How can we increase traffic to an online shop? This is a question that never gets old. And we all know that this is only half the battle. Once visitors visit your online shop, we need to convert them to buyers. Furthermore, as soon as visitors buy something, you also need to start thinking about how to bring them back to your shop.
It is no secret that repeat business is essential to surviving in the competitive eCommerce landscape.
For that reason, I am going to share 3 strategies, which can help tempt first-time buyers to buy again in your Online Shop
1. Make confirmation emails as personalized as you can
By now, you may have emulated other online shops, and implemented some sort of confirmation email which your buyers get when they submit an order. As someone who regularly buys online, I have noticed that a lot of these emails look depressingly similar; in other words, they are often very generic and, honestly, kind of boring and forgettable.
This prompted me to start looking more closely at the structure of confirmation emails and three days ago, when I bought a new watch, I was delighted to get a confirmation email which was both very unique and interactive.
So, what happens when you get too many generic emails? They get opened, closed and deleted once the order has been received.
But what if I told you that a confirmation email can be crucial in helping first-time buyers come back to your online shop?
Here are some suggestions:
Personalization matters, so make confirmation emails personalized
Include the customer name in the salutation and express your gratitude for the order. Furthermore, let your gratitude be expressed through either discounts or earned store credits.
As you want to tempt your first time buyers to come back to your store as soon as possible, make sure your discounts or earned points have an expiration date. This will create a sense of urgency, which will help return first-time buyer to your online shop.
Why not familiarize buyers with other products you offer?
How about including other recommended products in the confirmation email that shoppers may not be aware of? Products, which complement purchased items can be a great way to introduce your first-time buyer to the wider range of products you offer in your online shop. And as such, give them more reasons to come back.
2. Ask First-time Buyers to review the item they bought in your Online Shop
As mentioned above, creativity matters even when we speak about autoresponder campaigns. As you might have guessed by now, I am not a fan of generic emails and this includes review requests. I get too many of them and they all look almost exactly the same.
So, when sending a product review-request email, be creative!
Include your mission and vision in the email. In order to differentiate your emails from others, why not include a few sentences about your mission and vision. What is the story of your company? What higher motivation do you have beyond making profit?
Stories can be very powerful. By sharing your story about your online shop, you will help your buyers to identify with your brand. Once you have a message that resonates with them not only will they be willing to review your products but they will also feel more connected to your shop and more likely to make a subsequent purchase in your online shop.
Furthermore, the email that is requesting a review should be personalized and customized to the purchase. The email content should be written so it is clear you are genuinely interested in a buyer’s opinion. It is highly recommended to offer rewards in return for a written review.
This way, not only will you show your buyers that you appreciate their opinion, but you will also give them another reason to come back to your online shop.
3. Re-order reminder in an Online Shop
Re-order reminders can be applied to online shops which sell products that are consumed on a regular basis.
For example, if you sell products for personal care, the re-order reminder can be a great way to turn your first-time buyers into repeat buyers. Customers will also often be grateful that you reminded them to purchase the products again.
Just imagine that you are about to put night cream on the face, and then realize the tube is empty. Or even worse, you realize that you have just run out of pet food and now you have a hungry animal to contend with! By sending a reminder, you are going to help customers avoid such situations as well as ensure a steady stream of orders for your business.
How should you run a re-order reminder in an online shop?
Well, you can simply integrate this email into your existing automated email campaigns that you already have in your online shop.
Furthermore, to make this even more enticing, you can offer a discount this will tempt buyers even more to reorder ahead of time and thus avoid running out.
So, these are few strategies you can apply in your online shop. Let me know if you have tried any of these and what results they had!
