Customer Retention Should be at the Top of Every Merchant’s Priority List

Ecommerce is a complicated industry. Between new technologies, different commerce platforms, multiple coding languages, and tons of third-party vendors, there are thousands of variables industry professionals need to navigate to be on top of what’s happening in their field.

Some things in commerce are less complicated though. One simpler variable is customer retention. Despite all the other noise and new technologies that arise and may or may not revolutionize the industry, proven traits of every successful business include the ability to acquire customers at a reasonable cost and to retain those customers as loyal shoppers. 

Yotpo, a partner of Corra, and the industry leader in customer retention, are masters at using email marketing, SMS outreach, review and rating systems, and loyalty and referral programs to facilitate merchants having multiple touchpoints with consumers to build loyalty and drive customer retention. 

This article will go over customer retention strategies, explain how to use them and why they drive value, as well as discuss how the acquisition of a trusted technical partner is crucial to the health and success of a commerce solution. 

RATINGS AND REVIEWS

A core aspect of customer retention and loyalty is trust. If a customer is repeatedly purchasing a brand’s products or services that, among other things, means that the customer trusts that the product they receive will be as advertised, and in the unfortunate event that something isn’t what the customer expected, they trust that the issue will be fixed. 

A robust ratings and reviews function is one of the best ways to build consumer trust. The ability to search and filter reviews is crucial for customer experience as it allows them to target search reviews that mention the specific product, or aspect of the product they’re interested in. 

Yotpo has outreach services to increase the likelihood of customers completing reviews which consist of email and text outreach and smart review prompts that prompt users to mention important, product-specific variables within their reviews. If a review functionality is implemented sloppily, it will end up as an investment yielding limited ROI.

Partnering with a proven and experienced technological partner like Corra will make sure that the review services purchased will be implemented in a way that drives retention. 

EMAIL AND SMS 

The most successful brands use the ubiquity of smartphones to their advantage by crafting consistent, useful, and personalized messages for their customers. 

By using CDP platforms and 1st party data and analytics, brands, and businesses can segment their customers by interest and purchasing habits and then target them with specific and relevant outreach. 

Yotpo offers a fully built-out email marketing platform that allows segmentation and targeting so that a brand’s emails aren’t messages instantly deleted but are conversion-driving touchpoints. 

Corra has expertise in A/B testing and UX audits to assist brands in deploying Yotpo’s offerings in ways that will yield clicks, transactions, and customer loyalty. 

LOYALTY & REWARDS

Loyalty and retention is a two-way street where brands and merchants need to reward customers who are loyal shoppers. 

Vendors like Yotpo have built out loyalty programs that merchants can customize to segment rewards and personalize offerings to their customer base. There are also options for tiered loyalty programs, which reward the most dedicated and consistent customers with the most desirable rewards. 

These loyalty programs can be A/B tested and implemented through segmented and targeted recipient lists which allow brands to send out messages and offers to customers that are most likely to seize the offers. 

As with email and SMS outreach, Corra has an experienced practice in implementing loyalty and rewards programs in which we use UX audits and A/B testing to determine which types of outreach and loyalty offerings are most successful. 

If you’re a brand or a merchant thinking about rolling out a new loyalty program and you aren’t considering partnering with a trusted and experienced technical partner, think again. Relying on industry experts’ experience is the best way to get the most bang for your buck, and to have your most recent investment be a high-yield ROI instead of a flop. 

VISUAL USER-GENERATED CONTENT

A crucial trend in ecommerce right now, perhaps the most crucial, is personalization. Gone are the days when a stock, one-size-fits-all website is going to drive high conversion rates. Now, customers are used to a personalized social media feed and apps that respond to their use patterns and behavioral history. 

Merchants need to think of their storefronts as personalized touchpoints and Yotpo offers a visual marketing platform that allows brands to fill their websites with user-generated images and videos which make their brand seem alive and a part of customer’s lives, instead of staged photos that make the brand feel staid.

User-generated content also creates meaningful upsell opportunities because the products being used or worn in the user-submitted content can be linked to the photo. This means that at various important junctures throughout the website experience, say checkout or PLP, there can be user-generated content showing the customer more products they could potentially be interested in. 

The most successful and highest-earning brands will always look to bring in new customers but also to retain and serve their pre-existing customers. A company can’t grow if it’s only acquiring customers—the core base must be considered and served. 

Contact Corra today to learn how to best implement services, components, and experiences that will keep customers coming back.