Creating Customer Loyalty: Hooray, you made a sale! Now what?
So you made a sale! Congrats! It’s time to break out the champagne, sit back, and bask in your newfound wealth… right?
Wrong.
Keeping your customers engaged is how you create repeat purchases, and repeat purchases are the name of the game. But how, exactly, do you keep your customers engaged long-term?
Send a loyalty message to your biggest fans
Simply saying “thank you” is an extremely effective way to show your customers how much you care, and by showing them you care, your customers will feel appreciated and come back for more lovin’.
Use purchase data to figure out who your best customers are. This could be based upon total spend, how often they purchase, or whether or not they buy certain high-end products or brands.
In the message itself, include some copy that really shows your appreciation. “We think you’re great” or “Thanks for being so amazing” will demonstrate your love. You can even take it a step further and give them an exclusive gift or discount, just for being so darn special.
Hint: we normally send loyalty or “thank you” messages three days after a purchase, as long as you’re also immediately sending an e-receipt or order confirmation email.
Send a win-back message to those who may have forgotten you
Saying “I miss you” always makes people feel cherished. If you find yourself losing customers after a period of time, then a win-back campaign is a good tactic to reel them back in before it’s too late.
Take a look at your customer life-cycle metrics to determine when your customers usually drop off. You’ll want to send your win-back campaign before that point. Hint: if you’re not sure where your drop-off point is, we normally default to somewhere between 90- and 180-days of lapsed purchase activity.
When it comes to content, let your customers know how much you miss them with some sweet and caring language. Lead them back to your site to show them what they’ve been missing with a call-to-action to see what’s new, and display new arrivals with personalized product recommendations.
And the best way to get them back? Offer a promotion that’s better than the norm. If a 10% off sale is regular fare for your brand, test out 15 or 20% with your win-back campaign to see if you get a lift. If you offer free shipping every day, offer free 2-day. Remember: it’s cheaper and easier to sell to current customers than to find new ones, so do what it takes to keep them buying.
Send a review request message if you love feedback
Decision-making is hard, and buyer’s remorse stinks. That’s why we rely on our peers’ advice before we take a leap and make a purchase decision.
After your customer has had some time to enjoy their most recent purchase, drop them a message encouraging them to leave a review. Hint: we normally send review request messages 7-14 days after your customer’s order has shipped, but you should customize this for your products and your shipping speed.
In the message, make sure the copy thanks the customer for purchasing in the first place and hopes that they’re enjoying their item. Then encourage them to leave a review of their purchase in order to help their peers make a decision.
Test, test, test!
On my Listrak Professional Services team, we rely on best-practice data to help us make campaign recommendations. For your brand, however, take the initiative to run split-tests (for 90-days on automated campaigns, minimum!) to determine what content, timing, and discounting works best for your audience.
Which post-purchase campaign do you think you’ll try next? Sound off below!
By Alicia Morrissey, Listrak Professional Services Copywriter
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