As e-commerce is gaining more share of the total sales market, most major businesses have started using this mode of sales strategy. Even with a lot of advantages that this platform provides, there are a few gaping holes that limit the true potential of a smart e-commerce.
One of the biggest shortcomings of e-commerce is customer attraction and retention. It is an ordeal to turn a visitor into a loyal and regularly paying customer. Holiday buyers are not helping the matter. They tend to buy goods only during the holiday season to buy at maximum discount possible. Customer retention is one of the biggest tasks that e-commerce businesses have to address.
In this industry, it is said that second purchase is the most important purchase for the retailers and to make sure that it happens, a few steps are incorporated by the E-commerce websites that have shown a growth in the customer retention.
Readiness
Nothing turns a potential customer away faster than unpreparedness on the part of the company. Users do not tend to buy goods from e-commerce businesses that are regularly out of stock. This creates a negative impression for the whole business and leads to a smaller number of customers reordering.
Also, due to a large influx of users during the holidays, there is a high load on the servers. This leads to slow response time and occasional crashing of the website. E-commerce businesses are tested during the holiday season, and serving the users properly creates a lasting impression on the customers which can lead to higher second purchase rate, leading to a smart E-commerce strategy.
Smart E-commerce implies Competitive Pricing
The best way to attract a customer is undoubtedly the price of the goods. Offering best possible price for an item during the holiday season tends to make your customers loyal and come back again. Providing a better shipping price than the competition also makes a big difference in retaining new customers.
A superior cost and reliable shipping help a new time user feel comfortable in using your website. If the user experience is good, it can be a factor for user returning for a second purchase. Another thing that should be practiced is mentioning the different costs involved. Hiding prices with customers lead to distrust among them.
Act Like The Customer
To acquire new users, you should place yourself in the place of the user and experience what they feel while using your platform. Your e-commerce business should be easy to use and feel smooth and responsive. The user interface of your e-commerce business is the first thing that a potential buyer sees, and it should be catchy.
Your website should represent your business as good as possible and create a lasting impression in the minds of the users. During the holiday season, buyers try a lot of different businesses for grabbing the best deals. Making your website stand out from the crowd will definitely help you garner more regular buyers.
Smart E-commerce includes a Newsletter
Another important objective for the E-commerce websites to pursue is Newsletter. It might seem like a redundant idea and a waste of time. But in reality, weekly or monthly newsletter do help in gaining new customers. Informational newsletter, those made with the purpose of imparting valuable and interesting information to the buyers and not increasing sales will surely attract users.
Sending one-time holiday buyers newsletter provides them with a variety of deals and offers on different products you have to offer. Updates for new products can also be sent through the newsletter. This helps in maintaining the interests of the users and keeps them engaged with your products longer. This can result in increased chances of one time buyers turning into regular customers.
Using Social Media is a part of a Smart E-commerce
Social media is fast becoming a powerful tool for every e-commerce business, big and small alike. And maintaining up to date social media help the business grow. First, social media helps to validate your business. An official account of your e-commerce business helps to increase the reputation of your brand. A smart E-commerce applies social media communication in order to gain awareness and a good reputation.
Social media allows users to directly come in contact with retailers. Social media has replaced word-of-mouth as the most influencing marketing scheme. When new users experience that other users have been commenting positively on your business, it tends to attract new customers. With the advent of social media, the cost of marketing has decreased significantly.
Post Purchase Experience
To convert the maximum amount of holiday buyers into regular user, the satisfaction of that users is of utmost importance. It is essential your e-commerce website supply the best quality goods.
But even if a new customer is not satisfied with your product, the products should be replaced or returned. This creates an impression in the mind of the customer that his/her query was handled properly. This increases the trust of new buyers in your business. Providing holiday buyers with small extras like product care tips and details regarding refund policy make the user experience great and increase the chance of bringing in new regulars.
Customer Feedback
Customer feedback is one of the most important aspects of bringing in a loyal customer, which the e-commerce sites tend to undermine. Ordering on websites can seem a bit alienating. And mistakes on the part of both business and customer can lead to a lot of issues down the road.
The presence of feedback provides users with a platform to directly interact with the business employees. Addressing to customer feedback responses gives an idea of all the different shortcomings of your business and refining it can help your business grow. And receiving genuine feedback from other users, instill confidence of new customers, making it more likely the will shop again. Also, negative feedbacks should not be censored as it will make your platform more believable.
Reaching Out
Another major step that can be taken to retain holiday buyers is to reach out to the customers. Showing the first time users that you as a business admire the chance to serve them help create a positive impression of your e-commerce business. This can be done by sending personalized emails, and a new customer does appreciate this.
Providing new customers with a discount on their next purchase is a foolproof step in gaining new regular customers. Referral programs will also help in growing your business. Including a gift in the packages of the new buyers will want them to shop from your e-commerce company again.
Conclusion
Making a one time customer into a regular buyer is a major hurdle the e-commerce businesses have to address. Turning holiday buyers into a regular, loyal customer may seem like a tricky business. But once understood the requirements of the buyer and, it becomes easier to retain him/her. It has been proven that it is cheaper to retain an old customer than attracting new ones. Keeping this in mind, the companies should make an effort to turn seasonal buyers into regular customers. The revenue of any e-commerce website can grow by a big margin by converting holiday buyers into loyal customers.
Image credit : Mina FZ
