The latest conversion rate optimisation news, including four top tips for increasing customer retention.
Conversion Science’s Jacob McMillen talks retention in this article; “something that is as important to optimisation as the rate at which you acquire new customers.”
But why is retention just as important as acquisition?
According to a study by YotPo and Riskified, returning customers only account for 15% of online shopping and one third of that revenue, and also spend three times more than one-time purchasers.
So why do so many e-commerce mavericks still only focus on acquisition? Surely converting visitors becomes redundant when they can’t be retained?
McMillen outlines four proven ways to transform customer retention:
Focus on value over loyalty
Show up… with humans
Take customer service seriously
Go deeper than explicit complaints and requests
Consumers can experience emotional shifts in relation to products and experiences, particularly if an ad has been designed in such a way that it evokes a reaction, be it emotionally positive or negative.
The Adobe Communications Team call this “emotional data.”
But what is it?
Simply put, understanding emotional data comes from building personal, real-world connections with your audience and being mindful of how they feel at given moments.
According to Adobe’s President of Strategy, Alliances and Marketing, John Mellor; “emotion is the currency of experience, and is an absolute necessity when creating great experiences.”
From collecting emotional data with emerging technology, to data solutions that can redefine experience design, emotional data as an overall concept is simply “human.” Personal and direct.
If you can delight your customers, you’re on to a winner.
However, in today’s digital universe, there has been a regretful disconnection between what delight actually means to marketers, and what it means to customers.
According to Shopify’s Gregory Ciotti, “customers get to decide what’s delightful, not companies. And when you look at the available research on what drives delight, you’ll find customers have some of the most reasonable expectations around.”
Delight, as a concept within your strategy, should not be regarded as the backbone, or any significant determining factor in the strategy’s success.
Delight should be a little surprise, that can in turn make a big difference.