Focus on customer behaviour (data) and preferences for retention

The eComm retention panel discussion covered various tactics for driving customer retention. Here are some of the best tactics discussed in the document:

1. REWARD BRAND ALIGNED ACTIVITY

Tove from LØCI explained how rewarding customers for recycling their old trainers aligns with their core values.

"We allow customers to recycle any kind of trainers, whether the brand is Loki or a different brand, no matter condition. And you get money towards your next purchase. So from a branding perspective, we're not offering any high discounts to our customers but you essentially get about 20% off your next pair of shoes if you use LØCI Renew".

Less landfill, lower price LØCI shoes and larger customer LTV!

2. BRAND vs SALES ENGAGEMENT

Pierre from SALESmanago emphasised “speaking with the right customer, at the right time with the right message”.

"When it comes to retention is a lot about engagement. Having a good understanding of the journey that leads to that second purchase. It's not just pushing products straight away but more about the content of the brand and the values that we have. Then off the back of that, really orchestrating when are you going to ask you speak to them, what are the touch points and what is that journey that is gonna lead to another purchase on the website".

3. MAP OUT THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

Ryan from Recharge recommended that brands meticulously map out customer journeys and “delight” subscription customers with offers at points in the cycle when churn can occur.

"We have pre built templates where you can surprise and delight customers at a certain frequency of the subscription. So every 3rd, 6th or 12 purchase that they make you can surprise them with an offer, a gift, or a discount".

4. DIVERSIFY RETENTION CHANNELS

Joe from Pacer Studio explained the 'endowed progress effect' and how brands can utilize wallet passes on iOS and Android phones. This strategy leverages the higher CTR on push notifications to enhance loyalty and increase the LTV of BFCM customers.

"Research published suggests that the click through rate on push notification is 7X versus an email campaign. But not everyone has an app and not everyone needs an app. What all your customers do have is a smartphone that has push notifications. Now if you're on Apple or if you're on Android, you can have those loyalty cards that effectively sit on your phone, and you can lean into the endowed progress effect. When someone purchase with you for the first time, you do the, the classic coffee shop thing, that you give them a few stamps on that first purchase, right. You can then send push notifications to that pass which increases the likelihood of them to come back again and again".

5. GET TO KNOW NEW CUSTOMERS

Matthew from Green People stressed the value of better understanding expensively acquired customers. Send surveys & host physical events to combine real customer feedback with retention data and KPIs.

"Last year post BFCM was a lot about understanding our customer. So we did a lot of surveys out to our customers and a lot of events to actually meet the people. I'm a data geek, so I love analytics platforms, but actually meeting your customers you appreciate that the customer actually is a person. They're not a number. So taking data and actually remembering that their people as well and combining the two together".

6. COMPARE YOUR PERFORMANCE

Hannah from Conjura reinforced the benefit of benchmarking retention KPIs against own performance and the market.

So brand leaders can ask and answer: “Is it me or is it the market?”

Combine data and real customer feedback in 2024 to retain the right customers

Overall, these tactics can help businesses develop effective retention strategies that drive long-term success. By leveraging data and focusing on customer needs and preferences, businesses can develop targeted retention campaigns that keep customers engaged and encourage repeat purchases.