[UPDATED]How to Retain Customers in eCommerce in 2019

Originally published in 2016, This post has been updated with the changing business dynamics we can see in 2019.

How to Retain Customers in eCommerce in 2019

Business owners who are planning to add eCommerce features to their existing websites should hurry up. According to a prediction made by Gartner and brought by Forbes, the value of the global digital market will reach $1.1 trillion by 2020. Due to the growing number of options available in the field of online business, the migration towards eCommerce will be even more intensive. But how can you do the right thing from the very start and set up your eCommerce so that it reaches and retains customers?

Content preparations

Launching an E-commerce website can’t be done quickly. On the contrary, it should be a procedure consisting of several stages. For starters, you need to have an official business website with high SERPs ranking. When your customers see that you’re an established brand, they’ll trust you more than any completely new business.

Apart from that, the content on that website should be gradually prepared for the addition of the eCommerce elements. Publish as many pieces on your products as possible. Moreover, add positive reviews and articles where your brand was mentioned. That way, it’s highly likely that you’ll already have a group of regular visitors, once that website is enriched with eCommerce features. And even if you launch a completely new eCommerce website, those acquired visitors should only be redirected to the new platform.

SEO for faster growth

Just like any other website, an eCommerce website also requires optimization for search engines. In addition to some traditional SEO features, such as back linking and keywords, you’ll need to apply some specific techniques for your eCommerce business. Firstly, make sure you take SEO features into consideration during the planning phase. In line with that, work hard on the main categories and subcategories that will offer easier navigation to your customers. Moreover, devise creative product pages. Since search engines don’t approve of duplicated content, you need original content here. For instance, comments and reviews generated by customers will do a great share of SEO work for you. Also, include as much internal linking as possible. Here you can learn more about some other original ideas for an efficient SEO strategy in eCommerce.

Personalized approach to customers

Running an online store is a perpetual string of different actions. Since new customers constantly roll in, business owners have to constantly adapt their existing strategies to new conditions. What’s crucial here is to learn as much as you can about your customers and prepare some customized offers for their particular needs. Registered users usually have to leave some personal information upon registration, such as their birthday or email address. You can send them some exclusive offers on those days, with new products on discount. By learning more about their habits and behavior on your website, you’ll be able to use the benefits of lifecycle marketing and make the messages you send to different customers as personalized as possible.

Cart abandonment follow-up

Since online shopping is much more flexible than going to brick-and-mortar stores, Internet users often don’t take it seriously. Because of that, more than 69% of online purchases in 2015 ended in cart abandonment. Such an outcome of a vast number of online purchases doesn’t only affect the field of eCommerce. On the contrary, it influences the global economy, since that way billions of dollars are lost annually.

However, eCommerce owners can simply nudge those customers to get back and complete the purchase. The easiest way to do that is via email, through a remarketing strategy. For starters, your customers should be asked to leave their email address at some point of the purchase procedure. That way, you’ll ensure follow-up leverage in case of abandonment. You can send them a reminder of their unfinished shopping through email that very day or in a few days’ time. Test different options and see which one works best for you.

The fast-paced growth in the number of eCommerce ventures forces business owners in this niche to leave nothing to case. Therefore, enrich your content, use special SEO-techniques for eCommerce and address your customers as directly as possible, to boost the sales and ensure steady development of your enterprise.

About the author: Dan Radak is a marketing professional with ten years of experience. He is a coauthor on several websites and regular contributor to BizzMark Blog. Currently, he is working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies.