What makes a loyal customer?

What makes a loyal customer?

Customer retention, are you on it?

If you’re going to build a successful business, then you’ll need to know that it’s far easier to retain existing customers than it is to win over new ones. Existing customers are far easier to reach and persuade then new ones, as you won’t have to get their ear before delivering your message – you’ll already have it! What’s more, in delivering a great customer experience that’s free from problems, you’ll provide reason enough to persuade most customers to stick with you.

Let’s examine some of the ways in which you might maximally foster customer loyalty, and thereby ensure that repeat business continues to flock in the direction of your online store’s checkout pages.

Automation

In order to reduce the amount of time our employees spend on a given task, employers will often resort to automation. A machine can perform certain tasks far more quickly and efficiently than a human ever could, and so by employing them in certain areas, we can ensure that we aren’t wasting precious man-hours.

But customers, too, have hours that they’d prefer weren’t consumed with unnecessary, fiddly tasks like typing in their login details again and again. By automating, we’re able to keep the need for work on the customer’s part to an absolute minimum, and thereby ensure that they aren’t frustrated. This in turn will mean that they’re likely to return!

Personalisation

In order to achieve a website that’s closely in tune with a customer’s needs, we can collect valuable data on their shopping habits, and create targeted marketing that’s precise. The modern online customer expects to be offered deals that are tailored to them – and so will view targeted marketing as welcome rather than intrusive. Again, automation can help to ensure that the customer receives an experience that’s precisely tailored and based on data. The result? More conversions.

Engagement

While it’s important to provide a customer with a seamless interface that’s tailored to their needs, and which will respond to their inputs, it’s also important to also provide them with the option of talking to a human being. Increasingly, online retailers are providing chat services built into their applications, in order to allow customers to talk to a human being and address any queries they might have. This will help to convert hesitant customers, and to provide committed customers with reassurance that they’ll be able to have their problems addressed when they arise.