It’s transparent that eCommerce stores are becoming very intensely competitive. To stay ahead of the competition, you must remember to concentrate on two different practices. One is to bring in new customers to your store, and the second is to boost the lifetime value of your existing customers.
Most of the time, it’s the second practice that works effectively and brings in more revenue to your store. To succeed, we’ve seen brands go all-in on acquisition campaigns to reach out to new customers.
But what about those who are already your customers? Spending money on your existing customers is far more promising than spending on new ones.
You’ll be well on your way to a more profitable ecommerce store once you’ve mastered the methods and genuinely understand how to increase customer lifetime value! Let’s get started.
What is customer lifetime value?
Customer lifetime value is the total amount of money the average customer develops throughout their journey with your brand. It includes the buying patterns, average order value, and the number of orders. CLTV marketing is therefore used to maximize the lifetime value of each customer.
Example: If a customer stays with your brand constantly for a year and has a subscription plan priced at $100/month.
Then, the average customer lifetime value of that customer would be $100 * 12 months. i.e, $1200. This value will grow higher as the customer continues to stick to your brand.
In simpler terms, Customer lifetime value = Customer revenue * customer lifespan.
Importance of customer lifetime value
Enhancing yourself with the understanding of customer lifetime value is essential. High CLTV enhances long-term brand loyalty, helps businesses optimize the value of their existing customer base, and determines how much revenue they expect from specific customers.
Customer lifetime value reduces the need for additional marketing and advertising and customer acquisition costs. Also, there will be an increase in profits. You can immediately notice patterns in customer satisfaction if you keep a careful eye on customer lifetime value.
Track and know where your business stands in serving your customers’ needs. If a customer’s lifetime value is lower than expected, you should work on identifying and resolving the problem.
7 Proven ways to increase customer lifetime value in ecommerce
Let’s look into the seven proven ways to increase customer lifetime value in ecommerce. Hence, these will help repeat purchases and encourage customers to visit your store more often.
1. Email marketing
Email marketing is like a piece of daily news that might go a long way toward building a relationship with your customers. Therefore, constant email communications allow you to stay in touch with your customers.
You can send emails with compelling content, such as product recommendations, upgrades in product features, or exciting deals and discounts. When done effectively, email marketing may deliver a fantastic return, driving sales for your business and increasing customer lifetime value.
Sending emails especially during anniversaries such as a birthday, the anniversary of a purchase, or the anniversary of a subscription, and sending “gift” of an exclusive discount.
This kind of incentive will re-engage customers who may or may not have recently purchased or visited. These provide customers a reason to rejoice, thereby increasing the chances of conversion.
Email marketing is also extremely efficient to generate because they often only need to be implemented once a year. This means that they are an effective and profitable strategy for increasing customer lifetime value.
2. Upselling and Cross-selling
People usually get confused between Upselling and cross-selling but they are two distinct concepts. To properly integrate them in your store, you must first understand the differences between the two and what they imply for the customer.
Upselling is when you suggest a more expensive product or add-on that will boost the value of the customer’s purchase. Cross-selling encourages people to buy a similar product to their purchase.
Moreover, both types of selling allow you to provide personalized recommendations and appeal to your customer’s interests.
Let us take an example of Airport. Upgrading from economy to first class is an upsell. A cross-sell is the food and accessories available for purchase on the plane.
Upselling, then, is convincing the customer of the added value for a more expensive offering. Finding things that will improve your customer’s experience is what cross-selling entails.
This is an excellent approach to encourage visitors to explore your site, find new products, and add more things to their order, increasing each customer’s average order value, which is vital in growing your overall customer lifetime value.
3. Encourage Referrals
Another excellent strategy to boost customer lifetime value is through referral programs. This is when you give customers incentives to suggest your brand to their friends and family.
For instance, you might offer a discount or a gift for each successful referral. You may also implement a points-based system where customers receive points for each recommendation they make and can redeem them for rewards.
Referral programmes are an excellent approach to enhance user lifetime value since they both bring in new customers and encourage existing customers to continue to purchase with you.
Successful referral programs make brand advocates more likely to stick around you long-term, increasing the lifetime value of a customer.
4. Run a loyalty program
Creating a loyalty program is a compelling idea to maximize the Lifetime value of a customer. There are many loyalty programs, but the essential factor is that they are created in such a way that they encourage your consumers to return. Loyalty programs are an excellent way to increase customer lifetime value.
You can offer exclusive deals, discount coupons, and incentives to attract your most active customers to join your loyalty program. In addition, loyalty programs ensure that customers continue to buy from you more than from your competitors.
When customers feel valued, and receive at least rewards for what they invest in you, their relationship with your brand will become stronger than before.
Start adding value to every interaction a customer has with your brand by implementing a tier or points-based loyalty program. This will encourage their action and increase their interest in your brand.
5. Listen to your customers
Happy customers are loyal customers. Expanding a business without knowing what your customers think of you is tricky.
Listening to your customers allows you to prioritize the areas of your business that fuel customer experience and sales growth. It also provides accurate information on how likely your existing customers are to promote your product or service to their friends and family.
Connect with your audience, then build something that will make their lives easier. When you pull this off correctly, you make your customer rely on you for everything, and replacing you would be difficult for them.
6. Live support
Live support is another essential factor that contributes to customer lifetime value. If your customers are unhappy with your product or service, they’re less likely to purchase with you again in the future.
It’s a one-on-one interaction with your customers. If a customer has a product question or a delivery complaint, your team must be ready to handle it before it becomes an issue. This level of efficient and prompt customer service will set you apart from the competitors.
On the other hand, if you actively support them by responding to their queries or doubts, you can create a positive customer experience that will keep them coming back.
Most shoppers are more likely to make a repeat purchase when they’ve had fantastic live support. You have to do certain things to improve your live support, such as offering 24/7 help, responding to customer inquiries, and resolving complaints quickly and efficiently.
7. Customer Feedback
If you want to increase customer lifetime value and customer satisfaction, the best method to find out what your customers want is to ask them.
You can ask them in the form of feedback or make them write a review. You can also use social listening to find out what people are saying about you without being asked.
The most important aspect of collecting customer feedback is putting it into action. Show them that you value their efforts and time.
If you want to boost customer happiness, ask them how you can do so and be prepared to follow through. Using feedback to improve the customer experience can help you retain customers and, as a result, customer lifetime value.
Conclusion
There you go! These are some proven ways you may improve your customer’s lifetime value. Remember that getting new customers can be expensive; retaining your existing ones is key to building a successful and long-term business.
It’s about encouraging customers to interact with your brand to increase customer lifetime value and delight them with unique and customized experiences.
The more you do this, the greater their relationship will be to your brand. Customers will always remember your brand if you engage them and give value to their experience.
You can build customer loyalty, raise customer retention rates, and eventually generate more revenue by using the six proven ways to increase customer lifetime value illustrated above. So get started today and see what difference it can make for your store!
About the Author!
Haridha P. is a content writer and a blogger at WPLoyalty. She has experience in B2B writing, SEO, and ecommerce plugins. Her interest also lies in reading novels, and she is always passionate about learning and exploring new things.
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