Gone are the days when there were only a handful of ecommerce stores for customers to shop from. Now, they are well aware of the many options available for them to buy products or avail services for their unique needs. This is because of the rise of online stores and every one of them trying their best to entice the same customer base.
This situation might lead to an increase in competition for the ecommerce store owner to drive conversion and sales. So, what could be the solution, you might ask? Well, the answer lies in building a personalized relationship with the customers that would motivate them to visit your brand again and again.
This blog will discuss with you some critical strategies that you could implement in your ecommerce ecosystem for a loyal base of customers.
Let’s Begin,
Why is it important to forge customer relationships for brands?
Did you know Good brands around the world emphasize building a personal relationship with their customers? This is because a good relationship with customers can help you in the following ways.
1. Earns customer loyalty:
One of the critical benefits that an ecommerce store owner can have with this approach is earning the loyalty of their customer. This matters a lot when you have competitions that are on a constant lookout to win over your customers. Below are some of the ways by which you can earn loyalty.
- Make them feel special: Almost every person in this world rejoices when someone cares and makes them feel special. Don’t you agree? This is a psychological approach that can be leveraged to win the trust of your customers. Greet them on their special occasions, such as weddings or birthdays, to make a personal connection.
- Respond quickly: Trust me, you don’t want to make a customer wait when they are in real need of your advice and guidance. A slow response can force them to search for the same from somewhere else, which will surely cost you a chance to convert or repeat sales. So, it becomes important that you respond quickly and help them complete their desired action with ease.
- Personalized mail: This is another excellent way to make a real connection with your existing or new customers. Find out what really motivates them to visit and engage with your website. It can be to fulfill an interest or to solve a problem.
When you take care of the very needs of your customers, they will definitely choose you over anyone else.
2. Reduces marketing efforts:
Did you know that the money you spend on retaining an old customer is pretty low than gaining a new one? This is because acquiring a new base of customers might require you to opt for SEO, paid ads and other modes of digital marketing. In comparison to this, to retain, you just need to use data analytic tools and other cost-effective strategies to attract and engage them.
Building a customer relationship will help you get a higher return on your investment. It has been seen that the customers who receive personalized service return for a big purchase.
3. Increases the lifetime value of a customer:
Creating a relationship of trust and service helps in increasing the total lifetime value of the customers. You can understand this from a user perspective.
Suppose you, as a customer, bought a product from an ecommerce website and were impressed by their service. Now imagine they approach you with a personalized email or message about the product you are interested in that too with an offer or discount.
How would you feel for such a personal and caring gesture? It makes you feel special and encourages you to visit their store for the following purchases.
How to build a strong customer relationship?
There are literally many ways you can establish a bond of trust and loyalty with your customers. However, in this section, we will talk about some technique or strategies that have been applied earlier and was of great success. They are as follows.
1. Offer excellent customer support to your customers:
Kind and understanding customer support can help you make your product stand out among your competitors and generate loyalty. Below are some of the characteristics of excellent customer support:
Fast: Make sure the customer support you offer to your customers is fast and reliable. Don’t make them wait too long to answer their queries or questions. This way, you can minimize the bounce rate and increase repeat purchases from your target customers.
Accessible: You, as the owner of an ecommerce website, should ensure that the customer support of your business is accessible to all through every medium possible. For example, offer customer support through emails, web forms, calls, or social media tweets.
Real: Employ a trained customer support team that knows how to talk out issues with customers and help solve them. They should sympathize with the situation and try their best to provide the best solution.
2. Understand your customers:
Understanding your customer can serve as a base on which future engagement will be built. Find out the needs, interests, and the point points of your customers to figure out the way they can be encouraged to make a purchase.
This can be achieved through the creation of a detailed buyer persona. A buyer persona is nothing but a detailed profile of your target customers that illustrates their age, job role, name, and gender, among other critical information. To create an effective buyer persona, consider the following points.
Conduct market research and data collection: Start the process by gathering data from existing customers and target audiences. You can make use of various sources such as surveys, data analytic tools, sales data, and social media insights. This data will help you understand the needs of your customers better for a value proposition.
Divide the customers based on this data: Segment your audience on similar attributes based on the data you received from your research work. The common segmentation criteria of the same include age, gender, location, income, etc.
Find out the goals and aspirations of your target customers: Conduct thorough surveys or interviews to understand the goals, interests and problems of your customers. Ask questions such as:
- What are your desired goals?
- What are the problems you face when achieving these goals?
- How can the products or services you desire can solve the problem?
Create persona profiles: A typical buyer persona has the mix of demographic and psychographic mix. Below is an infographic that illustrates the same.
3. Personalized recommendations:
In today’s world, every customer wants to be approached with a personalized offer that fulfils their unique goals. This is the way many brands across the globe have already started to walk to, and so should you.
Use the data that you have collected from the research of your users’ shopping behaviour from different avenues. Analyze the data thoroughly to find out the triggers that can inspire them to visit your website and make a purchase.
Suppose you have data on a number of customers who have visited a specific product page but couldn’t continue. This could be due to a few reasons, such as the unavailability of the products or price issues. Here, you could segment those customers and send them personalized direct messages to their registered mobile phones or emails to convey the availability or discount on the product. You should know that the main aim of this approach here is to evoke a feeling of trust and favouritism among your target customers towards your brand.
In addition to this, you could employ the same approach for the users who have abandoned their carts, or you may as remarketing ads to remind them of an incomplete offer that needs their attention.
4. Create value:
The main factor that differentiates a business from other related businesses is the care and value it provides the customers.
Customers will always choose your services above others if you create relevant value that helps them in their shopping journey. Let us see some strategies that you may leverage for the same.
- Create a blog or YouTube videos that educate your new as well as existing customers about the product or the services you offer.
- Show the authority and the presence of your brand across different forums, such as Reddit, by answering questions from the users related to your brands.
If users see you and interact across numerous platforms, they are sure to remember and engage with your brand in the future when in need.
5. Support an initiative:
The one thing that motivates people to connect and be the ambassadors of your brand is when you support a cause such as Environmental. So, the first thing that you should aim for is creating a product that has less environmental impact. Look out for partners who care for the planet we live in and work with them to support their work.
Find out communities that have the same consciousness as your own and engage with them to talk about your brand’s initiative to safeguard the planet Earth.
6. Gather customer feedback:
Last but not least, encourage your customers to leave comments on your website or social media accounts. This will allow you to measure the overall satisfaction of your customers and find issues that might be hindering a wonderful shopping experience. You can also conduct surveys, send feedback emails, etc., to measure the experience of your customers.
Final Words!!
In the end, know that a personalization approach can work wonders for your business. It can not only help you retain your existing customers but also enable you to attract and convert new ones. Understand the needs, interests, and problems of your target prospect to frame a unique proposal that they can’t ignore. Leverage the power of data analytic tools such as Google Analytics to make the process of personalization a breeze.
So, if you are someone looking to reap the benefits of long-term customer relationships, a personalization effort is the way to go.