Customer Loyalty: What Makes an Impact

Blog Post •
Loyal customers fuel growth, driving repeat sales, referrals, and brand advocacy. But earning that loyalty takes more than great products—it requires trust and a seamless customer experience. Here are three key strategies that could turn first-time shoppers into lifelong supporters.
person pulling credit card out of wallet

Loyal customers are one of a business’s most valuable assets. They not only drive repeat sales but also refer new customers, lowering acquisition costs, and actively promote your brand—delivering long-term value in countless ways.

However, gaining customer loyalty is no simple task. Businesses have to build trust with their audience and provide a positive customer experience to keep shoppers happy. 

Luckily, there are some things businesses can do to increase their customer loyalty. We’ll briefly unpack 3 of them and explain how they can help you turn one-time shoppers into loyal customers. 

Offer Loyalty Programs

Customers are drawn to perks, discounts, and rewards—so much so that 78% stay loyal to brands with strong loyalty programs, and 72% are likely to recommend those brands to friends and family.

For retail and e-commerce brands, this is a prime opportunity. A well-designed loyalty program helps you engage key customer segments, enhance the overall experience, and build a base of loyal, repeat shoppers.

Great Customer Service

The power of great customer service is astounding. This year, it was reported that 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases from companies that deliver excellent customer service. And just a few years ago, Bain and Company found that businesses that prioritized great customer service could increase their revenue by 4-8%. 

To build and sustain customer loyalty, retail and e-commerce businesses must refine their customer service operations. They should identify customer needs and enhance their approach to meeting them while ensuring seamless engagement across phone, email, social media, live chat, and text. Consistency and accessibility are key to lasting connections.

In some cases, the best way forward may be to find a 3rd party customer service solution to manage customer questions and resolve issues.

Fast & Accurate Fulfillment 

Whether you offer an e-commerce shopping experience or not, it’s important to have a clear process for moving products from the warehouse to the truck and into your customers’ carts. Otherwise, you can end up with slow order fulfillment, lots of backorders, and low customer satisfaction. 

At the same time, you need to make sure your presentation is on-point — no matter how busy you are. Products need to be placed into their packaging properly, and the packaging should consistently reflect your brand. If they don’t, customers may get frustrated or feel undervalued. 

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to make all aspects of your fulfillment process run smoothly. All you need is an order management system (OMS). Using an OMS solution from an e-commerce partner, you can view inventory across your organization, map the best fulfillment routes for orders, alert customers and associates on order arrival times, and track inventory while in transit. You can even leverage dropship order management to streamline fulfillment between suppliers and buyers. 

Acquiring customers is hard. But if you want to compete in the retail and e-commerce space, it isn’t enough. You have to turn those shoppers into lifelong customers. The good news is, increasing customer loyalty isn’t rocket science. You just have to optimize your processes and integrate the right tools into your operations.