Customer retention is a goal all businesses want to improve upon but it’s not always that simple. The way a brick-and-mortar business would retain customers is totally different from e-commerce businesses… In that same matter, customer retention is even more different for sellers on online marketplaces like Amazon.
Amazon is an online marketplace that has proven to be very beneficial to many small businesses. According to venturebeat.com, Amazon reports $75.5 billion in revenue for quarter one of this year! So Amazon sellers are obviously doing something right in their sales approaches, but the question is how many of those sales were from loyal customers?
With online marketplaces, there aren’t too many opportunities for your brand itself to interact with customers unless the customers are that impressed with your product listings that it makes them want to go to your site directly… which does happen.
But that reason alone is why it’s so important to have a customer retention plan in place for your Amazon storefront. Just think about it… Customers have access to the same types of products you sell right at their fingertips, and probably at a more competitive rate than you, meaning they have the opportunity, at any given moment to ditch your brand for a “better” or more affordable brand.
In knowing that, it poses the question of is it truly better to keep a customer or replace them? The answer to that question is very simple… You do everything in your power to retain every customer your brand acquires.
Repeat customers are more likely to make big purchases from you, and the fact that they keep coming back means that they trust your brand, which can be pretty hard to do in this digital era without customers thinking someone is trying to scam them.
If your retention plan could use a little work, take a look at some of the best ways to retain customers as an Amazon merchant.
Highly Effective Tactics to Retain Customers When Selling on Amazon
Provide Unmatched Customer Service
Providing a great customer experience through your customer service seems like an obvious business move, but it actually isn’t as common as you might think, especially on online marketplaces.
The thing that Amazon merchants seem to forget is that, yes, Amazon takes pride in providing customer service, but it’s strictly for the site… Amazon has no customer service controls over the products you sell. When sellers rely on Amazon to handle their customer service needs, this is called the “List it and forget it” move.
You’re responsible for your own products, so that means you have to pay attention to any type of customer complaints or questions about the product and respond in a timely manner. By doing this, you’re letting your customers know that their opinion and questions matter.
Provide Your Customers With What They Want
The key to giving your customers what they want lies in finding the best products to sell on Amazon. You’re going to need to look at everything from the best product categories to product niches… those are major key factors that will bring your storefront success. Also, be sure to keep track of the products you’re currently selling that are moving well, and make sure to keep those products fully stocked…
By providing your customers with what they want, they’re more likely to keep coming back because you’ve become a trusted source of those products.
Follow Up With Your Customers
When most people think of “following up” with a customer, it’s automatically associated with something going wrong and the business is following up with a dissatisfied customer… Well, that’s not always the case. Following up with a customer can be done for a multitude of reasons.
You’d be surprised at what a simple “thank you for your purchase” or how consistent emails letting your customers know where their package is while en route can impact a customer’s loyalty to a brand.
The important thing to keep in mind when following up with customers is to make your communication with them as personalized as you possibly can. This is going to show you genuinely care, which will in turn create brand loyalty.
Be Honest With Your Product Information
One of the best ways to increase sales with your Amazon storefront is to write great product descriptions, right? Of course, but writing great product descriptions doesn’t mean lying about the product.
If you’re selling a particular product and it doesn’t match the product description when the customer receives it, they’re going to leave all their frustrations in the product reviews on the listing page. Be honest and accurate with your product information. Just like you build trust in any other situation, honesty is what’s needed and one piece of misinformation can destroy trust in several of your loyal customers.