Return Customers: How Retailers Can Keep Them Coming Back for More

Before you can achieve that highly-coveted six-figure entrepreneurial status, your customer retention strategy has to be as strong as — if not stronger than — your customer acquisition tactics. It costs a healthy amount of time and money to potentially earn a new customer, but it costs a whole lot less to retain one.

Looking for how to encourage repeat business and return customers? If so, there are a few principles to keep in mind before building your customer-retention plan.

Providing a level of quality and service will keep people coming back, long after you exhaust your customer acquisition strategies. Customers are more likely to come back to a store they’ve made a purchase from than to find a new store (unless they were dissatisfied with your product or service offerings).

Why is it important to have a specific plan for this part of your business? A few benefits include:

• Increasing profits by establishing a steady stream of reliable customers
• Building brand awareness for the company through organic, word-of-mouth advertising
• Building partnerships and constructive relationships
• Ability to better fix issues in your business based on customer feedback
• Loyal customers will tell their friends who will tell their family

Now that we’ve covered some of the benefits, we can focus on ways that you can create repeat customers and develop brand ambassadors.

Discounts

Offering special rewards or deals for customers who have made a purchase will incentivize them to make another purchase in your shop. Accompanying the offer with a special code helps to sell exclusivity. Learn to craft your marketing campaigns to more effectively convert them in the future.

Shipping Costs

Working your shipping costs into your subtotal amounts will go a long way into retaining your customers long-term. If your customers know that they won’t be surprised with a staggering, inflated number at checkout, they’re more likely to come back to your e-shop again.

Customer Engagement

Constantly asking questions will also take your business to the next level. You can’t always see what’s not working with your business, or what needs to be tweaked, from a consumer perspective. Business owners are often so intimately invested in the minutia that they should absolutely ask their customers or end users what works and what doesn’t. They're the experts, after all.

Social Media

If your customers forget you, retaining them could prove impossible. There are few better ways to stay top of mind than engaging with customers that consistently engaging with them on social media. Keep consumers up to date on your deals, sales, and products suites via their preferred social media channels, and make compelling content that ultimately drives them to your e-commerce site.

Email Campaigns

Each email you send can aid in customer retention: once you create an email campaign list, you can set expectations, engage customers, and increase your customer retention rates. Email also appears more personalized and less crowded than social media, which increases your likelihood of being seen.

Making your store a destination is just one of the many ways you can set yourself apart from the competition. What you’re trying to do is create a community of customers and followers that you can use to drive sales, to discuss topics and to create opportunities. Actively letting your customer engage in tracking their orders and shipments also goes a long way in making sure you have repeat customers to drive future sales.

While it does take a lot of effort to retain customers, it will be worth the reward. At a time when we’re in the middle of a pandemic, repeat customers will keep your business alive. Do your best to follow the tips about and think well about specific customer retention strategies that will take your business to the next level.

This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not an exhaustive review of this topic. The content is not financial or investment advice. No professional relationship of any kind is formed between you and PayBright. While we have obtained or compiled this information from sources we believe to be reliable, we cannot and do not guarantee its accuracy. We recommend that you consult your personal finance professional before taking any action related to this information. PayBright is a provider of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions. BNPL providers offer plans with a variety of terms and conditions, including interest rates, fees, and penalties, and have different standards for qualifying for loans. Laws and regulations governing BNPL providers vary by jurisdiction. We recommend that you compare and contrast plans, read the fine print, and conduct detailed research into any BNPL provider before using their services.