Creative Ways to Foster Brand Loyalty in E-commerce

While some brands may have a dedicated brand loyalty team, you must find unique ways to rethink the initiative and bring back customers again and again.

Consumers today have an abundance of choices. New opportunities to purchase from brands for which consumers have an affinity, such as their commitment to sustainability, or how to purchase, like 2-hour delivery or recurring subscriptions, are reshaping the modern buying process.

While consumers may enjoy the variety, e-commerce companies must compete for brand loyalty in a highly competitive space. Therefore, a commitment to innovation and consumer care is setting e-commerce leaders apart from the hundreds of thousands of companies in the space.

Time spent developing loyalty initiatives won’t be a wasted effort: Research by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company shows increasing customer retention rates by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%, which proves that securing new customers cannot be the only goal of an e-commerce brand. And, while some brands may have a dedicated loyalty team, here are unique ways to rethink the initiative and bring back customers again and again.

Monitoring Brand Loyalty Trends and Acting Upon Reviews & Comments

Consumers have a voice and a platform to share it. Product reviews are a key factor, the third most important, in purchasing decisions according to an eMarketer survey.

Practically speaking, Amazon automatically requests reviews from buyers, so no action is needed from sellers to begin this process.

Sometimes it can lead to negative reviews. If this happens to be the case for you, respond quickly. Not only can this resolve any customer complaints, but future consumers can read through these responses and be confident if they had an issue, it would also be resolved.

Larger brands may have a customer service team to handle reviews, but if this is instead handled on a one-off basis, maintain a consistent, genuine and sincere voice across platforms. Automated or generic responses that don’t confront the problem at hand can leave customers even more frustrated.

Knowing Your Own Keywords and Those of Your Competitors

Search engine optimization isn’t just about having your brand’s products at the top of search results. Brands who prioritize SEO have a clear understanding of what keywords shoppers are using as well as where competitors are spending, where they win and what gaps in their strategy are exploitable. This allows brands to surface at the top of search and get in front of their consumers or prospects, even if they weren’t initially being sought after.

Further, an April 2019 polling from Yotpo found that the leading customer acquisition channels for D2Cs included social media, SEO and direct traffic, and eMarketer found that nearly 30% of consumers found a purchase from a D2C brand due to online search.

Creating Compelling Brand Messaging And Visuals to Drive Loyalty

There are multiple ways to increase affinity and conversation rates on marketplaces, but using A+ content specifically for Amazon is a powerful, brand-building method. If you’re unfamiliar, Amazon vendors have the option to create A+ content for their Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASINs.)

A+ content is enhanced marketing content (EMC) that appears on the product detail page in the “From the Manufacturer” section. A+ content is a combination of rich images and compelling copy to differentiate from another similar product.

By incorporating A+ content, vendors communicate the unique value or aesthetic of their brand, providing an opportunity for prospects to learn, connect and engage with the overall story or mission. In turn, customer confidence in the integrity of the offering or product increases which can boost sales and conversion rates.

Be aware that images in A+ content require a text field for image keywords. Marketplace sellers should add their top keywords (within 100 characters) to help improve their organic SEO and traffic.

Consumers aren’t fickle; they need a reason to come back.

To thrive, retailers must commit to bringing back consumers again and again. While industry trends will always come and go, the desire for consumers to be understood and appreciated will remain.