Knowing they can expect a satisfying experience, return customers make purchases 90% more than new customers. Here’s how to boost the community of return customers.
Brand loyalty is an essential component for generating consistent revenue. Repeat business generates 65% of revenue for most companies because current customers are already familiar with a brand’s processes and experience less friction throughout the purchase journey.
Knowing they can expect a satisfying experience, return customers make purchases 90% more than new customers, specifically. Why the difference? Because new customers are gambling on a brand they don’t know, whereas repeat customers expect the same level of service.
Retailers face a daunting challenge of meeting current customer expectations and cultivating new relationships so first-timers transform into loyal customers. The following strategies can help.
Generate rich product content
More than 80% of online shoppers prioritize product content over brand recognition. High-quality, accurate product content is crucial for providing an informative customer experience because it reduces the likelihood of negative surprises.
Customers rely heavily on product descriptions, features, images, specs, and reviews. 95% of customers read online reviews — use them to your advantage! If your content fails, you’re more likely to generate poor reviews. Plus, over 50% of people will pay more when they see a majority of positive reviews.
Retailers should be aware of common product display page (PDP) pitfalls that turn customers away. Pain points frustrated customers have identified include:
● Lack of product videos.
● Poorly written, incomplete product descriptions.
● Few (or no) product images — or low-quality product images.
● Failure to highlight why consumers would want to associate with your brand and its values.
Poor quality product information potentially dissuades customers from making a purchase. To avoid turning away customers, retailers must deliver relevant, informative, high-quality content on every product detail page.
Maximize search engine optimization
Organic search provides an essential traffic source, and retailers must treat it as such. It’s responsible for 32% of overall monthly traffic. “Digital browsing” is similar to foot traffic outside a brick-and-mortar store, which draws people in by its window displays.
Brands can improve their organic traffic by investing in search engine optimization (SEO) which:
● Improves website quality by boosting its position in search results.
● Helps customers find what they need by showing them the most relevant results.
● Increases website authority with search engines.
● Maximizes product display pages through long-tail and short-tail product descriptions.
● Boosts brand results over competitors looking to co-opt keywords.
Bolstering SEO is vital in building a long-term strategy to meet customer needs. When customers can find what they’re searching for easily, they develop a sense of trust and reliance on that brand. When they need to make their next purchase, it’s more likely that the brand comes to the top of their mind. Regularly updating product descriptions improves search results and increases customer engagement by directing customers to the proper resources and boosting overall website traffic. Brands wanting to maximize their visibility and steer customers in the right direction cannot afford to ignore SEO.
Offer real-time inventory visibility
There’s nothing more frustrating than preparing to checkout, only to learn that the item is out of stock. Yet while nearly 50% of retailers recognize the value of enhanced inventory visibility to provide a better customer experience, fewer than 40% offer basic inventory availability on their product pages.
This disconnect is dangerous for brands and retailers. Customers verifying inventory are likely close to making purchase. However, if they can’t find accurate, up-to-date product content — including inventory availability — they’re more likely to purchase from a retailer that provides more accurate updates.
When customers know they can rely on accurate inventory visibility, they’re more likely to make a repeat purchase with the same retailer. Improving real-time inventory visibility strengthens the trust between customers and retailers while also:
● Generating higher consumer confidence in purchasing decisions.
● Producing fewer images with stockouts.
● Reducing brand reputation damage.
● Shrinking the number of incomplete sales. In 2021, out-of-stock/out-of-shelf items resulted in nearly 10% of incompleted sales, costing retailers $82 billion.
By bolstering e-commerce strategies, brands have the power to grow new and strengthen existing relationships with customers. With 77% of customers recommending a brand to a friend after a single positive experience, brands failing to provide a positive customer experience leave profits on the table. To truly maximize the customer experience, brands should deliver rich product content, improve their SEO practices and increase transparency into real-time inventory visibility.
Randy is an omnichannel product content expert with over 15 years of industry experience. He leads 1WorldSync’s global product management and solution architecture teams, aligning the company’s portfolio with current customer needs and emerging market trends. A frequent commentator for national and trade media outlets covering retail and e-commerce news, Randy leverages his extensive background in item data and content alignment, e-commerce application development and solution design to guide 1WorldSync’s strategic product roadmap and vision.
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