Keep Your Buyers Coming Back For More

Lauren Smith — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:43:00 GMT

"Buy this!"

"50% off!"

"Limited time offer!"

"Free shipping!"

Not long ago, these promotions and emails would flood your site with buyers, eager to take advantage of discounts and special offers. Have you put a promotion out there lately, expecting to reap the rewards, only to find yourself, well....disappointed?

On a daily basis, the typical connected consumer is exposed to an average of 3,000 marketing messages. (Deloitte) However, more than 50% of adults said they were likely to open emails containing promotions and coupons. (Experian) While consumers may be open to receiving discounts from you, it takes more than just the promise of saving a few dollars to keep them coming back. Here are our three best practice tips for keeping their attention, whether you're offering a discount or not:

(1) Be Timely

Promotions should be relevant to the consumer if you expect to grab their attention. Take this recent email from Case-Mate, sent right after the holidays:

With four million Kindles (MSBNC) and an estimated thirteen million iPads (ZDNet) sold during the month of December, it's highly likely that a good portion of their subscriber base received one during the holidays. Case-Mate's email is both timely and relevant, reminding their customers that they have an extensive tablet case selection. The offer of free shipping captures a buyer who might otherwise visit a brick and mortar store to save money.

(2) Make It Easy

Want to capture the buyer that's in a rush? Offer them a way to quickly find what they're looking for on your website. Loehmann's offers a trend spotlight on their front page where consumers can find the season's top trends at discounts they're used to seeing in store. Showing both the normal retail price and the current price allows shoppers to see the value in purchasing directly from the site.

(3) Go Where They Are

With 40% of US mobile users owning smartphones (Nielsen), it certainly makes sense for you to have a mobile optimized presence. Implementing best practices like a persistent cart, consistent pricing and inventory allows your customer to have the best experience possible.

Wahoo Fitness knows that their customers are already using smartphones because their products are built to work with smartphones. It's a natural progression to take their web presence directly to a mobile site, easily navigated with one finger:

Remember, it's not always about providing the promise of a discount to your customer, but providing added value. Giving your shopper a reason to buy from you fosters loyalty, and will bring your customers back again and again.

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Keep Your Buyers Coming Back For More