Why is customer loyalty important to your Shopify store?

The Gartner Group found that 20% of loyal customers resulted to 80% of a store’s profits. Meanwhile, Harvard Business Review found that acquiring a new customer is five to 25 times more expensive, than retaining the ones you already have.

These studies make sense because it’s common knowledge that convincing first-time customers is hard. They have no experience with your products or services, so you’ll need a lot of campaigns or promotional materials to convince them to make a purchase.

But how do you improve customer loyalty? How can you increase repeat purchases on your Shopify store? Here’s what you need to know:

First-time customers are dependent on customer service.For example, in physical stores, we ask sales reps to tell us about the product or give a demo. Very often, great service can turn a skeptical or frustrated customer into a buyer.

It’s the same in the online world. People want to consult online sales reps through live chat and other avenues of communication. So, having great customer service is important to your business. First-time customers demand a lot of information, because they want to make sure that their money is spent wisely.

Data also found that aspects of customer service such as proactive help, teaching and good service have the largest impact on repurchase or recommendations. This suggests that good service is a mark of a premium online store.

2. Create a Loyalty Program

Another way you can improve loyalty is to build a loyalty program.

Loyalty programs reward customers for making more purchases. So, they not only increase your sales, but also provide incentives to continue patronizing your products.

How can you create a loyalty program? You can try out CandyBar—a digital loyalty card.

CandyBar enables you to track customer interactions like sign-ups, time of visit to your website, length of time it takes to convert a new customer into a loyal one and so on. This way, you have the necessary data to increase your sales and conversion rates.

You can get started by trying their free 30-day trial. No credit card required!

3. Offer a Discount or Promo

Generally, business owners are wary of sales and discounts. No one wants to lower their profits to get customers to buy. That’s a race to the bottom and unsustainable in the long-term.

However, giving discounts to first time customers is one exception. It might be the most effective nudge you can give to get them to make their first or second purchase. When you think that 20% off as the price of a long-term business relationship, it seems worth it.

How Will You Increase Customer Loyalty

Converting first-time customers into loyal customers is hard but not impossible.

You can create loyalty programs that reward more purchases. You can also improve your customer service and improve avenues of communication.

If that doesn’t work, then give discounts for first-time or second-time purchases. It’s a small price to pay for a long-term business relationship.