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While the quality of a product or service is a significant factor in business success, the role of loyal customers cannot be understated. Customers with positive experiences with your brand become repeat buyers and advocates, driving business growth. Hence the importance of implementing a Customer Loyalty program for your WooCommerce store.
Today, millions of e-commerce sites on the internet provide several alternatives for customers. Nevertheless, building customer loyalty can significantly impact the success of your WooCommerce store, even making you an industry leader.
Today, there are more than 26 million e-commerce websites worldwide, and new sites continue to launch daily (Doofinder). Of these, close to 6 million are using WooCommerce for their store.
This article explores customer behaviors and recommends strategies, tools, and software for building brand loyalty and achieving business success. Read on to learn how to get loyal customers and lifelong fans to grow your e-commerce store!
Understanding Customer Behavior
Customers influence a market or business much more than product owners do. That is why customer satisfaction is at the heart of every successful business model. This customer satisfaction breeds loyalty, which, in turn, promotes business success.
Contemporary research, recurring customer experience, and reports show that certain factors influence customer behaviors, especially brand loyalty. Here are five of these factors and why they are important to you.
How Product and Service Quality Affects Customer Loyalty
Good-quality products or services can automatically instill loyalty, and vice versa with poor-quality products. With many alternatives at their disposal, consumers only want to invest in products that give them the best bang for their buck.
However, the modern customer dislikes shopping, even on e-commerce platforms. So, when they find a brand that gives optimum value for their money, they tend to stick with it. Thus, a product’s quality is the most basic factor influencing customer loyalty and continuous engagement.
How Your Company Reputation Affects Customer Loyalty
Today’s customers don’t just want to buy good products, but they also want to buy from good people. So, shoppers give their loyalty to brands they perceive as good, not just in production, but good to people, the environment, and the planet.
Customers are more loyal to brands that support a cause they also support. The same is true for brands and companies involved in the community and honoring their corporate social responsibility. Those who treat their partners and employees better earn stronger loyalty bonds with repeat customers.
How Good Customer Experience Affects Customer Loyalty
A satisfying customer experience is one of the most effective ways to unlock consumer loyalty in e-commerce. When you give your customers a satisfying experience, you keep them yearning for more and returning for more. Customer satisfaction triumphs over many others because customers readily ignore other brands and even pay more for the best experience.
Providing a good experience for your customers in an e-commerce Store is not difficult. You can do this by making shopping convenient and improving communication and feedback between you and your customers. This way, you’ll bolster a loyalty bond that keeps them returning as lifelong fans.
How Brand-Person Attachment Affects Customer Loyalty
Customers can activate a sense of loyalty to your brand when they feel a deep personal attachment to it. This attachment can evolve from various cues. Some customers develop this attachment with your marketing collaterals and what they represent. Others get attached to your organizational structure or service delivery systems like personalization.
Whatever the cue, you develop a loyal customer when your brand can reach a customer and resonate with them. If those cues remain with your brand, you can rest assured that such customers will remain loyal. So, seek out these cues in your brand and advertise them vigorously in your marketing campaign.
Customer Loyalty and Reward Programs
Some people view loyalty and reward programs as candy given to adults. However, discerning customers look beyond the rewards to see the rationale behind it. They understand the company’s effort to appreciate their continuous patronage. Acknowledging this appreciation fosters brand loyalty from many customers, attracting lifelong fans.
Additionally, the long-run benefits of these programs create a loyalty loop for many other customers. They learn to return naturally without considering other options as they seek more benefits and reduced costs from continuous engagement.
Strategies To Build Customer Loyalty
You can create effective strategies to build consumer loyalty based on the factors influencing their loyalty. This section highlights three strategies you can adopt in your e-commerce store to unlock loyalty through improved customer satisfaction.
Create Personalized Experiences for Your Customers
Personalizing your customers’ experiences is a great way to ensure a satisfying experience and earn lifelong fans. A simple personalization feature on your e-store endears customers to your brand. It reveals your effort to build an interpersonal relationship with your customers, not just a business relationship.
Here are four simple personalization features you can try on your e-commerce store:
Use Personalized Messages
You can improve customer experience through personalized messages bearing customers’ names. This can be welcome messages when they log into their accounts or goodbye messages when exiting the store. Personalized prompts during and after successful purchases also thrill customers, giving them a feel of interpersonal communication over an online store.
When you use personalization for on-platform messages and email, you show personal interest in your customers. Repeat customers respond with their loyalty and continuous engagement, sticking to your brand as lifelong fans.
Create Personalized Homepages
Rather than repeating a bland homepage for all your customers, you can encourage personalization of their account homepage to improve satisfaction. Allow users to choose their preferred theme and profile picture. Then, personalize the page with their name, picture, and favorite products.
Shoppers feel unique and important when they help design their distinctive homepage. Loyalty comes naturally when you offer premium customer satisfaction through an improved personal experience with your brand.
Provide Personalized Suggestions
You can leverage data collection to provide personalized assistance to your customers. From their previous purchase, you can learn their preferences and make personalized suggestions for their next purchase. With suggestions matching their preferences and budgets, you’ll help promote a seamless shopping experience for your customers.
You can also extend this personalization to marketing emails to share marketing or product updates they may like. Customers are loyal to brands who love and care about them. You show these qualities when you seek the best for them through these services.
Personalize Product Pages
Another excellent way to earn loyalty through a good customer experience is to ensure purchase convenience. When customers can conveniently access good products and services from a brand, they will loyally stick to that brand.
You can ensure this convenience in your e-commerce store through personalized product pages. Part of your data collected from customers’ accounts reveals their location. Use this data to automatically convert prices to their local currency and estimate shipping fees. This feature will improve shopping convenience, unlocking brand loyalty to earn lifelong fans.
Introduce Post-Purchase Tactics To Build Customer Loyalty
Personalization and other purchase tactics that promote customer satisfaction can spark loyalty in your shoppers. However, you must nurture these flames to establish unwavering loyalty for your brand. An effective way to do this is through post-purchase loyalty tactics.
These tactics extend a continuous thread of loyalty cues for your customers. Below are four post-purchase tactics to adopt for your brand:
Use Branded Confirmation
A branded purchase confirmation, though simple, re-exposes your customers to your marketing collaterals, reminding them why they chose your brand. So, don’t sell yourself short with bland notifications. Your purchase confirmation should be as appealing as your ad notification. That way, buyers will look forward to them, creating repeat customers.
Request Post-Purchase Customer Feedback
Don’t just let your customers go with a confirmation notification; request feedback about their purchase experience. This simple gesture demonstrates interest in shoppers and a desire to please them better, unlocking their loyalty.
You can simplify this feedback request by using survey-like questions to receive their feedback. When customers submit such feedback, they look forward to their implementation, attracting them to repeat purchases and continuous engagement.
Invite Customers to Your Loyalty and Reward Program
Reports show that customer loyalty programs convert about 81% of one-time shoppers to repeat customers (Bond Loyalty Report). However, this can only work when customers know about your loyalty and reward programs. You can easily create this awareness by advertising the program and inviting customers to participate after every purchase. Your loyal customers will increase as you cultivate more interest and participation in these programs.
You upsell when you identify a customer’s need from their current purchase and offer a product to fill it. This post-purchasing tactic has dual main benefits: increased sales and brand loyalty. When you offer customers their next need after each purchase, it deepens their experience and relationship with the brand, unlocking loyalty.
Gain Lifelong Fans With a Customer Loyalty and Rewards Program
You can not overemphasize the influence of a rewards program and incentives in cultivating loyalty toward a brand. Any brand can introduce simple customer loyalty programs to reward shoppers and convert them into repeat customers.
However, there are several types of customer loyalty programs, and determining the best fit for your brand determines the program’s effectiveness. Consider four types of customer loyalty programs you can explore:
Point-Based Programs
Under this program, consumers earn redeemable points with purchases. They can redeem these points for exclusive products, discounts, or other special incentives. This program type is the best for growing businesses that prioritize increasing purchases per customer.
Value-Based Programs
This program is similar to the points-based program, as it also allows consumers to earn points. However, in this rewards program, customers earn points from purchases and other non-purchase engagements with the brand. For example, some brands may offer points for downloading apps or following and engaging their handles on social media. Brands requiring high visibility for their products benefit most from this program type.
Partnered Loyalty Programs
Two or more businesses team up to offer a loyalty program that benefits their mutual customers. Points or rewards earned with one partner can be used with any partner.
An example would be Airline partnerships where miles earned on one airline can be redeemed for flights on another.
Paid Loyalty Programs
Customers pay a fee to join the loyalty program in exchange for benefits. These can include enhanced services like free shipping, exclusive product access, or special discounts.
For example, Amazon Prime offers free two-day shipping, streaming video/music services, and exclusive shopping deals for an annual fee.
Subscription-Based Programs
In this program type, customers pay for access to perks and privileges. Nevertheless, the brands offer significant benefits that offset the customers’ subscriptions. This program type is usually best for a brand that sells seldom-purchased products.
Game-Based Loyalty Programs
These programs incorporate gamification elements such as challenges and badges to make the shopping experience more engaging and fun. For example, customers earn badges or levels for completing activities like reviewing products or trying a new service, which can be exchanged for rewards.
Cash Back Loyalty Programs
Customers receive a percentage of their purchases as cash rewards, which can be applied to future purchases. For example, customers earn a 5% cash back on all purchases, which can be used towards the next purchase or accumulated for a bigger purchase.
Tiered Loyalty Programs
The tiered customer loyalty program involves various membership levels with increasing benefits and incentives based on customer purchases and engagement. Such rewards programs are best for luxury and high-end products where the buyers chase exclusivity delivered by the luxury status of these products.
Hybrid Loyalty Programs
Combining two or more of the above types creates a complex but flexible program catering to a diverse customer base. An example is a points-based system with tiers offering occasional cash-back events or partner rewards.
Tools and Software for Building Your WooCommerce Customer Loyalty Program
You need effective and efficient tools and software to implement the abovementioned strategies to build consumer loyalty. Fortunately, you don’t need to look elsewhere; WooCommerce provides several extension tools and software for unlocking and implementing whichever loyalty and rewards program you desire.
Here are four examples you’ll find in the reward and loyalty extensions section:
WooCommerce Points and Reward Extension
This extension helps you reward your customer for purchase and non-purchase actions. It also manages these points in their accounts to redeem them as discounts for future purchases. The points and reward extension is easy to use.
With the Points and Reward Extension, you set the number of points earned per purchase or action and predetermine the maximum discounts customers can enjoy with accrued points. This tool effectively builds customer loyalty because it applies points earned to all previous orders for immediate redemption. The tool also offers smooth point management for customers and admins.
As an admin, you can change what you call points on your e-commerce store. You could call them “tokens” or “coins.” Customers also experience smooth point management on their accounts through swift updates to the points balance display on their account page. This reward tool will help nurture loyal and repeat customers for your brand.
AutomateWoo – Birthdays Add-on
Build stronger relationships with your customers with branded birthday wishes before, on, or after their special day. You don’t have to worry about learning and tracking customers’ birthdays; AutomateWoo does the rest after you collect birthday details at checkout.
AutomateWoo — Birthday Add-on sends your customers customized birthday wishes and special offers on their special day. You can program the extension to send this email some days before the birthday to get them to purchase something special before that special day.
Everyone loves receiving birthday wishes, but kind wishes and thoughtful offers from a brand impress more in customers’ hearts. That fosters deep personal relationships with the brand and unwavering loyalty.
Cashback for WooCommerce
You can always give back to your customers to earn their trust and loyalty. The Cashback extension allows you to offer cashback rewards for orders, purchases, payment options, and shipping. This tool automates sending reciprocatory incentives and rewards to loyal shoppers.
This plugin lets users see the cashback they can earn from certain actions and immediately adds it to their account after the action. As the product owner, you set the criteria and eligibility statutes for enjoying these incentives. Each time customers receive cashback, even at decimal levels, they feel rewarded and are encouraged to keep shopping with your brand as lifelong fans.
Next Order Reward for WooCommerce
Build loyal repeat customers by upselling your products with discount coupons and incentives. Building a new e-commerce store helps to invest in repeat purchases from returning customers. The Next Order Reward plugin helps you achieve this by advertising discount coupons for customers’ next purchase.
You can program this coupon to display on the confirmation or thank you page. It may even advertise incentives through a pop-up at checkout or an upsell email. When you offer customers their next need at discounted rates, you leave them no reason to look elsewhere.
Gratisfaction for WooCommerce
As a highly regarded loyalty plugin for WooCommerce, Gratisfaction stands out for its extensive customization capabilities. You can tailor your rewards programs extensively, setting up everything from giveaways and referral programs to purchase rewards. The tool provides detailed controls over its features, allowing users to activate comprehensive functionalities or select specific features to implement. For instance, in referral rewards, options include providing benefits to the referrer or both the referrer and the referred customer.
Gratisfaction’s free tier supports up to 100 loyalty members. Upgrading to the premium version is necessary for expanded features and higher user limits, with prices varying based on the desired cap on loyalty program members.
Pricing for larger memberships scales up to $349 per month (when billed annually) for up to 25,000 users. Businesses exceeding 25,000 users should reach out directly for tailored pricing solutions. Opting for an annual subscription also secures a 30% discount on all plans.
Sumo Reward Points for WooCommerce
The SUMO Reward Points plugin allows you to assign varying point values for activities such as purchases and referrals. These points can either be redeemed for cash or transferred between users. Additionally, the system supports unlimited email subscribers, and all design elements are fully customizable to fit your brand’s aesthetics.
SUMO Reward Points is part of a comprehensive plugin suite that enhances customer loyalty through various tools. These include functionalities for managing coupons, subscriptions, membership programs, and setting up flexible payment plans.
The SUMO Reward Points admin dashboard makes overseeing customer interactions and point allocations easy. It provides extensive options to set up referral links, cap maximum point balances, and define point expiration parameters, among other features. This plugin is renowned for its robust capabilities and popularity within the e-commerce community.
In contrast to the other solutions listed, SUMO does not offer a free trial. Instead, prospective users can explore its features through a live demo. A license purchase is required to fully implement the plugin.
MyCred for WooCommerce
In the quest to elevate customer loyalty within your WooCommerce storefront, myCred emerges as a beacon of gamification and engagement. This versatile plugin is designed to infuse your e-commerce experience with excitement, rewarding users through a clever system of points, badges, and ranks. With myCred, every click brings your customers closer to you, fostering a community swathed in loyalty and mutual appreciation.
Starting as a free service, myCred offers a foundation brimming with potential. Its true prowess, however, is unlocked through tailor-made add-ons, allowing you to sculpt the perfect loyalty program to suit your agenda. Whether it’s rewarding daily visits or celebrating community milestones, myCred adapts to your needs, ensuring that your rewards system is as unique as your business. Joining the myCred Membership Club further enhances this experience, bundling up your favorite add-ons at an irresistible price.
WPLoyalty for WooCommerce
WPLoyalty empowers you to craft a loyalty program that rewards customers for their purchases and engaging actions such as account sign-ups, referrals, product reviews, and social shares. It’s a toolkit for magnetizing and retaining customers by embedding rewarding experiences into every interaction with your brand.
WPLoyalty is versatile; it allows you to create custom loyalty tiers and badges, awarding your most dedicated customers exclusive rewards and recognition. Celebrations are in order, too, with birthday rewards to make your customers feel valued on their special day. WPLoyalty features point expiry notifications to keep the interest alive, gently nudging customers to engage and redeem their points.
Offering flexibility in rewards—be it coupons, free shipping, or free products—and integrating with multi-currency and multi-lingual setups, WPLoyalty ensures your rewards program is accessible and engaging to a global audience. The plugin simplifies customer relationship management through a clean, intuitive dashboard, ensuring you’re always on top of your loyalty game.
Best Practices for Successful Implementation of Your WooCommerce Customer Loyalty Program
You now have the appropriate tools and strategies to build consumer loyalty for your brand effectively. However, your implementation process is also key to unlocking success. Thus, this section shares three tips for successfully implementing a brand loyalty and retention strategy.
Choose a Strategy That Fits Your Brand
The success of a loyalty and retention strategy for one brand does not ensure its success for another, even in the same industry. Several other considerations are necessary to determine the success of a retention strategy for your business before engagement.
You should consider the size and nature of your business. Its structure and the types of customers you attract also factor in significantly. The nature of your products and their demand patterns are other essential considerations you must factor in.
Explore each loyalty strategy and tool’s features and discern which best fits your brand to impact your customers more. Use a rewards program and incentives when you’re sure of a good ROI.
Use Woocommerce Loyalty Tools and Software
A good loyalty and retention strategy with poor implementation tools results in wasted efforts. Your tools for implementing a loyalty strategy must be convenient and reliable. That is why veteran e-commerce shops recommend WooCommerce, which powers about 29% of all e-commerce sites (source: Tooltester.com) over the Internet.
Loyalty and reward tools are convenient and easy to use. Any e-commerce shop owner, even without technical and programming experience, can use these tools seamlessly. Additionally, the tools are reliable for automation and accurate recording and data analysis. These tools ensure the smooth implementation of any retention strategy for unlocking brand loyalty with repeat customers.
Gather and Use Feedback About Your Loyalty and Rewards Program
Users are always happy to share feedback about a product or service, commend good products, and seek improvement where necessary. It helps to leverage this customer behavior to learn about their perception of your loyalty-building efforts.
Send emails and on-app prompts to survey your customers’ feelings about your loyalty-building strategies. Ask whether they participate in your rewards program and how they feel about it. You could also leave room for suggestions for further improvements. After a data analysis of your results, you’ll learn where to improve to ensure higher efficiency of your loyalty and retention strategy.
Case Studies: Real-Life Success Stories From Brodo and Nutribullet
Many brands are already partnering with WooCommerce to implement these loyalty-building strategies. Their experiences show the benefits of the tools and strategies discussed above. See what you can learn from the success stories of Brodo and Nutibullet, two brands that sought loyalty through improved customer experience with them.
Expanding Brodo to a Nationwide Brand
How far can a bone broth brand really go? With the right tool, Brodo went from a brand sold at a takeout window to being shipped nationwide through e-commerce stores. Here’s their story:
Seeking expansion through e-commerce, Brodo explored WordPress and WooCommerce. Although the initial ride was bumpy, the team quickly identified the need for a better, more responsive website to meet emerging customer experience needs.
The approach to improving customer experience began with better UX and CX design for mobile web users. Then, they introduced a self-service subscription and an information homepage to delight their customers.
Brodo also used tools like WooCommerce Emails and AutomateWoo for upselling and referral programs to build brand loyalty. This simple partnership and proper loyalty and retention strategy implementation have grown a local brand into a big business with customers nationwide.
Read more about Brodo’s WooCommerce Case Study >
Nutribullet Improves Conversions & Customer Loyalty With Woopayments
The Nutribullet case shows how convenience and reliability impact customer satisfaction, influencing loyalty. Their case shows how a simple tweak and one appropriate strategy can influence the desired results.
Nutribullet is not new to e-commerce; it has always been a strong brand with a good online presence that just needed optimization. As a retail company selling small kitchen appliances, Nutribullet depends on ad conversions and repeat customers to thrive online.
However, despite using Apple Pay, PayPal, and Google Pay, many customers were dissatisfied with their checkout experience. After a thorough audit, they sought to improve customer satisfaction on their e-commerce platform site through an improved checkout experience.
Then, they chose WooPayments, seeking a payment gateway with advanced functionality, like accepting payment plans, gift cards, and continuity subscription billing. Since Nutribullet adopted this payment gateway, conversion has increased by 35%, and reports show that the numbers continue to rise.
With WooPayments delivering improved customer service at checkout, Nutribullet has improved conversion and positive customer experience. This case study is your cue to pick a loyalty tool to build your e-commerce store today!
Conclusion
This article has highlighted the importance of customer loyalty as a key driver for business growth and expansion. Despite its pivotal effect, brand loyalty is easy to achieve with the right tools and strategies. Here, you’ve seen examples of simple yet effective tools and strategies to adopt and how to do it.
Lastly, did you know that website performance has a major impact on customer loyalty? A mere one-second delay in page load time can lead to a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction. This is crucial, as satisfied customers are more likely to develop a sense of loyalty to a brand. Furthermore, 40% of users will abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load, showcasing the thin line eCommerce sites tread between retaining potential loyal customers and driving them away through poor performance.
Want to improve your WooCommerce site’s performance? Download the CRAZY FAST WooCommerce Sites guide and checklist to discover the secret strategies for a fast, highly scalable WooCommerce site.
