A lot of ecommerce sites – and site owners – focus all of their energy on making that first sale. We also have a lot of resources for driving traffic with campaigns as well as those designed to help increase conversion rates. Getting that first sale is indeed crucial.
The true success of an ecommerce site, however, lies in customer retention. You need to be able to retain the customers you already have to be successful long term. These simple strategies can help you get that second purchase – and more – in the future.
Maintain a Streamlined User Experience
One of the worst things you can do is ask your customers to complete a checkout form after their first purchase. This is definitely not the kind of approach you want to take, especially since a long checkout process is a known culprit for high rates of dropped carts.
An existing customer should be able to log in with an account and complete the checkout process much faster. This means storing customers’ data and letting them have an account that is set up securely. That brings us to our next strategy, which is….
Improve Security
The second purchase a customer makes usually involves a shorter decision making process. There are fewer questions asked before hitting that Pay Now button. Is the site still secure? Are my personal details stored safely?
Maintaining a high level of security and improving overall customer protection are key tactics to use in this case. You can sign up for a proper SSL certificate, with company identity and well-known certificate authority, to keep customers happy. Other security measures will help retain customers as well.
Accept More Payments
Credit cards are still the most commonly used payment method online, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore other payment options. The more payment methods you accept, the happier your customers will be; naturally, this means the more purchases you will get in return.
Payment gateways such as My Payment Savvy are great alternatives when it comes to adding more options to the checkout process. You can start accepting ACH payments and other alternative methods on your site without investing in a dedicated gateway. The company’s site, http://mypaymentsavvy.com/, is a great place to start.
Start a Loyalty Program
The last strategy we will cover in this article is the good old loyalty program. Reward your loyal customers and they will be even more loyal than before. A loyalty program is one of the best ways to boost your customer retention rate, especially if you’re selling fast-moving products or services.
The rewards don’t have to be extravagant or expensive. Customers love the acknowledgement more than they value the actual reward. The loyalty program doesn’t have to be complicated either. In fact, the easier customers can understand the rewards they get for each purchase, the more effective your loyalty program will be.
With these strategies in mind, getting that second purchase and maintaining a high level of customer retention should not be a problem. In today’s competitive market, these tactics are what you need to stay ahead of the competition.
