Six things you need to do if you want to turn an Etsy customer into a repeat client
Love to increase your sales for your Etsy store? Here’s how to turn a new customer into a loyal fan – and repeat business.
Winning a new customer is one of the most challenging jobs in retail. So once a new customer makes an initial purchase from your Etsy store, you really need to do something special to keep them around.
After all, you are never going to build a successful business working hard to continually attract new customers, who disappear forever after making their one purchase.
This is why customer loyalty is so essential if you want to be a successful Etsy seller. But how do you achieve it? Ultimately, it is about exceptional customer service – but let’s break this down into some tangible strategies.
1) Know your customer
Taking time to understand your customers’ needs is the first and most important step to client retention.
How would you want to be treated by your business? Getting to know what service would fulfil expectation but also delight is going to make all the difference.
It is a bit like treating every person who buys from you as your friend. You want them to feel that personal connection with your brand, and that comes from making them feel important and valued.
Begin by thinking what information your buyers will find helpful if they make a purchase. For instance, if you are selling something high value that would last longer with certain care, then offer product care guidance with your sale.
2) Avoid errors
Making a mistake on a sale to a new customer can be very costly. After all, there are so many other online stores they can but from, what would they put up with a mistake from you?
If they’re a first-time customer you haven’t won their loyalty yet, so they are unlikely to give you a second chance.
This is why attention to detail is one of the essentials for garnering loyalty. So double-check everything, including small things like the spelling of a name. Then, when you know you have posted the right item to the right person by the right time, put a little thank you note into the package too. Attention to detail is your best friend.
3) Always learn
Setting up your Etsy store can be a challenge. Early customer interactions may have been rocky, and you had to act on instinct. The trick to sustaining a loyal client base is iteration.
You need to be able to take every experience and learn from it, and assess what this means for your approach to business from this moment forward.
If you have a difficult customer who is never going to come back, note down what happened and what you learnt from it. And most importantly of all, think: what would I do differently next time?
4) Communicate
Quickly responding to a customer’s enquiry is essential. The longer you leave it, the less likely they are to use you again or follow through with the sale. Getting the Sell on Etsy mobile app could really help you stay on top of your communication.
However, before you rush out a response at the checkout, remember the tone and content of that message could win or lose the day too. Your answer needs to be thoughtful and to address the enquiry being made thoroughly.
Often, enquiries will be about when an item will arrive. Therefore, using a tracked post is essential. You need to be able to say when and with what provider the package will arrive. You should be able to say: “Your package was dispatched on Friday and the courier company is expected to deliver on Saturday afternoon.”
5) Build your tribe
Finally, it helps significantly if you build a community of customers. Gathering a group of people together who follow your progress will take time, but it’s worth the effort.
You will need to use social media wisely and other marketing touches, but ultimately, you want your customers to be your word of mouth. You want them to feel so part of your journey that they recommend you at every opportunity.
A great way to build that emotional connection is to let them see behind the scenes, and helping them emotionally connect with your enterprise and you.
6) Make the most of what you have
When it comes to posting out your customer’s purchased product, make the most of it. You could simply send out a plain cardboard box and protective peanuts, and perhaps that’s what your no-nonsense audience is searching for.
However, if you sell, for example, bath bombs, you might think to include colour coordinated shredded paper and a note of well wishes for a relaxing evening.
Similarly, if you sell scrunchies and hair accessories, packaging your product in printed tissue paper and sealed with a sticker bearing your business’s logo, you might find your customer more enamoured with your brand.
Look after your customers – and they’ll come back to you
Overall, it’s important to simply be aware of your customers as individuals and that your relationship with them is personal, whether that is something you enjoy or not.
Communicating effectively, going the extra mile and making them feel like they are part of a community are all important facets in retaining happy customers.
Laura McLoughlin is a Digital PR based in Armagh, Northern Ireland. She has previous experience as a website editor and journalist. She currently works with Loadzalabels.
