Increase Return Customer Rates With Retention Email Marketing

One major difference between businesses that grow and those that don’t is customer retention. Most companies spend their marketing budgets on acquiring new buyers rather than retaining existing ones. 

According to recent statistics from Small Biz Trends, the probability of selling to a new consumer is around 5-20%, and the likelihood of selling to an existing one is 60-70%. 

How does a business retain clients? 80% of companies said that they rely on email marketing for customer retention. Cleverly crafted and well-researched email campaigns connect deeply with buyers. These e-messages help you in two ways:

• Passionately communicates the scope of your business with shoppers
• Provides consumers with ingenious offers and value-added services

With minimal financial investment and well-channeled research, businesses can build a dedicated following. 

Benefits Of Customer Retention For Your Business

Businesses that offer customers maximum value see an increase in revenue from returning clients. Let’s discuss why retaining buyers is vital for every brand:

• Returning clients means a fixed customer base. Having an established following will help drive regular sales. Moreover, it’s economical for a business to connect with past buyers rather than reach out to newer ones. Studies show that retaining only 5% of existing consumers can boost revenue by 90%
• Retained buyers boost the ROI of your business. On average, existing customers generate 65% of a business’s total sales 
• Companies have direct access to test their products or marketing strategies, either through email campaigns or by making judicious use of social media profiles
• When people stick with a brand for the long run, chances are they’re going to hold positive opinions about the company, thereby automatically serving as brand ambassadors
• Older customers are more invested in your business than new shoppers. They’ll be willing to spend more time browsing through your products than average buyers

How Does Retention Email Marketing Work?

The central idea of email marketing retention is to perfectly time the e-messages to generate more sales opportunities. A well-thought and personalized customer retention email can help to:

• Re-engage with customers
• Shoppers get the most value from your products and services
• Increase sales, brand loyalty, and word-of-mouth referral
• Communicate your business value
• Generate consumer research data and further optimize your marketing processes

Retention strategies may vary depending on your business goals and contact lists. However, similar to other email campaigns, a few things will remain consistent. For instance, a customer retention email should be specific, personalized, and reflect your understanding of the buyer’s preferences. Keep in mind that consumers are highly unlikely to take any action on a message that sounds automated and emotionless. 

Always address the e-messages as if you’re talking face-to-face with your clients. Successful campaigns rely on understanding the recipient’s purchasing and browsing habits. Hence, to get results, you should create targeted campaigns based on the customer’s past interaction with your brand.

Best Practices For Email Retention

These few tried and tested strategies are the building blocks of creating a dependable customer base and have been adopted by budding and established businesses alike:

• Personalized thank-you emails. These messages top off a journey in the sweetest possible way. There’s no better way to show the buyer your appreciation for their contribution
• Customer surveys. These emails are entrusting consumers with a crucial responsibility by asking them for their opinions about a product or your service. Openness to their experiences and thoughts fosters trust between buyers and businesses
• Remind them of the items related to their cart, purchase, or their browsing history. The cart is typically an uncharted territory for an ecommerce business. You can boost sales by 30% by reminding the shoppers of the items in their carts or by merely showing them alternative products related to their previous purchases and browsing histories
• Referral system. There’s no better way to win over the trust of existing buyers than by promising them a gift of a financial nature every time they refer your business to a new person. Some companies offer gifts to both the customers as well as the referred individuals 
• Loyalty gifts. Loyalty gifts show that you care for your clients and appreciate them for the business. Creating personalized discount coupons, gift codes, referral incentives, and so forth will help increase word-of-mouth referrals and brand loyalty
• Order confirmation mailers. By sending order confirmations with a detailed breakdown of the purchase, you claim complete financial transparency on behalf of your business. This also lets buyers know that your customer service goes beyond making a sale
• Subscription offers. A company can excite its current customers about a new product or campaign by offering them exclusive subscriptions that can’t be accessed by casual buyers

Examples Of Successful Client Retention Emails 

A lot of businesses have successfully utilized these types of e-messages. To help you gain more insight, here are a few of the best client retention email examples from some of the well-known brands:

• Uber. Uber’s retention messages are neat and don’t beat around the bush. If this brand wants to win a buyer’s loyalty, it makes sure to make an offer that one can’t overlook

In this retention example, Uber offers a personalized discounted fare for a journey commonly taken by a person, such as a journey between home and office. This is an ingenious mailer that has converted millions of office-goers into loyal customers. 

• Canva. This brand is one of the hottest businesses on the market, and its retention emails will tell you why. It makes sure to update a user about all its latest offerings with visually-appealing e-messages

Most emails include direct links to tons of informational blogs and how-to guides that help users get the most out of the platform. It also consists of a CTA for the pro version. This strategy works, which is why the bulk of businesses today are so dependent on Canva to meet their design needs. 

• Ellevest. Referrals are a great way to excite new clients to try out your business. Every time someone refers your brand to another person, the referral code comes into action. When a new customer signs up to your business due to referrals, make sure to treat them financially. Ellevest is a company that does this perfectly 

A perfect balance of imagery and text, this email campaign has worked wonders for the brand. Using this program, Ellevest drove new shoppers into using its financial services and rewarding existing buyers for referrals.

Bottom Line 

A business thrives with the robust support of a loyal customer base. By crafting your buyer retention email, you invest time and effort into the care of your consumers. Once you figure out their likes, dislikes, and preferences, use the data to create value-added campaigns.

This shows your appreciation for the people who have chosen your brand. Most importantly, it demonstrates that you want to service them in the long run.