3 Ways to Increase Repeat Purchases on Your Online Store
It can cost five times more to get a new customer than to keep an old one. This is a pretty good reason to invest more of your time in keeping your current customers happy. Read this blog post and learn three effective ways to increase repeat purchases.
Driving traffic to your online store is vital for you to stay afloat. That’s why merchants tend to invest a lot in awareness campaigns to attract more new potential clients. However, when you’re already generating some sales, the game changes a little. Then, the key to having a successful online store is not getting more new customers - it’s having repeat customers.
Why You Should Invest in Keeping Your Customers
Research by sixads reveals that 75.68% of the total revenue to Shopify stores comes from direct traffic. That’s a huge share!
This number suggests that people are most likely to buy from the brands that they’re already familiar with. What’s also interesting is that direct traffic accounts only for 24.30% of the total traffic. What if online stores had more direct traffic? Do you see where we’re going?
It’s more profitable to retain old customers than to get new ones. In fact, it can cost 5 times more to get a new customer than it does to keep an old one. Who wouldn’t want to use their budget 5 times more effectively?
Building a base of loyal customers is literally worth it. You can start doing it today! Let’s have a look at three proven ways to increase repeat purchases.
1. Work on Your Email Marketing
One way to encourage repeat purchases is to work on your email marketing strategy. For example, you can set up automated emails that will be sent to your customers after they purchase something from your store.
The purpose of such automated emails is to cross-sell a product that complements your customer’s recent purchase.
Here are three main ways how you can segment your customers according to their purchase behavior:
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Product category
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Price range
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Date of purchase
It’s important to have your customers sorted out according to these three segments to make sure you send them relevant offers.
Email marketing requires some effort, but it’s well worth it. If you look at the ROI (return on investment) from different marketing channels - email is on top of the list!
Image source: omnisend
The average ROI on email marketing is a whopping $40! This means that if you spend one dollar on email marketing, you will, on average, earn $40 from it.
So, roll up your sleeves, get those customers segmented, and see the repeat purchases flowing in!
2. Set Up a Referral Program
Some of your happy customers might already be telling their friends and family about you, but others might need a little push.
That’s why a second way to get more repeat customers is to set up a referral program.
A referral program (or campaign) is a standardized way to encourage customers to invite other people to check out your products or services.
To get as many customers on board, you need to have clear referral incentives (rewards for referring your brand).
Here are some examples of referral incentives you could use:
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Discount coupons
Works very well if your referrers are likely to make a repeat purchase.
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Cash
A good choice if your advocates are less likely to buy from you again but still can influence others to do so.
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Free subscription
With more online businesses working on a subscription model, a free month is an attractive offer for a successful referral.
Learn how you can run a successful refer-a-friend programme with this guide from Mention Me.
3. Be Smart with Chatbots
Chatbot apps can also help you improve customer experience and, as a result, increase repeat purchases. Below are some ways you can use a chatbot app to encourage your customers to buy more.
Personalize your welcome messages
A personalized welcome back message can go a long way. For example, you could include the name of the customer and reassure them that they can get help anytime. It's a simple yet effective way to get a little closer to your customers and show that you’re there to clear any doubts.
Introduce your latest products
Have new items on your store that your returning customers might be interested in? Let them know of your newest products in your chatbot message!
Give special offers
Another way to use chatbots is to give offers to your returning visitors. For example, you could write scripts that ask customers a couple of questions to create contact with them and then smoothly offer a discount in a way that feels personalized and special, as if this chatbox message is the only place where they can get that discount.
Pro tip: for an even more enticing discount, tailor it according to the product page your customers are browsing. This may be the final push they need to make a purchase!
To Wrap it Up
There are more ways to increase repeat purchases, however, if you focus on too many things at once, it’s likely that you’ll find yourself lost. So, start with smart email marketing. Then, give a reason to spread a word of mouth about your brand with a referral program. Lastly, use a chatbot to make sure you’re not leaving your potential repeat customers hanging. Once you’ve got these three bases covered and see your customers coming back, you can look for other ways to entice them even more. But, for now, start with segmenting your emails and you’ll be more than good!
About Julija
Julija Televiciute is the Head of Content Marketing at sixads, an app that provides ad exchange and ad automation services for online stores. Specialized in copywriting, social media, and dog memes, she helps businesses get creative with ideas for content that creates value and sells.