It’s one thing to love your ecommerce site; after all, it’s the heart of your business. But, if your ecommerce site is the heart of your business, then your customers are the lifeblood that keeps your business alive. You already know how to show your ecommerce site some love to keep it going, but how about taking care of your customers?
Show your customers you love them and they’ll come back to you again and again. Here are a few ways to get you started:
1. Give them an unforgettably delightful experience!
It is imperative for you to think about the user experience on your site. Not only is it a major visibility factor for search engines, but it makes the difference between a conversion and a bounce for your customers and potential customers. Even the most loyal customers can be swayed towards your competitors after experiencing a bad user experience on your site.
So, if you want to turn new visitors into customers and keep your customers for the long-term, you need to offer them an incredible experience they’ll want to repeat again and again at every step of their relationship with you. This means, at the very least, having:
- a site that’s easy to navigate and to understand
- important information “above the fold”
- valuable content geared towards every kind of customer
- visible, easy methods to get in contact with you
Doing these things well will get you a decent user experience on your site, but it’s up to you to test elements and get creative to make it exemplary. Everything on your site needs to work together seamlessly to solve a problem for your customers and create an experience they want to have and will want to have again.
2. Really connect with them.
Not only does social media create other digital entities for your brand and increase your presence, it also allows you to connect with your customers in a very real way. The platforms your customers are using are the social media platforms that are relevant to your business. Having an active presence on those platforms will allow your customers to connect to you easily and in the method they prefer. It also provides a unique opportunity for you as a brand to communicate directly with your customers as a real, human entity.
Brilliant customer service is often one of the factors that turn customers into loyal brand advocates. Granted, you don’t have to use social media to still provide great customer service. However, if your customers are socially active, you can use social channels to provide attentive, meaningful customer service that will have them falling in love with your brand. It takes things a little further and is more personalized than the standard rose and heart-shaped box of chocolate.
3. Reward them!
Every customer has a lifetime value for your business and your loyal customers are the ones with the biggest impact on your bottom line. They’re more likely to respond to promotions, have higher AOVs (average order values), and buy from you more frequently. They’re also more likely to become fans and advocates for your brand. So, how do you maintain & increase your loyal customer base? Reward them.
Using a loyalty program or rewards program with enticing rewards for your most loyal customers will only endear them more to you. Did they like your Facebook page after ordering? Reward them. Did they refer a friend to your site? Reward them. Did they sign up for your newsletter, enter a contest, submit a review, etc.? Reward them!
For Magento sites, Sweet Tooth is the way to go. It’s as flexible as the platform it’s on and allows you to reward virtually any action a customer can take in a Magento store. It’s that easy. Pair your rewards program with attractive promotions and sales and your store will be primed to foster love and loyalty from your customers.
4. Solve their problems.
The whole reason your customers come to you is because you have the solution to their problem(s). You and your product do something useful for your customers and make their lives easier in some way. The easiest way to make the biggest impact across your customer needs is to use your blog. Visitors come to your site looking for the answers to their questions. If you consistently provide those answers, they’ll come to view you as the authority in your industry and as a resource (and so will the search engines).
Use your blog to share relevant industry news and answer your customers’ questions. Including a few posts that answer a frequently asked question can make a big difference. Your blog is your platform to present content that provides a solution to whatever problem your customer came to you to solve and to provide valuable content they will want to see. Once they see you as a resource, they’ll come to you for everything they need and you will have made great steps in building a long-term relationship with them.
5. Be responsive!
Having a responsive website ties into providing a great user experience. Customers will be visiting your site from desktops, tablets, and other mobile devices of varying sizes – you need to make sure your site looks great and is easy to navigate on all of them. A responsive design allows this to happen. Plus, it will force you to think about your site’s design in terms of mobile; the end result will be better for your customers.
Mobile-friendly sites tend to have:
- simple, clear navigations
- text that is both easy-to-read and organized
- CTAs (call-to-actions) that are easy to engage with
All of these things contribute to making your site easier for your customers to use and ensure they are provided with a good user experience.
6. Don’t forget about lead generation.
It seems counter-intuitive to talk about lead generation to increase customer loyalty, but it’s true. Lead generation is beneficial and imperative for your business, but it also forces you to think about why your visitors have come to you and what they want to see. Every one of your visitors should have a conversion pathway, which is good for them, good for you, and good for your site.
Your customers and potential customers have come to your site with a purpose in mind, it’s up to you to make it easy for them to accomplish it. This could be funneling them directly to your products for purchase or directing them to a better offer that suits their needs, like landing pages with:
- ebooks
- relevant white papers
- a set of how-to guides
- other gated content
- a newsletter signup
- a special promotion
- some kind of useful offer for them
The list goes on and on. The point is to figure out the different reasons why visitors come to your site and what they’ll want to see to continue to want to build a relationship with you. You don’t want to make your visitors think too hard about it; after all, if it’s too complicated or difficult, they’ll just get impatient and leave.
7. Personalize it!
Everyone likes to know they’re noticed and appreciated. Show a little tenderness to your customers and take things to a more personal level. Simply personalizing the message of your site to match the channel they came in on can make a huge difference. Welcoming them back to a subsequent session on your site can make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside, simply because that tells them you took the time to notice.
Personalize your site’s experience for your customers so they feel appreciated and welcome. This lets your customers know that you’re noticing the little things, that you really do appreciate them, and that they are important to you. This is a good way to build brand advocates. However, personalization comes with a warning – too much personalization, especially if it’s a new feature, isn’t welcoming, it’s just creepy, so make sure to keep it balanced.
8. Simplify your checkout.
The visitors coming to your ecommerce site are your customers and potential customers. If they’re trying to make a purchase, show them you appreciate them by making it as easy & straightforward as possible. Don’t surprise them with shipping costs and extra fees – that’s one of the top reasons for shopping cart abandonment.
A complicated or lengthy checkout is another top reason for abandonment; instead, keep it as simple as possible. A checkout with several pages or steps is often frustrating and time-consuming for your customers. By keeping your checkout to as little pages/steps as possible or to just one page, you make the checkout process much more enjoyable for your customers. Consider offering stored payment information as a checkout option if it works with your business, your loyal customers will love it.
9. Take care of your site!
It may seem a bit off at first to put the focus on your site instead of the customer; however, once all is said and done, if you’re already doing what you need to in order to show your customers how much you appreciate them, then you need to make sure you’re taking care of your site. You need to keep it running smoothly, so your customers can cruise to conversion unhindered. This means making sure:
- there is enough space on your server(s) to keep your site running at full-speed, regardless of how much traffic hits it
- 404s, improper redirects, and broken links are regularly identified and fixed
- products are properly categorized with complete titles, descriptions, & images, and quantities updated appropriately
- shipping information and costs are correct and presented upfront
- all promotions are current and relevant
A site that runs smoothly means a better experience for your customers. Nothing shows your customers you love them more than a great experience with your site and brand. Give them an amazing experience throughout every step of their relationship with you and not only will they come back again and again, but they’ll bring their network along for the ride as well.