20 Tips to Convert Subscribers to Loyal Customers

20 Tips to Convert Subscribers to Loyal Customers

Your email list is your biggest untapped asset, but most businesses let it rot.

As competition intensifies and customer acquisition costs (CAC) skyrocket, relying on new customers is a losing game.

The data is clear: up to 80% of your future profit will come from your existing customers.

The only real growth lever is your ability to convert subscribers into loyal customers.

Forget chasing new leads. This guide provides 20 actionable methods to systematically nurture your email list and turn it into your primary source of predictable revenue.

20 Tips to Boost Customer Loyalty

1 – Target the right people 

Reaching out to the right target audience is the most obvious tip if you want your subscribers to convert and be loyal customers.

Go about this by building buyer personas that align with your ideal customers. Then, you will be able to assess their motivations and preferences. Accordingly, you can make planned decisions to target the customers.

Make the customers feel you know them, so they are keener to purchase from you. Reaching out to the right people will help you create a loyal customer base for your eCommerce store. Accordingly, you can tailor your online store to people most likely to purchase from you.

An easy and effective way to do so is by analysing competitor stores and their audiences. Also, keep up with industry trends to retain existing customers by staying ahead of the curve. Above all, the right people will also spread the word and use word-of-mouth marketing for you. 

2 – Create attractive offers for first-time buyers

Commonly, first-time buyers are sceptical about purchasing from you. As they are strangers to your business, it is most difficult to convince them to buy. So, once a person signs up on your eCommerce site, familiarise them with your brand.

Share attractive introductory offers like discounts and free shipping. Try to build their trust by featuring customer reviews. In addition, let them know about your easy returns policy. You can also add welcome points to their account as a subscription gift.

These offers will prompt the users to redeem the points and make their first purchase. It will also mark their entry into your rewards program. Consequently, it will make them more inclined to buy from you in the future and boost customer retention. 

3 – Showcase social proof to build trust 

Before trying anything new, people ought to feel a sense of doubt and apprehension. They look for guidance or recommendations from other people.

According to a report, 54% of people have purchased a consumer-packaged item after coming across visual user-generated content featuring it.

Social proof is the best way to build trust with prospects and customers. It makes the customers believe that if someone else has liked the product, they would like it too.

Feature customer testimonials to let the customers know how your products make a difference in their lives. Other users say your products work wonders compared to the brand-blowing trumpet. You can have verified customer reviews to establish their authenticity. It will also give you user-generated content for your website. 

Casper has featured a testimonial on their website to entice more users to buy from it. Such genuine testimonials on product pages will convert customers into loyal customers who vouch for your products.

4 – Monitor visitors' mouse movements

By tracking your visitors' mouse and cursor movements, you can determine how they interact with your store and what products resonate the most with them.

Take the help of heatmaps to get access to their activity. It will allow you to see where users click and how they scroll through. You will also get an idea about the sections that get the maximum attention on the page.

Tools like Hotjar are extremely useful in getting these insights. It will let you know whether your CTA is getting clicked or not. These reports will help you spot any usability issues and fix them.

Optimise your website based on all these analytics and session recordings. According to the heatmaps, you can create custom exit intent pop-ups to encourage users to stay on your website. 

5 – Design impactful landing pages

Landing pages, as the name suggests, are exclusive pages on which visitors land after clicking through from your email, social media post, or online ad. They must convince visitors to complete the purchase from your eCommerce site.

Your landing page should have the following:

• An intuitive design
• Attractive headlines
• Actionable CTA
• Visually appealing product images

As a best practice, having a single goal for your landing page is advisable. Unlike your website's home page or other web pages, landing pages should have minimal distractions. Avoid having too many links on this page.

Include a section with customer reviews to facilitate the decision-making process if needed. Also, avoid using stock photos and go for authentic images as much as possible.

Several tools available in the marketplace let you create impactful landing pages and optimise the existing ones. 

6 – Build a rewards program  

Rewards programs are the most effective way to boost customer loyalty. They incorporate gamification in your eCommerce business strategy.

With this program, you make your customers feel that they are making a difference to your store. They encourage new customers to reap these benefits by purchasing from your website.   

Here are the loyalty or rewards programs you can execute for your eCommerce store. 

Such reward programs will differentiate you from the competitors. It will bring reciprocity into the customer relationships. It works as a symbiotic association in which you reward your customers for buying from you, and they reward you with their loyalty.

One more advantage of having loyal customers is that they are less price-sensitive. They prefer to purchase from you despite having to pay a premium price. They require less nurturing when compared to other customers. Also, these customers request fewer returns and chargebacks. 

The same applies to referral programs, wherein you reward the customers for bringing new users through referrals. 

7 – Perfect the post-purchase experience

Right, listen up because this is where most brands completely mess it up. You've got their money, the order is in. Job done? Not even close.

The time between them clicking ‘buy' and the parcel landing on their doormat is your golden window to turn a one-time buyer into a proper fan. Stop sending them off to some grim-looking courier website to track their order. It's a dead end.

Instead, build a branded tracking page on your own site. It keeps them in your world, where you can show them other cool stuff or share useful content. It reinforces your brand, not the delivery company's.

And talk to them. Don't leave them in the dark. A simple email or text saying ‘We've got your order', ‘It's on its way', and ‘It's been delivered' makes a massive difference and builds trust.

And that unboxing experience? It’s basically free marketing if you get it right. People love sharing a great unboxing on Instagram or TikTok. Think about the details: branded tissue paper, a quality box they might want to keep, even a small, unexpected free sample.

It turns a simple delivery into a memorable event. You're not just dropping off a product. You're delivering an experience they'll want to tell their mates about.

8 – Strive to deliver flawless customer service

Your customers expect their concerns to be addressed at the earliest. If not, it leads to frustration, forcing them to switch to their competitors. To prevent such a situation, try to be proactive and deliver flawless customer service.

Use a live chat feature to connect with your customers personally. It will help the visitors receive personalised answers to the questions and build their trust in your brand.

The thing is, while live chat is great for those complex queries, a load of your customers would honestly rather not talk to anyone. They want to find the answer themselves, right now, without waiting for an agent. It's about giving them control.

So, build out a proper, searchable knowledge base or an FAQ section that actually answers the questions people ask. Don't just bury it somewhere. Make it obvious.

And get a simple chatbot on the go. Not one of those annoying ones, but one that can instantly answer the basic stuff like ‘Where is my order?' or ‘How do I make a return?'. It gives people 24/7 help and shows you're on the ball.

Look, this isn't just about making customers happy; it's smart business. Every question answered by your FAQ is one less ticket for your team.

This frees up your best people to deal with the genuinely tricky problems, the ones that need a human touch to turn a frustrated customer into a happy one. It's about working smarter, not harder.

Sometimes, your customers need more information about a particular product. Here's how Casper has shared the link to contact them in case the users have any questions. Such simple elements take the customer experience to a whole new level. 

9 – Send out personalised emails and product recommendations

Once a customer makes the first purchase from your store, send personalised emails with product recommendations featuring complementary products.

For instance, if someone has purchased a mobile phone from your eCommerce store, send product recommendations promoting mobile accessories.

It will help improve your store's average order value and overall sales. Furthermore, it is an excellent cross-selling and upselling opportunity. 

But look, you can take this way further than just a few product suggestions. The real magic happens when your website itself starts to adapt to who's looking at it. Think about it.

If someone's browsing from Manchester in November, don't show them swim shorts on the homepage. Greet them with a banner for winter coats. That's content that adapts to them, and it makes them feel like you actually get them.

It works for abandoned carts, too. Instead of just one generic ‘You left something behind' email, what if the follow-up showed them how other people styled that exact item? Or maybe it offers a complementary product that makes perfect sense.

You're not just reminding them, you're helping them solve a problem or complete a vision. That's the difference between nagging and genuinely helping.

Hyper-personalisation has already become a best practice followed by most eCommerce brands. And if you are not already leveraging this strategy, now is the right time.

You can employ deep data mining, analyse different datasets, and take the help of artificial intelligence tools to unravel detailed information about the customer's buying behaviour.

Accordingly, you can customise their journey and move them closer to conversions. 

10 – Set up retargeting ad campaigns

Retargeting ad campaigns are great for reaching out to people who have visited your store but have yet to convert.

These sponsored ads strengthen customer relationships by taking the help of personalised communication. Treat these ads as campaigns primarily to create brand awareness instead of marketing and sales promotions.

People prefer to avoid salesy ad promotions. So, be subtle in your retargeting ad campaigns and talk about the benefits of your product. Including user-generated content in these ads is a good idea to yield maximum results.

Address the customer's pain points through your ad copy and include a countdown timer as an element of urgency. You can also cross-sell and upsell your products through these ads. Retargeting ads are also a great strategy to bring back cart abandoners.

That brings us to our next point… →

11 – Invest in an effective cart recovery program

The latest statistics reveal that in July 2023, 70.72% of all shopping carts failed to reach the checkout stage. Now, imagine the business profits lost in all those abandoned carts.

That's why you must invest in an effective cart recovery program that helps bring back lost customers. Send cart abandonment emails and push notifications gently reminding the customers to complete the purchase. Include the product image in these communications so that the customers know exactly what they are missing out on.

If needed, you can incentivise the cart abandoners. Tap on the FOMO instinct with a time-bound offer to increase the likelihood of conversions. Just make sure you don't attract discount shoppers while doing so.     

12 – Deliver a consistent experience across all channels

Your customers are active on different platforms, including social media channels, mobile apps, and web stores. Given such buying habits, you must deliver a consistent experience across all the channels.

The customers should be able to have unified interactions with your brand throughout every channel. Also, you must give them the liberty to communicate via the channel of their choice.

For instance, some customers are more comfortable on mobile apps, while others like communicating through social media.

You must break down the silos and promote the same message on every platform. Rather than considering a fragmented customer journey, take a consolidated approach to render an omnichannel experience.     

13 – Incentivise the subscribers with discounts and free shipping

The biggest motivation for any customer to shop from an eCommerce store is free shipping and additional discounts.

Incentivising the customers with these offers will increase profit margins and help optimise eCommerce conversion.

Many customers abandon their carts because of high shipping costs.

A 2022 Baymard Research study has revealed that the main reason customers abandon shopping carts in the US was “extra costs too high”, including shipping, tax, and other fees. 

Free shipping eliminates this objection and purchase friction. Some eCommerce brands also take another approach: offering free shipping for orders above a specific value.

This strategy also increases the average order value and customer lifetime value. Ultimately, your brand will be able to compensate for the cost of free shipping while retaining existing customers. 

14 – Develop a subscription model to increase recurring purchases 

With a subscription model, you can generate a recurring revenue stream. 

A Subscriptions & Recurring Payments Extension for Magento 2 enables customers to subscribe to multiple products simultaneously.

It also includes benefits like predictive revenue, inventory management, brand loyalty, customer advocacy, and personalised customer experience.

Moreover, as the subscription extension is compatible with major payment gateways and eWallets, customers can seamlessly complete their purchases and checkout.

These Magento subscription products will streamline business orders with repeat orders and amortise the marketing expenditure.

You can also set a special price for subscription-based products to get the maximum number of people to subscribe.

As eCommerce business owners get access to advanced analytics and reports, they can determine how their customers are resonating with their subscription model.   

The best part is that the extension is easy to install and configure.   

15 – Establish a social media presence

Social media furnishes a robust scaffold for customer interaction. It allows you to post original content and engage your customers.

By keeping your social media channels up to date, you can showcase new products and let your customers know about all the latest offers. It adds a human touch to your brand, building customer authenticity.

Instagram is one of the most potent platforms for eCommerce businesses. Use it to promote user-generated content, organise giveaways, and make an impressive social media presence.

Take a look at the Instagram handle by Birchbox. It effectively highlights their products, memes, user-generated content, and Holiday-related posts on the platform. Keep some room for moment marketing, too, as it can increase the virality of your posts and grab customer attention.

Take inspiration from their handle to create an impressive social media presence for your brand. Just remember the 80-20 rule. Post 80% informational and 20% promotional content. 

16 – Build a community, not just a customer list

Here's a simple truth: people want to feel like they belong to something. It's wired into us. So if you can shift from just selling stuff to building a proper community, you're playing a different game entirely.

Your customers stop being transactions on a spreadsheet and start becoming genuine advocates. Create a space just for them. A private Facebook Group, maybe a Discord server, or even a forum on your own website.

Look at what Sephora did with their Beauty Insider Community. It’s a place where members can share tips, ask questions, and connect with other people who are into the same thing. It builds a powerful sense of belonging.

In that space, you treat them like insiders. Give them early access, share behind-the-scenes content, and ask for their honest feedback.

And this community isn't just a feel-good exercise. It's a goldmine. You get a direct line to your most passionate users, and they'll give you unfiltered feedback on what's working and what's not.

They'll create amazing content using your products that you can then share, which is way more powerful than any slick ad you could make. It’s an engine for improvement and authentic marketing, all rolled into one.

17 – Ask for feedback from loyal customers

Getting customer feedback helps you ascertain what's working for your eCommerce store and what's not. It will also let you know how your customers feel about your products.

Let your customers know that their reviews matter to you. They are more open to purchasing from eCommerce businesses that appreciate their feedback.

Listen to their thoughts and use them to improve your business. Inform them you have worked on their input and overhauled your eCommerce store. It will inculcate a sense of trust in your customers and convert them into brand evangelists.

You can either employ customer satisfaction surveys through emails or evaluate website user activity to gather feedback. Also, track social media comments to see how people are conversing about your brand. 

18 – A/B test your campaigns

A/B testing is a practice that gives you an idea about the effectiveness of a particular campaign.

You can create two or more versions of the same campaign to determine which campaigns work best for your brand.

Just make sure that you change a single variable so that you know your audience's preferences and how that variable influences them.

You can boost customer loyalty and conversion rate by delivering content according to customer expectations.  

19 – Monitor the results and keep optimising the marketing collaterals

Continuously monitor the metrics to know if you are doing it wrong.

If you are not getting the expected results, make changes and optimise your marketing strategy.

For example, if people are not clicking through your emails or push notifications, try changing the CTA or visuals to make it more impactful for the readers. 

20 – Track the technical aspects of your website and resolve any issues

Any eCommerce website involves multiple technical operations going on at a time. Imagine the volume of transactions, checkout processes, and product searches on an eCommerce store.

Given this massive volume of activities, it becomes imperative to keep the technicalities of your website under check.

If you encounter any bugs or issues, you must resolve them immediately. The load speed of your eCommerce store should be less than 100 milliseconds. Also, check for customer grievances so your site or mobile app is free from technical glitches. 

Another vital aspect to look out for is the website's security.

Customers will pay through your eCommerce store and provide confidential bank or card details on your platform. You must try to curb security threats and keep all this information safe.

There might be a possibility of losing your customer records and essential files. So, always have a backup of all the critical files in your store. 

21 – Employ an exclusive marketing strategy for the Holidays

The Holiday Season is the most lucrative time for any eCommerce marketer.

People are on a shopping spree, buying gifts for their loved ones, home decor items, new outfits, and many other things according to their preferences.

So, you must try your best to woo these customers with relevant offers and product recommendations.

Offer special discounts to early bird shoppers and free shipping or one-day delivery to last-minute shoppers. Use attractive visuals like GIFs and videos, particularly in your Holiday campaigns.

Also, you can build an exclusive gamification strategy for Holiday shoppers. Holidays are an excellent time to win back dormant customers.

Send them re-engagement emails or push notifications with attractive offers that would make them purchase from you again.

Let them know how you have upped your offerings while they were inactive. Apart from that, incentivise them with an exclusive reactivation discount.   

22 – Automate redundant processes and eCommerce operations

Often, it so happens that you are stuck in manual eCommerce operations.

As a result, you miss out on focusing on business growth. To avoid such a scenario, you must automate all the redundant processes and eCommerce operations.

MageDelight has several extensions to help you with this and enhance your shopping experience.

With the help of these automation tools, you will be able to manage orders properly and improve your order processing. It will give you all the details about the online and offline orders on a single dashboard.  

Summing it Up

Acquiring new customers is an exhausting task that can wear you out.

How about following these tested techniques and boosting loyal customers by retaining them?

The ultimate tip is to allocate your budget wisely to get maximum sales and ROI.

And the sure-shot way to get this right is to invest in customer retention efforts and convert subscribers into frequent buyers.