In the old world, each town would have had a couple of grocers serving the entire community. And trade boundaries were probably clearly established among the single digit number of competitors within reach. But today, the scenario is entirely different. Let’s say you sell affordable shoes online. You are literally one in a million who cater to the populace of your community. There are vendors from the next street to vendors from China who are willing to ship shoes to any part of your town.
The cost of customer acquisition is significant today and unless you convert him to a repeat business customer, you cannot run a profitable business. So, unless you do something drastically different, you will lose your customers to your peers.
Offer loyalty cards and programs
The oldest trick in the textbook of customer retention is to reward long standing customers with free goods and discounts. Once you identify a potential customer, market a loyalty program with him. Structure the loyalty program in such a way that it benefits the customer and your business. Since he gets incentive in the form of discounts or free goods if he sticks with you, he is bound to keep buying from you unless he finds a fault with your products or service.
Track individual needs, preferences and tastes
When you sell online, it’s easy to have a record of what you have already sold to a particular customer. And with the plethora of tools available online, you can track his movement across your site. And based on his browsing patterns, you can clearly say from the time he spends on each product page about what he likes, prefers and would like to buy. Target him with ads with such products. Or a personal mail saying you have curated a list of products he might be interested in and listing such products would make him buy more. But being overly aggressive with ad retargeting might brand you as pushy. So, don’t overdo this. Also, providing a real time transparent information of the shipments is becoming a norm of a good customer service. To learn more about this practice check out Why real time tracking of shipments is imperative for your online store?
Lend a personal touch
Have you ever wondered why visit a certain cafe even if all the other competitors give you the same stuff? Is it because the waiter there is courteous? Or, do you get a tiny portion of your favourite pudding even without having to ask? Is it because the sandwich is double wrapped for you to carry? Adding a personal touch to your service can go a long way. It is tough to do this over online sales but it can help you much. So, try sending a handwritten note. Or, surprise the customer with a small and inexpensive coffee mug with your logo on it. Pick up the phone and ask the customer if the product you shipped across is satisfactory or if he has any feedback to make it better. The customer feels important enough if he knows that his feedback is taken seriously. And this can make him stick to you for a long time.
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