Have you ever wondered if it is easier to maintain a long-term relationship or to start over a new relationship? Relationships are not easy to be built or to be maintained, but it would be harder to retain one. It is the same for branding, new customers acquisition is not easy, but building customer loyalty is far more effortful. However, it totally pays off because:

●      67% of loyal customers spend more than first-time customers. 

●      50% of existing customers are more likely to try new products than new ones.

●      60-70% probability of selling to a repeat customer

●      5-20% probability of selling to a brand new customer

These statistics above show why you should put more effort on retaining the existing customers or building customer loyalty. Gearment reveals 4 tips to build customer loyalty for online stores that we gain along the way building and developing Gearment. 

4 tips to build customer loyalty

1. To go beyond and exceed customer’s satisfaction

77.84% and 62.96% of consumers responded that the quality of product and customer service inspires their loyalty to a brand, respectively. Moreover, there are many external factors like delivery, website attributes that adversely influence the quality of customer service and product. Plus, online shoppers cannot touch and see the product directly. It’s really important to go beyond and exceed your customers’ satisfaction by assuring them of product quality and service. Once you get customers’ satisfaction, it is not difficult to retain customers and build customer loyalty.

2. To create personalized experiences for loyal customers

55% of the US online users ranked Amazon as the No.1 digital platform, citing it as offering “the best-personalized consumer experiences”. The customers will become more passionate and stick to your brand if the brand provides good personalized shopping experiences. Sending customized messages or coupons on special occasions is also a tactic to make the customers feel more special and like a part of your brand. 

Take Hockerty as an example, an online menswear retailer successfully pulls this off. Hockerty ran a campaign with personalized handwritten notes for their top customers in their own language and based on their latest purchases.

source: @hockerty.men Instagram

3. Offer rewards and incentive

The relationship between business and customers is a win-win relationship. Customers support your business by buying your products. In return, you offer them rewards and incentives such as discounts, points programs, or cash-back programs. Customer loyalty programs build a better and more engaging customer experience. 75% of customers made purchases based on their experience, and 50% responded that their experience is now more important than one year ago.

4. Connect and interact with customers on multi social media channels

Despite the rise of e-commerce, some customers prefer the physical interaction and tactile experiences that online shopping cannot provide. So, online retailers should use social media platforms to connect, and communicate with their customers to make them feel truly involved and engaged in their brand. Social media is considered an avenue for real-time communication changing the way shoppers and businesses interact with each other. 

For example, when customers reach out to Gearment on Facebook Group to rep bug while using Gearment the fulfillment application or directly inbox message to ask about our products and services, we can immediately reply to customers and solve the problem in time. Through social media sites like Facebook we can offer better customer service, approach more customers and create a community where Gearment can build a strong and long-term relationship with customers.

Source: Gearment

What do you think now? Building customer loyalty is difficult, isn’t it? Try out 4 tips of Gearment and let us know the result in the comment below. Keep in mind that devoting attention and putting effort into satisfying your customers’ expectations, connecting with them, providing them added value. Especially, building a long-term and consistent strategy plan for your store is top priority.