How to keep customers coming back to your online store?

A group of inactive customers whom have not bought anything for a long time can constitute a significant percentage. Therefore, the already monetized sales movement has to be encouraged to make purchases again.In that case, how to attract the customer again? Why is this so important? Returning e-consumer generates much lower costs for an online store than acquiring a completely new customer. That is why it is crucial to take any possible steps to keep the customer. The possibilities are endless and they start at the acquiring stage.

Why is it worth to reactivate customers?

Many sources on the Internet present data that is related to acquiring a new customer and encouraging permanent purchase. The probability that a regular customer will convince to use the offer again is up to even 60-70%. A new customer, visiting an online store for the first time, does not show as much enthusiasm as a regular customer. That same value in their case is now from 5 to 20%. Regular and new customers are not the only groups worth seeking. There is another group of e-consumers, for instance those who have made a purchase but have been inactive for a long time. Once they have used the online store offer, we can be sure that some of them might want to use it again. You just need to send them a proper message. It is important to know because encouraging those customers to buy again is much simpler than to encourage a completely new network of users.

Discover the 3 elements that make for successful customer recovery

Reactivation of "hibernated" clients is not easy and cannot result from accidental actions. If the online store has the appropriate tools connected (e.g. Google Analytics, Google Search Console), and we assume it has, every smallest user movement can be accurately reproduced. For instance, data analysis allows to draw certain conclusions, which in the future will also help prevent "outflow" of customers. Activation of "dormant" e-consumers should, however, start with something else.

# 1 Analyze the data that your e-store has collected

Most store platforms are equipped with a tool that allows you to collect customer data. The CRM database will allow you to gather the group of users who have not made a purchase in the online store for a long time. We can extract from the database information about when customers made purchases and what products they bought as well as contact details. Let's carefully follow the paths of e-customers traveling through the online store. Let's verify how the purchase went, what pages the users visited, what devices they used, which could be of particular interest to them and at which moment they left the store. This data is saved in Google Analytics. It is necessary to check what products have been added to the basket.We should not limit ourselves in collecting data, the more information we obtain from GA (Google analytics), GSC (Google Search Console) or CRM base, the more precisely we will divide the store visitors into groups. Depending on gender, age, basket value or type of products. The collected data will allow us to estimate the value of future purchases resulting from the activation of customers. Let's focus at the beginning on those consumers who, according to the established indicator, have the highest potential.

# 2 Customer activation - an individual approach

It seems tempting to develop one mailing campaign and send it to all inactive customers. The same idea, information, promotion, the same message to different people, personalities, ages, etc. The effect will be spectacular, but definitely undesirable. We can certainly assume that the consequences from such action will affect sales.An individual approach is a necessary action to restore customers. The offer should be personalized, as well as the content of the message itself. Since we have collected so much information, let's use it. Ads should be individually tailored for the groups of customers. Let them encourage customers to shop again on Google, on social media, on landing pages and in newsletters. This approach will get higher results, conversion rate or ROI.If the results of the analysis will show that the majority of users come to the e-store from Facebook, then let's develop a campaign for this channel. If customers view the offer mainly on smartphones, the e-store must be adapted to this medium. The user that we reach with a handmade offer just for him or her is more likely to use it.

# 3 Don't lose your customers again

Actions taken to restore "dormant" clients cannot be a one-time action. Reclaiming customers cannot be limited to this. You should take a whole range of other actions that will optimally use the potential of the store and will not let e-consumers forget about the offer of the online store:

Methods worth considering:

• cross- and up-selling - a technique based on proposing additional products to the one the user is interested in, or a higher quality product at a higher price. If the customer is interested in a spinning rod, then in the appropriate modules you can offer him twisters, wobblers, reels or fishing line. If we use the up-selling technique, we will offer the e-consumer a better rod, more durable, lighter, more ergonomic. These are techniques that allow you to increase the value of the basket, and the customer will feel better, more fully served.
• Let’s not forget related products - the customer does not have to decide to buy related products that we offered him by cross-selling. However, after a while, the client might need an additional fishing line or a trowel. Therefore, it is worth recalling the offer of the online store after 2 weeks, a month. Let's use mailing for this purpose. Let's prepare interesting graphics, work on the title of the message. This is one quite effective way to increase your conversion rate thanks to returning customers.
• Product reviews that increase the effectiveness of an online store - product reviews, and the entire e-store should be cared for regularly and consistently. In the context of returning customers, this is also extremely important. Well exposed ratings break down shopping barriers and increase brand confidence. If we try to restore "dormant" customers, the rating will become one of the most important elements that will convince the e-consumer to use the offer. Let's also remember that the value of reviews is much wider - it works for higher conversion, raises ROI, which means that reviews translate directly into higher sales. To successfully collect ratings, we should send a request to users who have already made a purchase. Let's use the so-called cold mailing, and for encouragement, let's give you a discount or some gift that will be added to the next purchase.
• Organize sales and discounts - all price discounts today effectively encourage customers to purchase something from the store's offer. In the online environment, discounts and sales are also very effective and e-customers are happy to use them. However, the Internet needs a little more commitment to restore customer activity. Mailings sent to users should be adequately personalized, well-designed, thought-out and communicating the most important values ​​of the offer, and at the same time subtle. It is also necessary to focus on regularity, frequently sent messages with promotions encourage users to travel around the e-store and check what is currently covered by the offer.
• Prepare the competition - but let's not limit ourselves to completely basic methods that allow you to restore customers. Let's prepare something more creative. Attractive competitions, referring directly to the store's offer will be a great idea. It is even better when winning is accompanied by a prize. Well-developed competitions attach users to the store's brand more strongly, encourage more frequent interactions.
• Encourage written opinions - the benefits of collecting longer reviews or even reviews are very broad. E-consumers in the decision-making process are looking for opinions that will convince them to buy, they want to get acquainted with the impressions of customers who have already purchased one product or the other. Therefore, opinions translate into image, trust and building a strong brand. You also cannot underestimate the content left by users in terms of positioning. Any content that reviews a product can affect higher positions in SERPs (search results). So if we collect a lot of positive feedback, we can be sure that they will increase more effective sales. However, this issue should be approached skillfully, getting people to write reviews is not easy. Let's encourage the customers with discounts or valuable gifts.

Lack of involvement - what can it result from?

E-stores often have high bounce rates. Which means that the online store does not engage users to travel around it, familiarize with the offer, in the eyes of e-customers it may give the impression of unprofessional, not interesting. Lack of user involvement can be due to many reasons. Just after opening the store’s page, a potential customer may be discouraged by the graphics, lack of basic information, non-intuitive navigation or sloppy design. If users leave the store primarily from the home page, it can be assumed that this is due to the factors listed.

That is just the top of the iceberg. Even if the main page does not arouse any suspicion, they may appear when you are familiar with the product card, which will e.g. lack key information. The purchasing process itself may not be very intuitive, misleading, very long or not informing about e.g. delivery costs. Social media may also leave a bad impression, which is run chaotically, irregularly, the fanpage has few likes, etc. Every smallest detail should be polished. Then the user involvement will be higher.

Reward for loyalty

Building brand loyalty is one of the extremely important elements that you need to earn. Loyal customers will regularly return, and what's more, they will become some kind of brand ambassadors who will promote the e-store more or less consciously, e.g. in social media. How to take care of loyalty? One way is to create so-called loyalty programs. Online store customers participating in the programs will be rewarded e.g. for frequent purchases or for leaving opinions. Each purchase will end with the assignment of a number of points adequate to the amount of purchases that can be used over time. This method helps the store encouraging customers to make purchases again and use already collected points.

Optimize product feed - bring customers closer to the product

Action determines the reaction. If the advertising campaign carried out on the web presents low quality, the response will not be satisfactory. Online advertising campaigns require a perfect strategy. One of the key elements that translates into the effectiveness of online campaigns is the proper optimization of the product file.By optimizing the product file, we can't get carried away by any particular creativity. There is simplicity here. Original, sophisticated product names are not desirable. Where does it come from? The reason is extremely prosaic. No one, literally no one (forecasts checked in Google keyword planner), will not look for anthracite pants or carmine dress. Users enter simple key phrases - a red dress or gray pants. The conclusion is simple. If fancy takes us away and we give the product an original name, we will probably hit the first place in the search results, but no one will know about it. In this way we deprive ourselves of business opportunities, we eliminate from competing for customers with other stores.So what information is crucial for users? How should we configure product names so that they remain not only noticed, but encourage clicks, a closer look at the product and offer? And finally how to convince the customers to buy? We should remember that customers verify what they see very efficiently, immediately capture the most important and sought information. Overloaded content distorts the view of the offer, discourages and reduces the chance of interaction. Users are interested in what is important, i.e. color, size, brand, weight or volume. Packaging sizes, EAN codes are not important and aren’t worth including this information in the name of the article. It will be in the product card anyway.Product feed is a necessary element and without it effective campaigns would be meaningless. There is nothing like encouraging the customer to use the offer with honest and valuable advertising. Regardless of whether it is Google Ads, affiliated networks, e-shopping arcades, market places or social media, the product file will be used to perfectly show the offer of an online store. Without this document, adding thousands of items to your advertising system becomes virtually impossible, as well as, optimizing them. And because each channel can gather a different group of people, has its own characteristics, purchasing decisions will be made in a different way. Precisely for this reason, it is necessary to constantly analyze the product file and optimize for user behavior. All in order to achieve the best sales results.

How to attract customers? Don't let yourself be forgotten

Each online store is a complex mechanism that needs regularity and consistency in its actions. The wide scope of work in the e-store includes: expanding the offer, content marketing, organizing shipments, contacting clients, social media, etc. However, you can't skip the work on returning customers to the store. This is very important as this particular customer has used our offer at least once. So he or she remembers the brand, it will be easier for us to encourage him or her to return, the costs of restoring such a customer are lower than acquiring a new one. So do not let users forget about the store. Let's be active, send mailings, offer discounts, encourage to participate in the partner program. Don’t let the clients hibernate, let them be active participants, gaining the status of a brand ambassadors.