You want to bring new customers to your eCommerce store. That’s obvious. And quite a bit of your efforts probably go toward that goal, whether you’re focusing on advertising, adding lead magnets to grow your email list, or even standing out on the street handing out free samples.
And you should keep up the flow of new customers; growth is vital to building a successful business. But, many store owners make the mistake of concentrating too much time and energy on acquisition while neglecting retention efforts for existing customers. Sure, exposing your brand to a new audience is great, but creating a loyal customer base will bring in higher returns and a more consistent network of brand followers.
Plus, if you do it right, those loyal customers will handle some of the work of bringing in new customers for you.
Here are some of the most important reasons that customer retention can help you build a stronger, more profitable brand—and some strategies and techniques to help you turn one-time customers into lifelong brand advocates.
Why customer retention is important
1. It’s easier to sell to returning customers
According to Marketing Metrics, the chance of making a sale with a new consumer is between five and 20 percent, while the odds of selling to a customer who has already made a purchase from you is between 60 to 70 percent.
And researchers at the Harvard Business Review found that companies who boosted retention rates by a mere five percent experienced profit growth between 25 to 95 percent.
In other words: It’s noticeably easier to convince existing customers to buy your products.
RJMetrics found that 32 percent of people purchase from a company for a second time within a year, but once a customer does decide to return for another purchase, the chance of attracting them back in the future increases exponentially.
2. You’ll boost customer lifetime value
Customer lifetime value (LTV) is a metric for how much a single customer is worth to your business for their entire lifetime. (Meaning their lifetime as a customer with your business not, say, from when they’re born until you’re chasing them down on their deathbed at age 93 to get them to buy just one more WordPress template.)
For example, if a single customer continues to purchase from your shop for the next five years, the LTV is the amount of money you can expect them to spend in that time. The longer a customer stays with you, the more money you’ll make.
An increase in customer LTV is directly linked with an increase in revenue—the more money a customer spends, the more money you make. Simple, right? But, relying on new customers who only make a single purchase and never return brings down your overall customer LTV. Not only does LTV affect revenue, but it also demonstrates if customers are responding well to your business. A higher LTV signifies that people enjoy your products and want to continue making purchases from you.
You can calculate customer LTV regularly to assess the overall state of your business.
3. Returning customers cost less and spend more
At some point (even if it was during that one episode of The Office where Michael Scott asks Ryan to quiz him about what he’s been learning at business school), you’ve probably heard that it’s more expensive to bring on new customers than keep your current ones—and it’s true.
On average, it costs five times more to acquire a new customer (not 10, RYAN) than to retain an existing one. Once you’ve spent the money to attract a customer, you want to keep them around as long as possible to reduce acquisition costs and increase revenue.
Once you’ve convinced a customer to return for a second purchase, research suggests that this customer will spend more money on your products in the future, in large part thanks to the credibility you’ve established with them. Inc. magazine reports that returning customers spend, on average, 67 percent more than first timers.
Think about your favorite local coffee shop. Not Starbucks. The little one that does latte art, has a bulletin board, and sometimes people bring in dogs. You’ve been there before and you like their coffee and their atmosphere, so you keep going back—and you’re more likely to try a new drink or special because you already trust the quality of their products. This works the same way in eCommerce. Your loyal customers believe in your brand and are therefore willing to try new products or make larger, more expensive purchases.
4. Returning customers help stabilize your revenue
Loyal customers give a business a sense of security because if you have a large return customer base, you’ll have a more accurate idea of how much money you’ll bring in by the end of the month. When you rely on constantly attracting new customers, your profits may fluctuate greatly and could suffer if you are not able to attract as many customers as you need in one given time period. With existing customers, you have a more stable source of income and lower acquisition costs.
5. Loyal customers can become brand advocates who bring in new customers
The most successful companies have all used their platforms to create a brand identity that consumers trust. This is the reason many people choose to purchase brand name items over generic substitutes. They trust the company’s name. When you build up your customer base and focus on retaining satisfied customers, you are establishing credibility with your target market. Once your customers trust your company and enjoy the quality of your products, they will turn to you in the future—and potentially become advocates.
A report from Motista found that consumers who formed an emotional connection with a brand have a 305 percent higher LTV. These loyal customers also tend to buy from a company for a longer period of time (on average, 5.1 years over 3.4 years) and advocate the business at a rate of 71 percent versus 45 percent.
Yes, if your returning customers are continually satisfied, they will likely let others know about their positive experience, exposing your brand to new potential customers. With this kind of word-of-mouth marketing, you’re both growing your customer base and fostering connections with existing customers. In fact, word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most reliable types of advertising as people are more confident in recommendations from friends and family over traditional marketing strategies. Ninety-two percent of people across the globe named this as their most trusted form of advertising.
So these are the befits of customer retention in ecommerce hope you got a clear picture. There are various good customer retention strategies which you can follow to get the best results.
Marketing Tech 