For so long, commerce businesses have been dedicating the vast majority of their marketing dollars to simply gaining new customers and leaving it at that. Customer acquisition will always be important, but many retailers are now seeing the enormous value returning customers add to their initial marketing investments and are capitalizing on these existing relationships through retention marketing programs.
Why Repeat Customers Maximize ROI
The customer’s first purchase is always the most expensive in terms of marketing dollars. It takes a lot of effort and resources to capture a potential customer’s attention, educate them about your brand and products, and get them to the checkout line. Once that initial hurdle has been cleared, you can maximize your ROI by driving customers back again for repeat purchases. Returning customers already know who you are, what you have to offer, and how you operate and communicate. If their first experience leaves them smiling, they’ll probably be open to the idea of returning and buying something else.
Retention and loyalty marketing is more than just remarketing products to people who have already bought something from you. It’s about inviting them to your brand’s inner circle and cultivating a relationship. You have to show them that you value their continued business and reward their loyalty with a consistent customer experience (CX), personalization, and relevant rewards or promotions. Using well-placed retention marketing, you can continually strengthen your customer relationships until you have not only loyal, lifelong customers, but also an army of brand advocates.
Customer Retention Marketing: What Should You Do?
Before implementing any retention marketing programs, you first need to truly understand who your customers are. Ask yourself: Who makes up my business? Are my current customers the ones I’m targeting? How am I learning about my customers?
As you work to understand your customer personas and journeys, you may find that there are holes in the data you have about your customers. Focusing on gathering accurate customer data into a unified, clean CRM or data management platform might be the first step.
Once you have a complete picture of who your customers are and the factors that drive them to buy, you can use that information to structure retention-based programs that will keep them coming back.
To learn about other trends affecting commerce this year, download our guide below.
