You have started a web shop? You invested money and effort to attract customers? Sales began to grow, but now you want to retain customers and encourage them to return to your web shop, buy products and spread the word about you?

Keeping the customer in the online world is one of the main challenges which every retailer faces. It has been proved that you have to make about 5-10% more effort to attract new customers than to keep old ones. You wonder: "What do we do then?"

Here you can find some tips how to build relationships with customers, retain them and encourage them to buy your products again.

1. LOYALTY CLUB

We already wrote about how you should not force customers to register in order to make the purchase in your web shop. The secret lies in the fact that you should provide them additional benefits if they register and join the loyalty club. Provide a discount or a gift for each new registration, offer free shipping, free product, if they buy two or more products etc. Through the loyalty program customers can be easily profiled so for example on the Women's Day, send to all women special gift. Also if they have left details such as date of birth, you can send them gift card for their b-day. There are many options and ideas, but it is up to you to figure out what your customers need and what will attract them.

2. BRAND AWARENESS, NEWSLETTER AND BLOG

To bring the business closer to the costumers, to introduce them with products and gain their confidence, it is essential to build brand awareness. The visual identity of your brand should be consistent and recognizable, meaning that once you start using certain visuals, colors, logo, etc. be consistent and don't change it.

Newsletter? Yes, and no it does not have to be strenuous, tedious and meaningless... If you are not proficient with Photoshop and do not have time to create a newsletter by yourself, choose one of the free web tools like a Mailchimp. Determine your target group and thus create a newsletter, set the time and date of mailing. It is important to specify the audience that you reach with your newsletter, so it would not directly end up in the junk.

Blog, blog, blog... We keep saying this, but you are still not writing! The blog is now typical content that complements your product and provides added value to the customer. On the blog write about topics related to your business, offer solution to a problem that concerns your customers, present your company to customers, etc... It is a great way to get a trust from costumers.

3. SOCIAL MEDIA

Ok, here I really think that we do not have a lot to talk about. Social networks can and should be the engine of your web shop. On social networks, be up to date, regularly publish news, current actions, boost posts that invite customers to your web shop and most importantly provide good customer support via Facebook. The majority of users communicates with the brand in this way, and expects a response within an hour. If your business is not big enough to hire a social media manager, then you will have to be online and ready to 0-24 questions, criticism, inquiries, and more... Social networks are definitely one of the best channels to connect with customers and familiarize them with your business and products.

These days, to satisfy and retain customers is a biggest challenge, all the information is available only in a few clicks, and customers want only the best. To satisfy the customer's needs is the key to success, and we all know that the customer is always right!