Did you know, January 19th is ‘Get to Know Your Customer Day’? 

In ecommerce, customers are certainly the lifeline of a business. Gaining a deeper understanding of your customer base is essential to creating trust and shopper loyalty.

So to mark the occasion and kick off the new year, we joined our partner, Pimberly, along with a few ecommerce experts to chat about how retailers can make the most of their customer data to drive customer loyalty in 2023. The panel included:

• Nikki Ratcliffe, Vice President of Marketing at Pimberly
• Thomas Turley, Director of Partnerships at Searchspring
• Frank Brooks, Head of Marketing, EMEA at Dotdigital
• Benjamin Gisvold, Client Success Director at 247 Commerce. 

While the conversation covered many different areas of ecommerce, we focused primarily on customer data, driving loyalty and engagement, post-purchase best practices, and personalization.

Here are some key takeaways from the Making the Most of Your Customer webinar:

Shoppers Have High Expectations

Now more than ever, consumers are looking for value and reassurance. They are more considerate and much more inclined to do research before making a purchase. Shoppers also know what they want, how they want it, and when they want to receive it.

• Create online communities that make your shoppers feel valued and heard.
• Provide a consistent, seamless experience whether on-site or in-store.
• Adapt to your shoppers’ ever-changing preferences and needs.
• Offer hyper-relevant personalized recommendations at the right time.

Utilize Your Customer Data

There’s a lot of data that online retailers can capture from their shoppers. Moreover, ensuring that you are collecting that information on your shoppers is key. Yet, what a brand does with that data is even more important. 

“From what brands a shopper is searching for and interacting with the most, to the collections they navigate to”, says Thomas Turley, Director of Partnerships, Searchspring. “This information gives merchandisers key insights into current and future shopper behavior that can be used to enhance and personalize the online experience.”

• Focus on your CLV (Customer Lifetime Value) rather than your AOV (Average Order Value).
• Implement real-time product merchandising and personalized recommendations that engage your customers.
• Create segments based on purchase behavior to target shoppers with personalized content and offers.

A brand that does personalization really well is Peltz Shoes. After implementing Searchspring’s Personalized Search and Merchandising, they experienced positive results almost immediately. Within the first few weeks, they had a 12.9% increase in conversions.

Personalization: Too Much of a Good Thing?

Consumers don’t just want personalization, they expect and demand it. But, can there be too much personalization in the shopping experience? In short, the answer is yes. There is a right – and a wrong – way of personalizing the buyer journey. 

Shoppers want to be more than just a transaction to a brand. When they enter a site, they are on a mission. Whether it be to buy a gift for a loved one or to treat themselves. And, a consumer’s path through an ecommerce site tells you their intent. The more you know about that intent, the easier it is to make the best possible online experience. Brands that can strike the balance of humanizing personalization will edge out competitors.

• Don’t be afraid to ask your customers for their preferences. This information can be invaluable.
• Keep your personalization consistent across all channels, from in-store to online, and post-purchase. 
• Identify your best customers and build landing pages that make sense for them.

Keep Your Shoppers Coming Back

Repeat customers are the Holy Grail of ecommerce. Especially since it’s 5x more expensive to acquire new customers than it is to retain existing ones. Yet, many retailers overlook the importance of nurturing their established customer base. Investing in customer loyalty and creating lasting relationships just may be the thing that keeps shoppers from jumping to a competitor.

• Ensure you are providing a seamless end-to-end customer experience.
• Audit the customer journey yourself to understand any friction and pain points.
• Analyze your customer data and understand who your loyal customers are.

Watch the full on-demand webinar to catch more insights from the expert panel.

The post Follow Up to Making the Most of Your Customer Webinar appeared first on Searchspring.