Attracting new customers to your online retail site is important – but so is retaining existing ones. Truth be told, return shoppers are prime revenue generators. So, if you aren’t actively attempting to bring back customers again and again, you are missing out on your store’s full potential.
Below we will discuss the importance of re-engaging ecommerce shoppers, as well as a few re-engagement strategies to explore.
Why Re-Engagement Matters in Ecommerce
First things first, what is ecommerce? According to the ecommerce platform provider Shopify, ecommerce is the digital sale and transfer of data/money in exchange for physical merchandise. As is the case with most businesses, acquiring new buyers is roughly five times more expensive than leveraging return buyers. There are several reasons for this including the cost of advertising and marketing.
Fortunately, we are going to show you how to affordably attract return customers which has a greater return on investment, as compared to customer acquisition. Here are a few strategies to get you started.
Coaxing Email Subscriptions: One of the best ways to re-engage an ecommerce shopper is to leverage email marketing. Now you might be thinking that email is old school, boring or ineffective. If you are, you are dead wrong.
Email marketing is one of the most effective and cost-effective forms of re-engagement. According to Business 2 Community, email marketing returns a whopping $38 for every $1 spent! That’s a huge ROI. Couple that payout with the fact that more than 44 percent of email recipient make at least one purchase after being prompted by a personalized electronic communication.
If you are interested in email marketing for re-engagement, experiment with the number of emails you send. Start somewhere between one to three emails per week. Make sure they are relevant to your audience by offering limited-time coupon codes or announcements for upcoming product launches. Motivate your customers to join your emailing list by delivering prompts on your homepage, checkout page and social media profiles – Don’t miss out on the hottest deals, sign up for our email list today!
Pushing Social Media Engagement: You’ll also want to push social media engagement as well. Admittedly, the ROI is not nearly as high as it is for email marketing, but there is an added benefit to social media marketing – wider appeal. Not only will fans of your brand see company news, sales and product launches, but also their ability to like or share these posts can help you find new customers.
Encourage your followers to post images of themselves using and enjoying your merchandise. This makes buyers feel more connected to your online community and motivates other return shoppers to make new purchases through your site.
Social media is a great way to stay top of mind for your consumers. Push them to follow you on social media via your homepage, checkout page and marketing emails.
Surveys: Another great idea is to serve your shoppers customer surveys. These are brief questionnaires asking consumers to share their thoughts on your website design, usability, ease of checkout, trust in the brand, etc. Offer your participants a 10 percent off coupon for their answers. This garners helpful feedback to improve your e-store and re-engages shoppers in a way that makes them feel valued and heard.
Serving Retargeting Ads: If you operate an ecommerce brand with deep pockets, you might be interested in serving retargeting ads to your shoppers. Essentially, advertisers track the cookies associated with your web visitors and programmatically serve them ads from your site while they peruse the Internet. These ads can be a little expensive compared to the above methods. However, they can be a useful tool in your re-engagement arsenal.
Providing Unique, Limited-Time Coupon Codes During Order Fulfillment: All the above tips take place in the digital space. But that’s not the only arena where you can re-engage customers. Consider inserting flyers, promos, freebies and limited-time coupon codes in your delivery boxes. This strategy attempts to reinsert shoppers back into your sales cycle at the very moment they open their product package. Use a flyer design tool like MyCreativeShop to get all the help you need in creating these advertising materials. If a buyer loves your products and sees a 20 percent coupon code good for the next three months in her box, she might be motivated to buy from you again. It’s a clever strategy and one you should consider.
Note that none of these strategies are especially difficult to carry out, but all of them are effective in re-engaging ecommerce shoppers. Are you ready to re-engage your buyers?