In this age of the connected customer, it can be difficult to foster loyalty and gain repeat shoppers. However, it’s a challenge retailers should put effort into overcoming, because loyal customers are worth more to your business since, over the course of a year, the average return customer spends over 120 percent more than new customers. In order to tap into this profit, here are three marketing strategies that can help you gain more loyal customers:
1. Offer exclusive promotions to social media followers and email subscribers
When thinking about promotions, don’t email blast your entire customer base. We’ve all received the 30% off email that practically begs us for our business, and desperation isn’t attractive. An alternative to promotional spam is a promotion for a specific network or event, as 33% of consumers have acted on a promotion on a brand’s social media page. Consider an Instagram only Valentine’s Day promotion - when your followers see that they didn’t see the promotion on your other social media channels, they might follow you just in case you have a Memorial Day promotion.
Since 85 percent of consumers prefer businesses and brands that support a charity they care about, philanthropic campaigns or events are a great way to boost business while making a positive impact on your community. Additionally, 75 percent of Millennials (who have enormous purchasing power in the U.S.) said it’s either fairly or very important that a company gives back to society instead of just making a profit. Hosting an event, creating a campaign, or donating proceeds to a certain philanthropic cause are all ways you can promote your brand while gaining customers’ trust and loyalty.
3. Interact with your customers on social media
You can directly influence your bottom line by leveraging customer advocates, and you’ll fall behind when your customer experience isn’t worth sharing. While it’s certainly important to create brand awareness with consumers who haven’t shopped with you yet, it’s imperative to put effort and resources toward potential brand advocates. For more tips and strategies for marketing to the connected customer, check out Developing Scalable Marketing Strategies, a chapter in our Ultimate Guide to Scaling Your Retail Business.
This blog post was written by Megan Lierley, Content Marketing Specialist at Stitch Labs.
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