Customer Loyalty or where have all the customers gone?

To thrive in the current retail environment, as detailed in our recent blogs, you need to overcome a wide range of challenges and hopefully we have helped you make the first step in identifying them.

Today, we are looking at something that is dear to us all, which is customer loyalty. As the retail industry experiences a decline in customer loyalty due to the ongoing shift in consumer behaviour, the influence of social media and online content creates a more fragmented shopping journey.

Other, modern, economic challenges worsen loyalty issues, as customer’s expectations, such as quick delivery, speed and ease of purchase etc. are now expected rather than, as once seen, an up sell bonus.

So what can you do?

As often mentioned, you need to differentiate your offering. It may be that you have the largest range of X or the best selection of Y, whatever it is shout about it. But do not ignore the basics. It is often beneficial to have a trusted friend, colleague or family member carry out some simple tests:

Without using your company name on Google or Bing, how easy is it to find you or the products that you sell?

Without using a product name on your website, how easy is it to find a specific item. For an example ‘Novelty’ mugs which have lots of designs – your customer wants 1 version, can you navigate to it easily?

If you want to save your product choices for future purchases – can you do this on your site?

If you do not have a particular product in stock, do you say this and offer alternatives?

Once a product has been chosen, is it obvious where you go to complete your purchase, or add to your shopping basket?

In the payment phase, do you offer more than one method of payment? More than one method of shipment?

Once complete, does your visitor think that your website was easy to use and more importantly, would they use it again?

This is where your nominated ‘appraiser’ needs to be very honest with you and give detailed feedback. A “yeah, it was OK” will not help you achieve the results you want or need.

If you can answer yes to all of the above, then you can do no more to keep your customers loyal, but then again you cannot expect to keep all of the people happy all of the time and no store can stock absolutely everything. You do not shop exclusively on Amazon, or Tesco’s do you? But you will go back to them!

Creatively Yours…

Creatively Yours Ltd helps businesses like yours succeed online through website design, website development, and our Helponomics system that offers support and training as you need it and highlights areas that could increase your sales.

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Then why not drop us a line to helping@creatively-yours.co.uk, or simply call us on 01536 23 98 98 or 01493 718 300