Article Contributed by Dan Razak
There’s no need to say that business world today is all about eCommerce. More and more entrepreneurs decide to start websites that involve selling stuff online. But, with so many eCommerce websites, retaining your customers has never been more difficult. Luckily, there are some things you can do to ensure your customers stick around and buy from you. We have come up with 4 tips that are always going to do the trick. Make sure you check them all out.
Invest in SEO
Just like all the other websites, eCommerce websites simply have to invest in optimization for search engines. This helps them both attract new and retain old customers. Besides using some traditional SEO features such as keywords and back linking, you also have to go for some specific techniques for eCommerce businesses. First of all, this means creating categories and subcategories that make your website easier to use. Moreover, you’ll need to come up with interesting product pages. Just bear in mind that search engines don’t tolerate duplicated content which meant that you’ll always have to make sure that you have content that’s absolutely original. Last but not least, including as many internal links as you can is always a good idea.
Deal with abandoned carts
With so many people buying stuff online, it happens quite often that an online shopping cart gets abandoned. In fact, in 2015, more than 69% of online shoppers decided to abandon their carts. It’s up to you as a business owner to do whatever you can to ensure that each of your customers return and buy the items they’ve left in their shopping carts. Sending a pleasant email to remind them about the stuff they had their eyes on should do the trick. Just remember that emails like these should never be too aggressive. A simple email that includes the price and some additional info about the stuff they wanted to buy is more than enough.
Give cross sales a go
When running an eCommerce store, you have to bear in mind that there are plenty of customers who will wait until the product they’re after goes on sale. But instead of putting all your products on sale, you can choose to hold cross-sales. For example, if your customer is buying pants, you should also offer them items that go with them, such as a belt, shirt or a jacket. Not only this, but in case they buy one of these you can give them a discount code they can use for their next purchase. If they choose to give their discount to a friend, you can give them a bonus that they will get as soon as their friend uses the discount code. This is guaranteed to keep a large number of your customers coming back to your eCommerce website and have them recommend your online store to others.
Go for a personalized approach
Also, your approach is very important if you want to retain your customers. You should always try to learn as much as possible about your loyal customers and try to come up with customized offers that will fit all of their needs. This will make your customers happy and more likely to turn to your online store once again. You can also send emails to your loyal customers as soon as a sale starts or there are new items available for sale. Also, when sending emails, it’s always a good idea to treat your customers as individuals. There are experts in lifecycle marketing who can help you out with this and make your marketing emails as effective as possible.
Give these 4 tips a go and you’ll see more customers return to your eCommerce business the next time they’re in need for the products or services you’re offering. This will, of course, only boost your sales and help your online store grow.
About the Author
Dan Radak is a marketing professional with eleven years of experience. He is a coauthor on several websites and regular contributor to BizzMark Blog. Currently, he is working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies.