and get an extra 10% off.” Or maybe they get to pick out their own item at no charge when they buy another one of your products. This is especially effective if the second product is already on sale or discounted.
You can also offer special offers like sneak peeks or previews of upcoming new products to the people who have bought from you before. This is an excellent way for loyal customers to feel special and valued by getting access (and possibly bragging rights) before everyone else does.
How WooCommerce Plugins Improve Customer Experiences
Turning loyal customers into repeat customers can be a challenge, but with the right tools, you can improve your product’s customer experience—and boost sales in the process.
While there are many ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce, one of the best options is WooCommerce. The reason for this is the customization you get in developing a robust customer experience.
That is why we at OPMC have built our business around the same plugins we use daily. This enhances how your customers interact with your ecommerce business and encourages them to return often. Visit our shop to learn more about building a unique online experience with your ecommerce brand.
Conclusion
Boosting sales from loyal repeat customers is one of the most important ways to grow your ecommerce business, but it’s also one of the toughest. Loyal repeat customers are great because they spend more money and buy more often, so by taking care of them, you can boost your bottom line.
The trick is knowing how to do that effectively—and there are many ways! We hope this article has provided you with the insight to start improving your customer retention rates.