As the cost of acquiring a new customer is much higher than the cost of retaining an existing one, it is crucial for businesses to implement strategies to keep customers coming back to their store again and again.

3 ways to increase customer retention

Retaining customers has become more crucial than ever as it is more cost effective than acquiring new customers. In fact, according to inc.com it costs 5-10 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing customer. Therefore, it is essential for businesses to implement business strategies to keep customers coming back to their store, whether it’s a physical store or online. 

Here are 3 effective ways to help you increase customer retention.

1. Create a Loyalty Program

There are many reasons as to why you should start a loyalty program. One of the most important reasons is that it will help you sell more, for a much less cost than many other marketing strategies. A customer loyalty program makes it much easier to get customer back to the store, so that they shop again and again… and again. Having a good rewards program helps convert single purchases to repetition sales = increased lifetime value, which in turn will create more brand loyalty and revenue for your store.

Did you know that… the probability of selling to an existing customer is between 60-70%, while that of a new customer is only between 5-20%? (Marketing Metrics)

A loyalty program will also help you get crucial GDPR consent, so that you can easily analyze customers interests and purchase patterns. This will help you run more targeted, personalized, and relevant SMS and e-mail campaigns to again create more loyal and happy customers.

Did you know that… if you keep 5% more customers, profits increase by as much as 25% -95%? (Harvard Business School)

Customers appreciate stores that do their utmost to create a great shopping experience. Good benefits, offers and promotions can attract new and existing customers into the store. If you analyze what they buy and what they are interested in, you can create relevant campaigns based on customer behavior and preferences.

2. Personalized and relevant SMS and email communication

Personalized and relevant communication is crucial to help create more loyal and happy customers, and for driving sales and repeat purchases. You can use both SMS- and email marketing, and the best communication strategy is often to use both.

  • SMS – marketing

SMS marketing is highly effective. According to Link Mobility, 90% of all SMSs are read within 3 minutes, 98% of all SMSs are opened, and SMS has a 209% higher response rate than emails or Facebook messages. In other words, hardly anyone leaves an SMS unread. This makes SMS – marketing the perfect tool to help get customers back to your store, to shop more frequently.

  • Email marketing 

Email marketing is a less effective marketing tool than SMS, with an average open rate of only 20%. However, in turn email marketing can be less intrusive than an SMS. As the frequency of SMS – marketing is 1-3 per month, email marketing can be sent as often as you find suitable for your customers.

Overall, this makes a communication strategy with both SMS and email – marketing the most efficient one when it comes to driving customers back to your store.

3. Exceptional customer service

Customers who receive good customer service are more likely to stay loyal to your brand and continue choosing your store over your competitors. Therefore, you should go above and beyond to meet their needs and resolve issues quickly.

Have any questions? We’d love to hear from you.

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"All third-party marketing channels are becoming less effective, and we see that it is necessary going forward to own the dialogue with customers. I have no doubt that much of our growth is due to increased loyalty from members."

Kai Gulbrandsen

CEO, Princess retail chain

"The loyalty program button is on the front page of the cash register, so everything is automatic. Our members use the stamp cards and coupons because it’s so easy to use. We see that we get higher sales from members than non-members."

Evy Ingebrigtsen

Operations and HR Manager, Baker Brun

"Data is the new gold. It is essential that purchase information and customer data form the foundation for all good customer dialogues. Having control over this is in my opinion absolutely crucial."

Pål Wibe

Norway's "Mr Retail" Pål Wibe

"A terrific app that really helps our business to grow together with our customers. Adds value for both us and the customer, a complete customer journey from the physical to the online store."

BMB Paleet

"Thank you very much for the fantastic follow-up when we launched our loyalty program from Diller. You guys made the whole process painless. Looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together. We really recommend Diller AS to anyone that need a loyalty program on the Shopify platform."

Bolina

Furniture and Interior Design

"Advertising must be planned 2 weeks in advance, but at that time the campaign may be completely irrelevant. With Diller we can turn around and act in no time! We can put out a campaign overnight. This is absolutely invaluable to us."

Tone Tengesdal Stavnheim

Tengesdal Sport

"I would never buy a cash register system without an integrated loyalty program. For me, it was essential to have a good loyalty program included in the POS."

Maria Quarnström

Owner, Rilo Zoo

"We recently startet using Diller and are very pleased with the app. It is easy and understandable to use, and it has already generated more customers and sales. What is important to mention is that the customer service is outstanding, and we are getting all the help and support we need! Our contact has been patient and so happy to help and guide in out teams-meetings for the set up :)"

Shine

Design

"Great app and customer service! The loyalty features combined with the SMS engine and mail integration towards MailChimp is a winner for me. Thanks to Erik for helping me set everything up!"

Henriks Herre

Men's fashion

"Great app, easy to customize and simple to use. Customer service is outstanding and helpful. The few times we have had any issues, customer support was very responsive and resolved the issues in minutes! Highly Recommend!"

MARK+BRANDY

Fashion

"We see great results from the loyalty program. The immediate feedback comes from employees in the store, who notice that customers enter the stores only 5-10 minutes after we send out an SMS."

Stine Handley

Head of Administration, Fredrik & Louisa

"Very easy to set up the app. It’s perfect for creating a good-looking loyalty program widget, that is customized to my brand and webshop.   Super friendly and helpful support team! They answer very fast and do everything to help you out.  Great experience so far."

Corado Coffee Roasters

"We see that average sales and margins are higher even though we offer a 10% welcome discount. As a customer, you are welcome to bring a little extra in the shopping cart to get the most out of the deal. The goal is for the loyalty program to be the icing on the cake for our customers so that they want to continue shopping with us."

Jon Grøteig Andersen

Head of Marketing, PetXL

"I searched the web for suppliers and found Diller that way. They have everything I need in a loyalty program, and for me, it was an added advantage that it is a Norwegian company."

Hans Hvinden

General manager, Hageglede.no

"We have seen that it is not just discounts that attract customers. For example, when we send out an SMS about new products from one of our brands, traffic to the stores increase, since the members like to get early product information."

Martine Remsøy Romøren

Store manager, Lively

"When customers shop in our store, we ask them if they want to be members and tell them that they get bonus coupons depending on purchase levels, invitations to events and other benefits. Everyone signs up!"

Heidi Andersen

Store Manager, Coco Skien

"The big advantage of the loyalty program is that it becomes easy to communicate with customers. We see endless possibilities with this in the future and look forward to using it more."

Anders Johan Braaten

General manager of Buster Hund og Katt