5 simple truths about getting more customers back to your Shopify website
Marketers often talk about the Sales Funnel. New customers go in the top and lost customers come out the bottom. The more customers who stay in the funnel, the better your overall sales will be since return customers typically buy more and more often. Many marketers focus on getting more customers into the funnel by buying ads and offering discounts. But if they are pouring out the bottom it can get very expensive. If you can reduce the number of customers that leave and never return, you will see big changes over time.
What is a good attrition rate?
Attrition is the number of customers that leave in a given period of time and don’t return. Every industry has a different benchmark, clothing has a higher attrition rate than grocery. Time between orders is another factor, if you just bought a refrigerator, you probably won’t be in the market for another one for years. No matter what you are selling, here are 5 truths about why customers leave and what you can to to fix them.
1) Boring sites don’t inspire return visits.
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes—there are infinite sites to choose from, do you go back to the boring one you’ve already visited, or just pick a different site? There are plenty of ways to make your site stand out. Great photography and design are key to having a site that stands out. Be sure to keep your target customer in mind when you design your site. What is inspirational to a 45 year old accountant, probably won’t do much for a 15 year old skateboarder. It seems obvious, but if your designer isn’t focused on the right customer for your products they won’t be showcased in ways that appeal to that customer. Here’s a tool that can help get everyone headed in the right direction the
Smart Shopify Persona Builder
This easy to understand seven page guide will teach you how to create useful personas so that you can market more effectively and truly engage your customers.
2) We would rather do fun things.
Let’s say you have a Shopify store selling women’s clothing. You can and must make it visually compelling for your target customer, but the basic shopping experience isn’t going to stand out since they are all the same. You can add a discount wheel, but discounts hurt your bottom line. You can change your theme, add loyalty programs or widgets but if you really want to improve the shopping experience you should look at what Stylaquin can do for a website. Stylaquin is coming to the Shopify App Marketplace in Spring of 2022. Here’s a link to a 2 minute video that explains what Stylaquin is and why it works so darn well. If you’d like to get in on Stylaquin before your competition, consider joining the Shopify Beta Group.
3. Life is your biggest online competitor.
Sometimes customers leave because life gets in the way—the doorbell rings, their boss calls or the commute ends. Giving them a nudge can get them back on board. Shopify has several plugins in their marketplace that will help you get started. Stylaquin also helps with abandoned carts because the items on the Idea Board are saved till the cookie expires, usually 7 days on an Apple device, longer on PCs. Being able to go back and see what they liked, but didn’t buy, gets customers back to where they were before they were interrupted fast.
4. Best sellers beat new items.
Merchants fall in love with their new items. Customers may or may not. Focusing on new items keeps a site fresh but best sellers are where the money is. When you showcase products on the home page, make sure to showcase best sellers rather than just new items. By their very nature bestsellers are the products most customers bought and so they are the most likely to attract new customers. If your bestsellers are not all that sexy, spend some time and energy on making them look great. It will really pay off. Increasing sales of best sellers by 5% will probably do more than increasing stale or underperforming products by 50%.
5. They just forgot about you.
Once a customer leaves your website they’ll probably forget about you. Adding a new experience like Stylaquin will help you stand out, but getting an email and marketing to them regularly is even better. There are several Opt-in forms available on the Shopify Marketplace. Choose the one that integrates with your marketing strategy, your CRM, and email providers.