by John Larkin
John runs the blog here at eCommerceLift and is a verified Shopify Expert. Interested in an initial growth consultation? Click here
9 years ago
3 Tips to Encourage Your Existing Customers to Buy More
I can’t count how many times I have heard this stat: “It costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing customer”. It’s a number thrown around in marketing all the time. Considered business gospel and marketing 101. Although I’m unsure of its verity, I choose to believe it as so many eCommerce stores see rising sales and profits when they target previous or existing customers. But something that isn't often discussed is how marketing to existing customers differs from marketing to new ones. Luckily, there are some great techniques eCommerce merchants can use when marketing to an existing customer. Below we’ll show you some of the best ways to reach out to those customers you already know and gain additional sales.
Use Your Website
Getting customers to buy more is all about up selling, where you encourage a customer to buy add-ons or more expensive products and cross selling, where you sell additional products to existing customers. Both of these selling techniques can be easily incorporated into your websites design so that you get those extra sales.
There are numerous places that you can place products to up sell and cross sell on your website. Most common are when a customer comes to the checkout page, on an order page, or simply when a customer is looking at a product.
Getting customers to buy more is all about up selling, where you encourage a customer to buy add-ons or more expensive products and cross selling, where you sell additional products to existing customers. Both of these selling techniques can be easily incorporated into your websites design so that you get those extra sales.
There are numerous places that you can place products to up sell and cross sell on your website. Most common are when a customer comes to the checkout page, on an order page, or simply when a customer is looking at a product.
eCommerce giant Amazon have set the trend for this marketing practice. They never miss an opportunity to show off what else is on offer in a highly targeted way. Displaying products other customers have bought and showing products recommended from previous customers, they are the company to emulate when it comes to alluring customers to buy more.
Email Marketing
Email marketing has become a ubiquitous tool for eCommerce stores. It can be used to reach out to customers to get an up sell, encourage them to return to the website or just give them news and updates about products. Email Marketing is also one of the easiest and effective tools to get customers back filling their baskets. There are an assortment of ways to use email to get customers shopping and here is some of them:
Leverage your confirmation, shipping, thank you emails
Using confirmation email, thank you email, shipping email or any other email used a point of contact when a customer has checked out all serve as a powerful way to upsell and get them involved with your eCommerce store. By attaching recommended products, links to your social media and encouraging or asking for feedback all increase the chance of consumers returning to your store and buying more.
Send exclusive deals and offers
Email marketing has become a ubiquitous tool for eCommerce stores. It can be used to reach out to customers to get an up sell, encourage them to return to the website or just give them news and updates about products. Email Marketing is also one of the easiest and effective tools to get customers back filling their baskets. There are an assortment of ways to use email to get customers shopping and here is some of them:
Leverage your confirmation, shipping, thank you emails
Using confirmation email, thank you email, shipping email or any other email used a point of contact when a customer has checked out all serve as a powerful way to upsell and get them involved with your eCommerce store. By attaching recommended products, links to your social media and encouraging or asking for feedback all increase the chance of consumers returning to your store and buying more.
Send exclusive deals and offers
It’s no secret that customers love being involved and informed of special offers, sales and exclusive deals. Using email to do this is an innovative way to get them back to your store. This works as people enjoy being rewarded for their loyalty and makes them believe there are benefits to repeat purchases. Whether it’s a notification that a sale is starting, sneak peeks to future merchandise or coupon codes, these all lead to customers wanting to return to your eCommerce store.
Encourage newsletter sign-up
By having a regular newsletter and inciting your customers to sign up can be the perfect way to keep your customers informed and entice them to return to your store. Newsletters can be filled with updates about the goings on in your eCommerce store, products on offer and anything content that you feel your customers will find relevant. Newsletters act a reminder and can be a serious draw for eCommerce stores attempting to get existing stores to buy more.
It’s important to be creative with emails and make customers want to read them and make that repeat purchase. We recommend Klaviyo, an email marketing app that makes emails easy and more effective for your eCommerce store.
Encourage newsletter sign-up
By having a regular newsletter and inciting your customers to sign up can be the perfect way to keep your customers informed and entice them to return to your store. Newsletters can be filled with updates about the goings on in your eCommerce store, products on offer and anything content that you feel your customers will find relevant. Newsletters act a reminder and can be a serious draw for eCommerce stores attempting to get existing stores to buy more.
It’s important to be creative with emails and make customers want to read them and make that repeat purchase. We recommend Klaviyo, an email marketing app that makes emails easy and more effective for your eCommerce store.
Ad Retargeting
Retargeting is one of the most essential marketing efforts an eCommerce merchant must partake in when trying to draw customers back to their store. Retargeting works in a very straightforward way by trying to re-attract previous customers to your store by showing them ad based on previous searches and sites visited. Retargeting ads can be used on numerous platforms including Facebook.
Retargeting works because it serves as a reminder to previous and existing customer’s that you are still around. It is also a chance to show off new collections or products that customers may be interested in.
Tips for Retargeting
Retargeting can be one of the most effective ways to draw customers back but only if it’s done with thought and attention. Here are some tips to make your ad retargeting work better:
Consider the segment you are retargeting
Use the information you have gotten about the past communication and transactions your eCommerce store had with your customer to establish the best retargeting ad campaign. Consider what and how they purchased and bought to target them. Use what you believe is the most relevant and appropriate ads to draw them back. Segmenting different customers and using ads particular to their specific likes increases the ad click through rate and enhances sales.
Test your ads
When it comes to retargeting so many eCommerce merchants simply use one ad with a single image and copy. To enhance the effectiveness of retargeting ads it’s best to test ads against each other, see which images are drawing customers back and which ones are falling flat.
Alternate your ads
Retargeting may work well for a few days but customers will become bored and fatigued by your ad if you simply leave the same ad ruining for weeks. Changing images and copy every few days will keep getting your customers attention and make them keep clicking and increase sales.
With the overabundance of information and analytics eCommerce stores can now get, targeting existing customers has never been easier or more fruitful. Being savvy and using the right marketing tactics could lead to increased sales, lower costs and amazing growth for your eCommerce store. These tips should help you along your way to building strong, more successful relationships with your customers.
Retargeting is one of the most essential marketing efforts an eCommerce merchant must partake in when trying to draw customers back to their store. Retargeting works in a very straightforward way by trying to re-attract previous customers to your store by showing them ad based on previous searches and sites visited. Retargeting ads can be used on numerous platforms including Facebook.
Retargeting works because it serves as a reminder to previous and existing customer’s that you are still around. It is also a chance to show off new collections or products that customers may be interested in.
Tips for Retargeting
Retargeting can be one of the most effective ways to draw customers back but only if it’s done with thought and attention. Here are some tips to make your ad retargeting work better:
Consider the segment you are retargeting
Use the information you have gotten about the past communication and transactions your eCommerce store had with your customer to establish the best retargeting ad campaign. Consider what and how they purchased and bought to target them. Use what you believe is the most relevant and appropriate ads to draw them back. Segmenting different customers and using ads particular to their specific likes increases the ad click through rate and enhances sales.
Test your ads
When it comes to retargeting so many eCommerce merchants simply use one ad with a single image and copy. To enhance the effectiveness of retargeting ads it’s best to test ads against each other, see which images are drawing customers back and which ones are falling flat.
Alternate your ads
Retargeting may work well for a few days but customers will become bored and fatigued by your ad if you simply leave the same ad ruining for weeks. Changing images and copy every few days will keep getting your customers attention and make them keep clicking and increase sales.
With the overabundance of information and analytics eCommerce stores can now get, targeting existing customers has never been easier or more fruitful. Being savvy and using the right marketing tactics could lead to increased sales, lower costs and amazing growth for your eCommerce store. These tips should help you along your way to building strong, more successful relationships with your customers.
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