Online customers are finicky. With so many websites vying for their attention, they have endless distractions. They also know that the competition is steep. If they just keep looking, they might be able to find a better deal on the same item from another online shop.
For these reasons, companies need to be strategic in the way they reach online customers. For most businesses, it’s easier and less expensive to market to people who have already purchased something than it is to reach brand new customers.
So we’ll put it to you straight: what are you doing to re-engage your current customers or get your past customers to come back?
In this post, we’ll look at several ways to retain online customers.
Start a Customer Loyalty Program
It’s never been easier to start a customer loyalty program because there are so many ways to automate these programs now. Some programs simply keep track of how much each customer spends and then rewards customers with discounts, products, or services when they reach a certain spending level.
Other programs incorporate referrals as well. By encouraging customers to spend money and refer their friends, you accomplish several goals at one time: you increase your sales as well as your customer base.
Send Customer Newsletter Emails
Email lists are extremely important in digital marketing. Customer lists give you an important way to maintain and build relationships with current customers. When you have an event or sale coming up, send out an email to inform your customers. Offer coupons, helpful information, and details about your new products and services.
You can encourage visitors to your website to sign up for your email newsletter by offering them something of value when they sign up. Some businesses offer a download of a free ebook or whitepaper. Others offer a discount on their first purchase. By offering an incentive, you’ll grow your list much faster.
Send Gifts to Your Best Customers
If you haven’t heard from a good customer in while, send a free gift. Nothing will remind your customers of your good products and services better than a digital gift certificate in their inboxes or a sample product on their doorsteps.
Unexpected gifts also play to the law of reciprocity. When someone does something nice for you, it’s only human to want to return the sentiment. You had a relationship with this customer in the past: how better to re-establish it than to remind them of how lovely that relationship can be?
Connect with Customers on Social Media
Social media sites were designed to help people connect with each other, not just to send out advertisements. Sometimes it’s easy for companies to forget that social media is a two-way communication outlet, especially when you’re so busy producing marketing content and getting it posted at the right time.
If you can spend a little time each week engaging with customers on social media, you’ll be more likely to retain loyal customers. Answer questions, make comments, and keep it professional but friendly. Be sure to post information about new products and promotions, and think of social media as another way to perform your customer service duties. If you get negative comments, try to see these comments as opportunities. Handled well, people will see that you’re committed to making customers happy and behaving professionally at all times.
As you can see, there are lots of great strategies you can use to retain customers online and reach out to customers you haven’t heard from in a while. For more information about online marketing, reach out to us at Park Slope Softworks, your Brooklyn digital marketing company. Be sure to check out our free SEO analysis.
