How to increase revenue from retention marketing?

Marketing is the most significant aspect of any business. However, what should be focused on is not marketing in general but smart marketing in particular.

Smart marketing enables businesses to focus on maximum profits with minimum investment and this is exactly where retention marketing steps in.

According to the research, as compared to acquiring new customers there is a 60 to 70% chance of selling products to an existing customer and increasing revenue.

That’s why 7 out of 10 businesses prefer retention marketing as their exponential marketing strategy because you can make money with your existing customers without having to spend time attracting new customers.

Instead of investing in new target customers every step along the way, retention marketing helps businesses invest the extra amount on bettering the business by retaining old customers and working towards increasing brand value.

This article covers everything about how to increase revenue from retention marketing and attract more repeat customers.

What is customer retention?

Retention, in the simplest of terms, means the maintenance of something that already exists. In this sense, Customer retention is the maintenance of old customers and keeping them hooked to a business’s products or services in a manner that they maintain their fidelity to the same.

This fidelity is especially useful in businesses because the existence of old customers also reflects on the consistent quality of products and services that the business has been successful in sustaining despite the passage of time and growing competition in the market.

The lifetime value generated by customers is beneficial not just for the image of the business which is efficient in securing permanent customers or repeat buyers but also for the sales value of the business which remains intact even when other businesses are met with difficult times.

Customers are treated more like investments than passive consumers by businesses that promote retention marketing and it is this attitude that contributes to improving customer retention.

If your repeat customer ratio is lower than you expect, you seriously need to work on it.

To understand how to retain customers, we must first go to the root of the problem and find out why customers fail to return to eCommerce businesses.

Why are customers not coming back to eCommerce stores?

Some factors go into making a particular business the go-to choice for a customer. To understand how to keep your customers hooked, you need first fully to understand why they are leaving in the first place.

Some of the common reasons why customers fail to return to your eCommerce stores are as follows:

1. Initial bad experience

First impressions always tend to be the contributing factor for lasting impressions. This is one hundred percent the case when it comes to e-commerce stores.

When a customer takes the leap of faith and trust a particular business and its products, the step is significant to them. The failure of the business to cater to a good buying experience expectation ruins the whole experience for the customer.

One bad experience leads them into not choosing that business ever again. Hence, providing a good buying experience is extremely important.

2. Bad quality products

As a business, whenever you sell a product or service, you’re making a promise to your customer that you can solve their problem or help them achieve their goal so that they come to your store to buy more.

There is no need to work hard to sell more to existing customers because the truth is—they are already using your product, loving it, and going to buy more.

With the plethora of options that the customers can conveniently choose from, the delivery of bad quality products ends the whole possibility of going back to the same store for customers.

Customers choose only those products and services that manufacture quality products and provide good services.

Test your products and services and ask yourself whether you’re delivering the value that you’re promising your clients. If not, you might need to:

3. High delivery charges

When it comes to eCommerce stores whose sole way of being is an online operation, delivery charges should be less to moderate.

Since the choice of online operation is of the business itself, high delivery cost makes customers skeptical of buying from the store and compels them to go for a less expensive, feasible option that prices its products high but reduces the delivery charges.

4. Delay in delivery

Delay in delivery is one of the major causes why most businesses fail to retain customers. People choose to shop online because it reduces the hassle of in-person shopping and the expectation of speedy delivery.

When businesses fail to meet these expectations and prolong the delivery of the placed orders, customers vouch for a more convenient option that offers speedy delivery regardless of the quality of the product and service.

Delay in delivery tends to remove a long line of probable future customers who need fast services.

5. Questionable customer service

eCommerce platforms must always have good customer service that provides immediate responses and quick solutions. The failure to do the same will lead to customers going for other options.

On the other side, if customers have to ask for solutions over and over again or repetitive interactions make them bounce from your site.

When a product or service delivered claims to be substandard or leaves the customer dissatisfied, the best way to stop the customer from never choosing them again is to offer a satisfactory resolution.

It can be possible by giving access to Chatix to your support team where they can elevate the chat experience, manage customer support from one panel, send bulk messages using WhatsApp Business API, and engage with customers regularly.

Bad solutions hamper the image of a business or brand that despite its high-quality products and services receives flak over its bad-quality customer service.

6. Limited buying options

Customers are usually looking for a one-stop solution when it comes to their buying experience and if a business boasts of very limited buying options, customers are bound to go for an option that offers a wider range of products and services.

It is important to understand that technology makes people lazy and it is this laziness that businesses must strive on and cater to. Limited buying options therefore make customers question and subsequently change their choice.

7. Growing competition

With the endless options being made available in the market concerning any form of product or service, eCommerce stores have to constantly be on their toes and try to upgrade their buying experiences for the customers.

Customers now have the option to switch to a different seller when the buying experience or product does not meet their expectations and it is this surplus availability of choice that makes them go for a better option and ditch one particular business for another.

8. The lack of value to customer loyalty

Customer loyalty must be appreciated and fed upon. The lack of value attributed to the loyalty of customers who choose you over and over again will eventually lead them to leave you and go for the tons of other options in the market waiting for them.

7 steps to increase revenue from retention marketing

Since retention marketing is far more cost-saving and highly efficient than other forms of marketing, let us now discuss a few ways by which revenue can be increased via Retention Marketing.

1. Enhance customer experience

Improving customer retention is all about how you can improve customer experience and buying journey, whether it could be responding to customer queries quickly, helping them buy the best product, or providing them valuable after-sales services.

The best way to retain customers is by ensuring that the customers are met with a great buying experience. A smooth experience with fast delivery of good quality products and services will instantly buy one a loyal customer and this is the first step one needs to follow to make full use of retention marketing.

Looking at the whole experience from the perspective of the customer and providing the experience that you would want will automatically bless you with a loyal customer.

2. Respond to customer queries quickly

Do you know that responding to customers’ queries quickly can improve scalability and satisfaction leading customers to take action quickly?

Offering immediate solutions for any buying problem that the customers might have faced is an efficient way to retain customers who are left satisfied with the quick fix they are provided with despite the problem they might have been met with.

3. Anticipate customer needs

When a business already establishes a set of retained customers, the best way to keep them loyal is by anticipating their future needs and making leeway for it then itself.

Meeting the needs of customers even before they voice them will ensure they choose their trusted products over and over again.

4. Reward fidelity

The best way to show loyal customers that they are valued is by rewarding their loyalty. Giving extra points or discounts to customers who purchase regularly is the best way to show them they are valued and offering new opportunities will keep them coming back to your store.

Giving them something exclusive makes them feel more engaged and secure with you.

5. Make meaningful relationships

Making and retaining meaningful relationships with customers who support businesses from their onset is the best way to retain them. Online engagement with regular customers must be prioritized to ensure that they stay loyal to the business.

6. Stand up for what is right

Customers should always be remembered and considered as active, living, thinking individuals and one’s business, not just a passive mode of livelihood but an active platform to stand up for what is right.

Businesses must stand up for causes that their customers believe in and show solidarity with their beliefs.

7. Collect customer feedback

Knowing customer feedback or thoughts on your product and improving it according to their needs helps you increase customer retention and grow revenue from retention marketing.

Collection of feedback regularly will ensure that one lives up to the expectations of one’s customers. Customers, in any business, are equivalent to God and it is every business’ business to serve them come what may.

The most important thing to do is, therefore, to keep customers happy.

8. Boost customer loyalty with Shopify apps

Boost customer loyalty with exclusive discounts using the best Shopify discount apps available on Shopify app store. Tailor special offers to reward repeat purchases, making customers feel valued and strengthening their bond with your brand.

A reliable discount app streamlines the process for a seamless experience, benefiting both you and your customers.

How do you measure your customer retention rate?

Customer retention rate is the value of customers who choose to stay and choose one business over others for a prolonged period.

The values required for the calculation of customer retention are– a fixed period, the number of buyers at the beginning (S), the number of buyers at the end (E), and the number of new buyers (N) for that period.

The mathematical formula for the exact calculation of this value is - [(E-N)/S]x100. The result is always in percentage. For example, if the fixed period is a year, the number of buyers in the beginning is 10, new buyers are 4, and the number of buyers at the end is 12, the value goes thus– [(12-4)/10x100]= 80%.

Improve your customer retention strategy through Chatix

If you are ready to build a strong customer relationship using WhatsApp Chat, Chatix is just for you.

Chatix is a top-rated Shopify app for WhatsApp chat and abandoned cart recovery. it turns your WhatsApp channel into an upselling marketing strategy.

Send bulk messages to your user contact list using WhatsApp Business API, boost customer satisfaction by offering quick support, and broadcast them through automation, Chatix has you covered.

In simple terms, promote products, engage with customers, boost traffic, retain customers, and increase your revenue.

💡 Also read: Best WhatsApp automation tools

Final thoughts

With the growing competition in interesting times today, one must retain customers and practice retention marketing.

There are many reasons why customers are making the conscious choice of not sticking to one brand or business for a particular product or service.

However, if necessary measures are taken, customers might further consciously choose to trust a brand and become their loyal customers. Building customer loyalty is not on one-time process, it takes time and continual efforts to build relationships with customers faster.

When this choice is made possible, retention marketing, which is twice as profitable as other forms of marketing, is deemed successful.