Improve
Customer
Retention
Retaining your customer base is critical to your company's success and growth. It is difficult to find a company that does not claim to be a customer oriented, customer focused, or even a customer driven enterprise. But, when it comes to e-commerce, the reality is somewhat different.
That is because e-commerce is a unique channel with distinctive patterns of customer behaviour. Customers treat e-commerce very differently to any other channel, and their expectations are high by default.
Recruiting customers is expensive. The e-marketing spend and the pain of conversion, means that letting your customers drift away to a rival is hugely destructive for business. And yet if your customers do move on, it will almost certainly be because they feel you have failed them.
Valued Customers are Valuable
The main goal of your website is to convert your visitors into customers. But all the effort you put into doing that will come to naught if you fail to retain them:
- The chances of selling a product to a new customer are around 1 in 8, but only 1 in 2 when selling the same product to an existing customer.
- It costs six times more to sell to a new customer than to sell to an existing one.
- Increasing customer retention by 5% can boost profits by 85%
Your existing customers have already voted with their wallets. If you do not give them a good reason to stay, they will leave for one of your competitors – and take their wallets with them.
Serve Them Right
People do not change for change's sake; they are creatures of habit. If your customers feel valued (enjoying a fulfilling user experience on your website, and receive good service) they will remain loyal.
82% of customers change because they feel let down by the company or its products. Compare that with only 9% who are lured away by your competitors. (src: 1000 Ventures)
The clear message is that what customers care about, more than anything else, is quality of service. Yet many companies let their customers down:
- 68% of customers will move on if they receive poor service or feel undervalued.
- Although 80% of customers expect a response to their emails within 24 hours, only 42% of companies actually do respond within that period.
- While 86% of online stores provide email order confirmations, only 54% send emails notifying the customer that the item has been shipped.
- 70% of customers who complain will continue to do business with the company if the complaint has been dealt with courteously and effectively.
- But 90% of companies do not have adequate procedures or means for managing their customers, both pre- and post-sales.
As we said above, if your customers move on, it will be because they feel you have failed them.
Where Rocket Salad Comes In
We have an intimate understanding of what makes the online customer tick that goes way beyond relationship management or customer segmentation.
There is a big difference between first-time customer retention and keeping your returning customers. In either regard, we can show you how to build satisfaction in their minds, drive them back to your website and even increase the per head spend.
There are many aspects to this: website functionality and experience, fulfilment, service and support, loyalty inducements, and so on. But it is worth the effort.
Know and understand your customers and you will have 'return', completing the customer cycle and allowing you to build a per customer marketing plan.
Whether you simply want to quickly reduce your customer rejection rate, or think it is time to push for the complete personalisation experience, please contact us to discuss your issues and how we may help.
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