Boosting Your E-Commerce Sales Part 2: Customer Retention Tactics

If you build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” - Jeff Bezos

This is the second part of a two-part series on how you can boost your E-com sales.

If you haven’t already, check out the first part here <insert link>

So, when it comes to running an E-com business(or any customer-based business really), there are generally two things you want to do when it comes to getting customers:

1. Get Customers. 
2. Encourage them to keep coming back.

The second part is where customer retention tactics play an important role.

And that’s what we’re on about today.

Let’s go.

So, the definition.

Customer retention is basically where you ‘retain’ or keep your customers.

The higher your CR rate, the more value you get out of them.

And it’s really important.

Not just because you get sales.

Converting clicks to customers is expensive so it’s in your best interests to make the most of someone who ends up buying and keep them coming back for more.

Other benefits are that you get an overall higher average order value, potentially more profits, and a chance of them becoming an unofficial ‘brand ambassador’ and spreading the news about what you’re doing through word of mouth and social media.

After all, if you’ve got a good deal, or found a great product, wouldn’t YOU want to tell everyone about it?

Here are some of the metrics, along with CRR, that matter. Five, to be exact.

1. Your Repeat customer rate. That’s the number of customers with >1 purchase / all the customers i.e. the people with at least 1 purchase.

Multiply that by 100, and you’ve got the % of people that bought more than once.

1. Purchase frequency. This indicates how often customers come back to buy from you.

That’s all the orders placed/ unique customers, both within the same period.

1. Average order value. That’s the average value per transaction.
2. Customer lifetime value. Calculate that by multiplying purchase frequency and average order value.
3. Churn rate. The number of customers that…stop being customers for any reason.

If you'd like to simply calculate the CRR, you can do this:

For any specific period, you divide the number of repeat customers at the end of a period by the number of customers at the beginning of the period.

So, if you had 50 customers, out of which 45 made more than one purchase, your CRR is 90%.

The higher, the better.

However, that’s not enough. Maybe the other 5 ended up not being customers anymore. Maybe they had a larger order value sometime down the line.

Hence, simply calculating CRR isn’t enough. Those five calculations help to give better and more detailed insight.

“Drew, do you want me to have a nice read or do you want me to sit here and do calculations?”

Okay, okay. Enough with the calculations. Let’s get to the actual juicy bits: the customer retention strats.

So, there are M-A-N-Y strategies out there.

Many.

From loyalty and referral programs, above and beyond customer support and discounts and offers to collecting feedback and sending emails that actually have an impact, there are multiple ways you can try to make your customers eager to come back for more.

However, let's focus on the things that have high potential. Then, if you want, you can go on and try the other things as well. Try these first though.

Make. Returns. Easy.

“But…I’ll get too many returns then…”

A complicated or near non-existent return policy isn’t good news for someone who might have a problem with your product or just may want to undo a compulsive purchase.

(And no, this will not apply to custom purchases. Unless you want to do that. That’s your choice.)

Sure, you’ll get a few returns. However, making it as easy as possible to buy AS WELL AS return it for whatever reason can actually end up INCREASING your sales.

It also shows you’re confident about your product and stand behind it.

(Gives you another angle to potentially talk about as well in your content. “We’re so confident, we’ll take it back in 90 days if it doesn’t work” or something. Depends on what you’re selling.)

Say thank you. Make them feel appreciated.

Do it when they make a purchase.

Put a note, if you can, in their package.

Do it when they pay for their cart.

Do it when they sign up for the newsletter.

Appreciate them whenever and wherever you can. 

Tell them your brand story. Get them emotionally attached.

Did you start your brand, to prove someone wrong?

Did you do it as a way to say thanks to your parents who supported you through all your ups and downs?

Tell your customers your story.

The emotions.

The ups and downs.

Tell them the why, who, what, where, and when. Tell them the reason why all of this happened.

Share your brand values as well.

Give them a reason to appreciate what you’re doing. Give them a reason to get attached, not just financially, but emotionally as well.

Make it as EASY AS POSSIBLE for them to create an account.

Ideally, after they pay for their first purchase.

They’ve already given all the important details.

Their name. Their email.

Really want to make it a no-brainer? 

Mention a benefit like ‘first dibs on flash sales’ or ‘free shipping over $30.”

Take out all the stops and drive them to make an account.

In the future, it’ll be easy for them to buy.

Unless it changes, their delivery details are already pre-filled.

All they’ll need to do is pick what they want, pay, and wait. That’s it.

Send the right messages at the right time.

Want to increase their chances of buying again?

Send them a discount code after their first purchase.

(You can do the same for your loyal, multiple-purchase customers as a way of saying thank you, as well as for those who haven’t bought in a long time.

That way, if they’re even remotely considering coming back, that discount code could be what they needed.)

After that, send personalized and engaging emails every now and then.

Everything from ‘thanks for purchasing’ to ‘a freebie, on us’...

To ‘Flash sale is live. You’re part of the ‘first dibs’ squad. Check it out now’.

Send them the right emails to help keep your brand top of mind.

Really want to push things? Surprise them.

Sell perfumes? Include an exclusive tester of one of your high-end perfumes.

Selling Notebooks? Throw in a textured ‘tester’ booklet where they can check out how all of your notebooks feel, from those in the beginner section to the premium and high-end ones.

Or, just add a sticker or keychain.

Just something different.

And, finally... User-generated content.

Yes. It does help drive sales.

Make a hashtag, push it to your email list, and tell them that’s the tag the squad is going to unite under.

Run a social media giveaway and get them to share as well so everyone gets a chance.

Make them feel that they’re part of a community. Of the brand. That they matter to you.

I know this is probably an unconventional approach but…

Doing something different is what will help you stand out.

Loyalty programs, referral programs, and top-notch customer support shouldn’t even be an add-on or extra. They should be there, even in the very beginning. 

Everyone’s probably promoting that they have excellent customer support.

However, when someone’s handing over their money, isn’t that the least that they can expect? Good customer service, that is.

So yeah. 

If you want to stand out, be different and actually get your customers to come back AND enjoy the process, do what the others are doing…

But do what they aren’t doing as well.

The uniqueness, the pattern interrupt, the ‘exclusivity’, the personalization…

These are the things that will have an impact.

Anyways, this was an interesting one.

I hope you get as much value from this as it was fun for me to write it up.

If there’s any way I can help you implement some or all of these strategies for your store, or if there’s some other way I can help, feel free to reach out and let me know. I’d be more than happy to help you out.

Cya next time,

Drew out.