You admit or not but yes, it is the fact that eCommerce industry is reshaping the retail world and inclining potential users to shop online often. But there are not a couple of eCommerce stores in competition with your business, in fact, there are hundreds of eCommerce stores across the web that are much more appealing and offer marvelous services that it becomes difficult to retain customers for long.
And, there are still more entrepreneurs who are investing in eCommerce so the competition is enormously tough to hold customers because there are various options for them to explore and rejoice. How to overcome this biggest challenge? If you are thinking of just marketing then go for it but let me tell you, you need much more than marketing to boost your retention and conversion rate.
Yes, you heard it right! You need much more than marketing to boost your retention and conversion rate. Integration of loyalty programs in your eCommerce store can help you in doing so. You don\’t believe it! Let me show you the proof. 63% of millennials say that they have various online shopping options so a brand should come up with a good loyalty program to increase their business.
Levis is one of the big brands in India and millennials are crazy to shop from this brand. Being a big brand obviously the prices are high and there are people who cannot afford to purchase. Hence, this store entices user’s purchasing power by running effective loyalty programs ensuring that customers buy and just don’t do window shopping or wait for any festive offers.
You can also pick the examples of Indian retail stores like Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop or other branded ones who compel users to shop through their online stores by running amazing loyalty programs. In the month of March 2018, Lifestyle came up with an exciting or say enthralling strategy with every on-store shopping, it distributed a card of an exclusive offer which said, \”shop from lifestylestores.com of Rs 2000 and get Rs 500 off\”. Though for Gen Z this may not sound good but for millennials, this offer sounds great.
These examples do ensure that loyalty programs are effective and can bring a difference in the way you run your eCommerce store.
Take down a few tips and tricks to make loyalty programs effective and profitable for your eCommerce business
1. Come up with exciting reward programs:
Giving rewards to the customers is one of the best strategies to execute if you really want to increase your user base to a great extent. Yes, not denying that rewards are on buying products but this strategy can be twisted to develop a trust amongst the brand of products you sell. For instance; 50% discount on the purchase, discounts or offers on joining membership plan. In addition to that, you can also reward your customers during refer a friend program. You may have noticed rewards while online food ordering. There are a couple of popular online food ordering sites that run amazing reward programs to let customers make order often anytime 24*7.
2. Creative & Innovative Email Marketing:
Yes, email marketing is one of the effective strategies that companies should adopt and not drop. It is effective in increasing your company\’s email list which actually turns out to be a boon in converting potential users into buyers. You can run as many email marketing campaigns as you want. For instance; Amazon runs amazing email marketing campaigns citing users\’ interest and attracting their purchasing power. You receive a collection of emails during the peak months like July, November, and December. These are special months when the sales are going heavy and the gigantic store shoots the emails to acquire new users and help them tour what\’s new at Amazon.
3. Personalization:
How valuable your customers are to you? Personalization brings a unique experience to your users who actually trust you for what you provide them according to their taste and lifestyle. Personalization is trending and it seems that it won\’t fade away anytime sooner because somewhere customers like to get pampered with the offers and discounts that are only designed for them. According to the statistics, 54% of millennials feel to be loyal towards a brand when they get an opportunity to create or buy something unique that influences their overall experience.
4. Offer Rewards that Influence Customers:
Have you ever thought of offering an exclusive thing to your customers? Well! If you have not thought about it, start thinking else you may lose your valuable customers. Loyalty programs are meant to offer something extra to your customers that actually turns out to be beneficial at both the ends. For instance; Big brands like Starbucks runs effective loyalty programs that influence customers to buy not only morning coffee but also the afternoon coffee by inviting customers during afternoon hours. According to the statistical report, there are 13.3 million users who are core members of My Starbucks Loyalty reward programs. And, in addition to that the revenue earned by Starbucks in the year 2017 was $22.4 billion dollars up compared to $21.3 billion dollars in the year 2016.
5. Impress Customers by Giving Gifts:
When you give complimentary gifts to your customers, it actually helps you build a relationship with your customers. Hence, it is the best option to integrate a gift card option with your loyalty program solution helping you to improve your customer retention strategies and increase your customer base. Gifts options can be anything be it a voucher, membership plan, or a free goodies that influence customer to come often and make a purchase. Gifts are a kind of gesture to say thanks to your customers for visiting. This influences the customers to spread a word about your store which ultimately increases the customer base and strengthens your store\’s reputation.
In closing
Again, loyalty programs in eCommerce are crucial because first, there are myriad of people who are influenced with the concept of eCommerce and second, your competitors are giving you a tough competition to outrank your store. The loyalty program is a complete solution for your business which can assist you in creating out-of-the-box retention strategies that your customers\’ won\’t be to deny you and switch to your competitive store. Now, the choice is yours whether or not you want to integrate loyalty program solution and widen the scope of business profitability.