How to convert visitors into customers.

It’s quite common for eCommerce merchants to go through so much effort (and spend a large amount of money) to acquire new customers. Yet, they completely ignore their existing customer base. This is simply bad business practice as you’ve already gone through the trouble to acquire them in the first place.

Your post-purchase interaction with your customers is vital if you want to build long-term relationships with them. And this is where a loyalty and rewards program can help you both engage and retain your customers so that they return again and again.

Studies show that people who have had a positive experience in their initial interactions with a company are more likely to purchase from that company again (as compared to people who have had negative experiences).

Customer loyalty is the lifeblood of any long-term, sustainable business.

One of the most overlooked aspects of digital marketing is customer loyalty. Sure, getting new customers to visit your Shopify store is important, but what about keeping them coming back?

Customer loyalty is the lifeblood of any long-term, sustainable business. Why? Because if you have loyal customers who are happy doing business with you and promote your products because they love them, you won’t have to spend as much on customer acquisition efforts. In other words, customer loyalty is often more cost-effective than new customer acquisition!

Having a loyal customer base will allow for better service and more effective marketing. If people are coming back for more because they love your products and trust your brand, then you can focus on creating awesome experiences for them when they visit or make a purchase from your website. When people talk about great customer service or a positive experience with a brand online, it builds trust and reputation which pays off in the long run by attracting even more customers.

Over 77% of your business growth can come from your current customer base. By growing your brand with loyalty and rewards, you will increase repeat purchases, encourage word-of-mouth marketing, and improve your customer lifetime value.

As a business owner, you know it’s cheaper to keep your current customers than acquire new ones. And the fact that your current customers already trust you makes it easier for them to buy from you again. Over 77% of your business growth can come from your current customer base. By growing your brand with loyalty and rewards, you will increase repeat purchases, encourage word-of-mouth marketing, and improve your customer lifetime value.

Before we get into how to create a loyalty program in Shopify that helps grow your business, let’s review some of the key benefits:

You can make more money per sale by adding additional items to the sale and offering discounts on those products or services;
You can reduce shopping cart abandonment by offering incentives (like rewards points) when items are left in carts;
You can get discounts on shipping when you shop in bulk;
Loyalty Points for birthdays and anniversaries to drive more business and customer loyalty.
You can help reach out to different segments of their market using different strategies;
You can drive more traffic to their website by providing coupons and other valuable offers to visitors;
The loyalty program is accessible through the customer account page on your website, which makes it easy for customers to see how many points they have and how close they are to redeeming a reward.
Shopify customers can earn points for various activities, such as making purchases and referring new customers. Once they’ve accumulated enough points, they can redeem them for rewards.
Reward programs allow you to collect customer data to improve your marketing efforts.

With a rewards program in place, you’re looking at increasing your sales and repeat purchases by 10-50%.

When customers are part of a loyalty program:

They spend more per visit (up to 10% more).
They become repeat customers (repeat purchase rate increases by 20-40%).
They spread the word about your store.

Preventing churn with a loyalty program is easier than trying to get people back after they leave. The benefits of building long-term relationships with customers are endless.

It is much easier to retain a customer than it is to get someone back after they leave. A loyal customer will refer their friends and family—and best of all, they’re more profitable. The cost of acquiring a new customer is 5x – 8x more expensive than the cost of retaining an existing one… so how do you prevent churn?

A loyalty program is the easiest way to keep your customers engaged and happy. It makes it easy for them to earn rewards, which in turn entices them to stick around longer. It’s an investment that pays off in dividends because once your customers are hooked, they’ll spend more money with your store and bring in even more customers.

Instead of relying solely on how well you drive traffic to the site to measure your success, reward points can measure actions that translate into brand loyalty and advocacy.

Using a rewards app allows merchants to track the types of customers they’re drawing in. Instead of relying solely on how well you drive traffic to the site to measure your success, reward points can measure actions that translate into brand loyalty and advocacy. These are the types of customers you want so your business can grow.

Consider the following:

The percentage of your buyers that are repeat purchasers
The percentage of your buyers that are referral sources
The percentage of customers who sign up for the rewards program
The popularity of social media posts about your store or specific items, like products used in a tutorial or featured on a blog post
Percentage of customers who have given you a good review

Implementing a rewards program means you don’t need to invest as much in marketing because happy customers will do it for you. Good reviews can boost sales by 18%.

When your customers are happy, they’ll gladly tell their friends and family about your business.

You want to hear comments like “I bought this from [Brand]” or “[Brand] has the best customer service.”

You can even ask customers for reviews, but it’s also important to make sure you’re responding and asking for reviews with tact. You don’t want to force people into writing a review that isn’t authentic or would be unfavorable.

A recent survey found that good reviews significantly boost sales: 18%.

Did you know that loyalty programs provide merchants with valuable insights into their customers’ needs and what motivates them to engage? This allows re-targeting of campaigns to drive more engagement from inactive members, or focus efforts elsewhere if the program isn’t converting well.

t’s possible that these customers want to earn points they can redeem for dollars off their next purchase. By enabling this option in your loyalty program, you can increase the value of your rewards at no cost to you.

Loyalty apps have an average conversion rate of 20%, which is double the average conversion rate of most eCommerce stores (10%).

Conversion Rate Optimization is the process of increasing your website’s conversion rate from visitors to customers. It promotes a specific action by a user on your site – like signing up for an email list or making a purchase.
Loyalty programs increase customer retention and brand loyalty. They also increase purchasing, often by 10-50%. Furthermore, they can increase the average order value by as much as 20% or more.
You’ll probably notice that many of these benefits overlap with how to convert visitors into customers. That’s because they do! It’s all connected: getting more people to purchase will result in more return purchases, which will help you retain those customers – and lead them to spread the word about your shop.

Want more traffic to your Shopify store?

Don’t focus on the short term.

This is the most important lesson that you as a small business owner need to keep in mind.

When you focus on building a business, on building a community, on building relationships, and not just on selling something today, you will win in the long run.

Think about this for a second:

What are good businesses built upon?

Are they built upon getting people to buy $30 t-shirts once? Or are they built upon the ability to build relationships with customers and to sell $30 t-shirts over and over again?

In a nutshell, this means taking the time to learn about your potential customer’s needs and the lifetime value they bring to your business.

That way, your store will be able to cater to the specific needs of your target audience and provide for their unique preferences.

We live in a world filled with noise, ever-expanding opportunities to spend your hard-earned money, and a plethora of digital distractions. Therefore, the easier it is for customers to demonstrate their loyalty to you, the more likely they will feel comfortable spending money with you. Loyalty programs boost your conversion by giving customers the ability to earn rewards that matter. By effectively communicating the value, you will create a more trusted and inviting online environment.

Understanding your customer and providing rewards is key to any loyalty program. Knowing who your loyal customers are, how they shop, what they want and how they want it helps you set up rewards that will get them spending more (and more often).

Customers who subscribe for rewards build a stronger connection to the brand. It’s sort of like relationship building in that sense. We do more business with people we are much more comfortable with because we know there are certain perks attached to it.

To Conclude…..

As it turns out, rewards and loyalty programs can be a lucrative part of marketing strategy if used properly and carefully. Because they do serve as a retention tactic like customer service, they shouldn’t be seen in isolation. Customer loyalty should always be a part of an integrated marketing strategy.

In the end, loyalty and rewards can help drive sales, boost brand loyalty, and create customer satisfaction.

So, if you put in place these strategies and tactics, then your customers will love you because of your unique loyalty program. All the customers being loyal to you mean that they’ll spend more money for you. And trust me, every entrepreneur wants to find a great way to build their business and make it grow, and the oodles app is a great way to start your Loyalty & Rewards program.