E-commerce loyalty program: How to attract and retain clients in logistics
To attract and retain clients in logistics is not easy. For this reason, logistics companies often provide loyalty programs to demonstrate the value of included services and benefits.
E-commerce enables companies to extend their physical customer service and support into a virtual environment. It has changed the conventional way of doing business today, and gives businesses access to more clients in the supply chain, procurement, distribution, and transportation management as many products are being sold online.
However, there are many e-commerce business owners trying to survive in an increasingly competitive industry thanks to the popularity of online businesses, and virtually infinite potential customers for every product available.
As a result, sites like Yalantis.com have emerged, offering solutions to tackle those challenges facing e-commerce businesses. Here are their tops to help you increase customer loyalty.
Be transparent on shipping prices and conditions
You should always be transparent about shipping prices and conditions with your customers. Because of the huge number of e-commerce stores in almost every online market, it is important to gain clients’ loyalty by providing exceptional customer support and clear information about how your business works.
You should also be honest about product features. Never sell a product or service if its quality cannot match its price. Truthfulness when doing business is especially important when you are selling online as an e-commerce business, and customers can’t visit your store, touch and sample products, nor physical meet you and ask you questions directly.
So the more open you are with details about how your business works, and the easier you make it for customers to find this information, the more they’ll trust you – and the more likely they are to buy and recommend you. Live up to your promises and you’ll also build ongoing relationships with `a loyal customer base, too.
So think about any questions customers may have about ordering and receiving your products or services, and ensure this information is comprehensive and easily found on your website. Then ensure that you live up to the promises you make there.
Offer as many options as your customers need
Keeping your clients informed about all products or services available to them will enable them to choose from different offerings that suit their needs and preferences.
Make sure you offer a wide range of product categories and brands so your customers can have a more comprehensive choice, instead of limiting them by just offering one product or service type.
Ensure too that you provide plenty of information about each choice, so they can differentiate between them and decide which is right for them. And group them in a logical way that makes it easy for customers to find what they need, and understand the differences between them.
Simply having variety for the sake of it, without clear differentiation could just lead to paralysis of choice, and lead customers to make no decision – and therefore no purchase.
Choose the best shipping partners and logistic tools
You’ve already outlined your shipping promises – now make sure you live up to them by choosing shipping partners and logistic tools that you can trust. After all, it’s no good making sure you fulfil the promises you make to customers if your products arrive late or damaged. Or are delivered to the wrong address.
It may not be your fault if a third party messes up an order, but your customer will hold you accountable, after all their contract is with you. So if you use a shipping partner who continually disappoints, it’s you who will lose business and goodwill.
And not just your shipping partners – you actually need to process a transaction to get to that point. And again, if your e-commerce payment gateway is difficult to use or unreliable, customers will hold your business accountable and choose to take their order elsewhere. They also will be unlikely to recommend you or buy from you again.
Think about your returns policy
Being transparent with return policies will earn your customers’ trust and build a strong relationship between you and them. So ensure you have a strategy for handling returns for clients or potential buyers before launching your e-commerce business.
Many customers will check out a website’s returns policy before buying, needing reassurance that they have recourse if the purchase isn’t right. So include the details of your return policy in any e-mail promotional materials so that your potential clients will receive before they decide to buy from you, and ensure it’s easy to find on your website.
How to increase customer loyalty via email
There are a number of ways you can increase customer loyalty by email.
Trigger letters
The first is by using trigger letters. Trigger letters are used in email marketing to increase product awareness and sell products to your clients or potential buyers.
You can use them by sending out email promotional material, for example, about holiday season sales with links to the latest products available on sale at that time.
Wishlist triggers
According to research into e-commerce loyalty programs, potential customers tend to put products that they are interested in on their wishlist. And you can use this information as a trigger letter.
The wishlist triggers function reminds customers of the product they added to their wishlist, based on time or date parameters. You can also add a message letting customers know why they should buy the item from your store instead of a competitor’s online store, and redirect them back to your e-commerce site for further details.
Emails with educational content
Educational emails are a great way to maintain customer loyalty in an e-commerce business because they allow your customers to learn more about and keep up with the latest developments of your business and offering.
The more you know about your customers and what problems they are trying to solve the better, as you can share genuinely interesting and useful information with them, building your know, like trust factor over time.
Gamification and loyalty programs
Gamification and loyalty programs are also essential in e-commerce because they keep your customers engaged with their account details and make them feel more important than just another anonymous customer.
Omnichannel engagement
Omnichannel engagement is an e-commerce tool that can be your guide to online sales, product awareness, and brand promotion.
The possibilities of using omnichannel engagement for loyalty and sales are endless, as long as there’s a device or gadget available for Internet connection. Omnichannel engagement can be used in mail campaigns. The big question you need to ask yourself here is how you can make customers feel more important and valued, trigger them when they are not online, and increase sales of the products they want to buy.
Welcome-chain
Welcome-chain is a trigger letter used as an e-commerce loyalty program because it encourages your clients to go back to the store and check out their accounts.
Welcome chain triggers are usually sent after purchasing at your online store. If you send this type of trigger letter, customers should access their account status and see details about shipping, tracking, and other important information. Sending welcome-chain triggers can also encourage potential customers to buy more from you in the future.
In conclusion, having an e-commerce loyalty program can help you win your customers’ trust and increase your online sales. Consultation, analysis, and research are a must before starting an e-Commerce business to ensure that everything will run fine during the first year of its operation.
