10 Awesome Ecommerce Customer Retention Strategies that You Can Implement Today!

Calculating Retention Rate

This calculation will give you the rate of customers you’ve kept for a period of time, for example, within a month.

Let's look at this:

To compute, take note of these three pieces of information:

Number of current customers at the start of the time month. (S)

Number of total customers at the end of the month. (E)

The number of new customers added within the month. (N)

This data will be used in computing your customer retention rate.

Then you can calculate the customer retention rate with this formula:

Calculate your brand's current monthly retention rate.

Follow these steps:

Take the number of customers you have at the (E) end of the month.

Then, subtract the number you’ve gained (N) during the current month.

Next, divide that by the number of customers you had at the (S) start of the month. Last step,

Multiply by 100, and you will get the rate of your customer retention efforts.

It's that simple!

You will see that the higher the retention rate, the more customers you’re retaining each month.

As your brand's retention rate increases, your total customer base grows more quickly.

So you should aim to improve your customer retention rate.

And how do you do that?

Today, I will help you learn more about Customer Retention.

Later, I'll show you 10 Awesome Customer Retention Strategies You Can Implement Today!

But before that...

Let me share with you the...

Importance of Customer Retention

1. Customer Retention Is Cheaper Than Customer Acquisition

You can save money by getting your current customers to repeat their orders than trying to find new ones.

And take note of this:

Gaining new consumers is 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining your existing customers.

In other words, getting new customers is good, but keeping them returning is much better.

Moving on...

2. It Promotes Solid Customer Experience

Customers value a brand that anticipates their needs and delivers a unique experience.

Your goal?

Enhancing and executing that experience will help guide customers from choosing the product to buy to selecting the variants and payment methods.

And that doesn't stop there.

Think about what after-sales service you do to make your customers happy and turn them into raving fans.

Remember, 47% of customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.

And what's more?

3. Customer Retention Will Continually Result In A Greater ROI 

Need I say more?

Well, you know it...

Returning customers would buy often, spend more money, and they will most probably refer your business to their family and friends.

Because nothing beats word-of-mouth referrals and

As reported by Nielsen, 92% of consumers would trust recommendations coming from friends and family.

This will make your brand's following bigger, and the bigger your brand’s following,

the bigger you will be as an ecommerce store brand owner.

So utilizing your current customer base is a more simple and better way to increase your revenue than selling to new prospects.

Now, let me ask you...

When was the last time you re-engaged your customers to visit your store again?

With the coming holidays and the New Year 2022, I can say that today is the right time to build a strong customer loyalty program and retention strategies for customer retention.

But first, let's talk about...

The Levels of Retention Strategies

Let's begin with...

1. Branding Level

As  Muhtar Kent, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company says, “A brand is a promise. A good brand is a promise kept.”

When you promise your customer and that promise is kept, it gives you that sense of credibility and provides you a competitive edge.

Thus, strengthening your brand more.

When you are able to keep your promises, you are creating a customer retention solution that will not only help your customers.

It will also strengthen the lifetime value of your brand.

And having a strong, consistent brand helps differentiate you from your competitors.

Let me get to the next level...

2. Industry Level

Customers trust an industry that's aligned with their core beliefs and interests...

An industry that knows how to adjust to this changing world.

It is important for your ecommerce business to pay attention to what is happening around the industries in which you operate. 

Be in the know and make the necessary adjustment.

For example:

A fashion company that sold clothes for years started to sell face masks during the pandemic. Or that perfume company that shifted to selling ethyl alcohol.
 

That gave the consumers the feeling that they were being taken care of.

That gave them the impression that your business can relate to their needs.

And that goes beyond providing products or services.

So incorporating new trends into the business that shows you care is a big thumbs up.

The last level is...

3. Quality of Products Services

Your business's quality of products and services is connected to how satisfied your customers can become.

Nothing is more disappointing than negative feedback. Don't you agree?

And the most frequent cause is the quality of products and the level of service a business provides.

If this happens to you, do everything in your power to win that customer back.

Email them, and offer the money back.

You need to have an effective customer retention solution.

It's now time to get to your most awaited part.

These are important keys to improving customer retention.

Let me share it with you...

10 Awesome Customer Retention Strategies that You Can Implement Today!

Retaining customers starts with...

1. Email Your Customers

Sending emails is still one of the most effective tools for customer retention.

You can send emails like these:

Thank you email - Send a very short thank you email or just to check if they love the product they bought. This will delight your customers, and it's an opportunity to ask them to make a product review.

A reminder email will keep them in the loop, and you can also offer discount coupons or give an idea about your next promo. It's a great method of retaining clients.

Make use of customer win-back emails to retain customers.

Let's move to the next strategy.

2. Encourage Customer Feedback

I've said it - do everything in your power to win your customers and make them come back.

One of the most effective ways to keep customers is to know how they feel about your product or service.

Gathering feedback consistently allows you to get to the bottom of any issue before it gets worse.

When you understand their sentiments, you know what they like/dislike, and you act on it.

Then you succeed.

Because customer experience will have a tremendous impact on retention.

Happy customers will keep coming back to your store.

You don’t want to miss this…

3. A Seamless Onboarding Process

When was the last time you received a product that made you excited?

If it was a positive experience, the feeling when you unbox it was satisfying. Right?

But what if a customer bought a gadget with missing parts?

And there was no manual, no instructions on how to operate?

So he ended up feeling frustrated just because he didn't know how to use the product.

So, as an ecommerce business owner, make sure to provide a clear onboarding process to avoid this frustration.

It should be a smooth and engaging process.

You should be able to help your customers from the very start until the post-purchase stage.

It should be easy, hands-on, and personalized.

You should be able to answer all questions and focus on removing the confusion.

Onboarding is an important part of a customer's journey. It teaches your customers how to get the most out of your product.

This will make a strong impact on your customer retention strategy.

Now, this is really important…

4. Stay In Touch With Your Customers

Be proactive in communicating with your customers.

Even if a customer hasn't engaged with your brand for a while,

Be the one to reach out first and establish a relationship with that customer.

A communication calendar is very helpful in managing customer engagements

And provides opportunities to offer more products.

A communication calendar is an excellent tool that keeps track of customer communication.

It's an indicator that tells you the last time that a customer interacted with your brand and alerts you when existing customers have not reached out for a while.

This is a good way to keep your customers to be aware of your new products and promos.

And guess what? It's an opportunity to upsell and cross-sell. ?

Speaking of staying in touch,

5. Connect On Social media

It's a no-brainer - social media is a smart way to connect with your new and existing customers.

Right now, you can use various social media platforms, from Facebook to Twitter, to Instagram, to Youtube and TikTok.

And trust me, you can reach a huge selection of customers from different walks of life.

By engaging with your followers on social media, you widen your circle, you can share your new products, plus, build a brand culture that is uniquely yours.

The next one is super essential...

6. Enhance Marketing Campaigns

Enhancing marketing channels so your message is delivered to the right audience is the key to making the most of your marketing efforts.

Craft marketing campaigns that your customers can easily see and enjoy.

For example, you could create mobile-friendly campaigns because there's no doubt that consumers spend most of their time with their mobile phones.

Then you can schedule campaigns to be sent at the right time to your customers.

My next point is important...

7. Don't Underestimate The Power Of Newsletters

Sending your customers ' newsletters regularly is a simple way of retaining customers.

These newsletters can remind customers of your brand the moment they open their email inboxes.

This strategy is effective and costs less too.

You can automate emails to send updates or offers to all of your customers at once.

And, you can send emails via RSS feed on a specified frequency, so you don't have to do it manually.

It's hassle-free and gets the work done. Nice one, right?

To continue,

8. Guaranteed Satisfaction

Make sure to support your customers - pre-, mid, and post-sale.

This means you have to be with the customer in his customer journey from the onboarding up to the end of the process.

And not only that.

Reach out to him and give the best after-sales service to guarantee satisfaction. Why?

I guarantee you, this will make you the king or queen of customer satisfaction.

And, this will make you first in your customers' minds and will make you almost irreplaceable.

Keep reading because this next method is important.

9. Send Gifts

You can reward your most loyal customer by sending one of your products and just a tip...

Send a gift with a personalized note to thank them.

Why is this important?

A personalized thank you note can be delightful to the customers in an ocean of digital invoices.

It will help you stand out in this crowded ecommerce world.

And now, we're down to our last.

10. Resolve Issues Immediately

If there's a problem with the product a customer just bought, respond quickly via chat or email.

Agree to replace or refund and say sorry.

Additionally, you can give a discount coupon for their next order.

This way, you're going to appease the customer.

And remember this...

When complaints are handled well, they can result in repeat orders and even loyal customers.  

So there you have it!