As the economy begins to recover many retailers are reflecting on the past year and considering focus areas where they can grow their business. A recent survey commissioned by CouriersPlease revealed that 52 per cent of retailers named sales as their number one priority, and understandably so — more sales equates to a direct increase in cash flow. However, if retailers want to increase sales permanently, as opposed to a short-lived boost, investing in long term customer retention and satisfaction strategies is crucial.
Good sales retention means developing and maintaining relationships with your customers, long after they purchase a product, generating loyalty in your brand. Repeat purchasers, who already know and love your brand, tend to buy more often and spend more than newer customers. Additionally, they’re more likely to recommend you to their friends and family, generating new sales completely organically.
When looking to increase sales, retention should be your number one priority. Here’s three strategies you can easily implement to help create a seamless shopping experience for your customers and keep them coming back.
Optimise your order fulfilment
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that consumer demands are changing and it’s imperative that retailers adapt to meet them. Following the uproar generated by Aussies waiting multiple months to receive their orders due to the unprecedented surge in online retail, we know consumers have very little patience for delayed deliveries. A focus on the last mile strategy is vital. In fact, shipping times are often the deciding factor when choosing which retailer to buy from.
Retailers should consider stocking with warehousing and order fulfillment providers to ensure products can be picked, packaged, and delivered as quickly as possible. eStore Logistics’ best in class warehousing helps remove the guesswork and offers optimised fulfilment and delivery services. This includes flexible delivery options such as 4pm cut off for same day shipping, same day delivery, express deliveries, parcel collection locations that are open after hours and parcel redirection. eStore Logistics is also at the forefront of innovation and is constantly seeking out new ways to satisfy customers. One being the recent rollout of hundreds of autonomous mobile robots — all for the purpose of accelerating the packaging and delivering process hugely.
Offer customers a subscription
In a subscription-based business model, customers are required to pay recurring fees at continuous intervals. By encouraging them to subscribe to your retail site, you’re giving them incentive to continue shopping with you. Subscribers benefit from the perks and you can forecast profit further into the future based on the number of members using your service. Kogan’s First Membership is a good example of this and reveals again the importance of free, speedy delivery as it tends to be a huge driver and highly considered factor when signing up. Kogan First Members have access to free delivery on thousands of eligible products and upgrades to express shipping at no extra cost.
Create a simplified shopping experience
As online retail continues to rapidly grow, in many ways you’re competing for who can offer the best digital experience. A user-friendly and easily navigable website will add credibility to your brand and keep customers coming back. With that in mind, remove all distractions from your website and simplify the process as much as possible.
Additionally, as people become more reliant on their phones and are exploring new brands through social media, building a strong mobile site and creating active social channels will help you meet your customers where they are.
While sales should be a vital consideration for growing your business — it’s imperative to strip this back and build a strong customer base first. Last mile delivery options, subscription models and simplified and seamless shopping experiences are just a few of the ways you can increase customer retention, ensuring your brand is always the first port of call.
Leigh Williams is CEO and founder of eStore Logistics