The holiday season comes with an influx of one-time customers seeking the perfect gift for their loved ones. One challenge for many businesses lies in converting these shoppers into repeat buyers. One fundamental factor in effective customer retention involves engaging shoppers beyond seasonal discounts and offers – to establish a genuine relationship with the buyer. 

Research shows that acquiring new customers costs much more than retaining old ones. Specifically, a repeat customer will spend 67% more during months 31-36 of their relationship with a company or brand than a new customer will in their first six months. The holiday season is an opportunity to build lasting customer loyalty and drive long-term ROI. 

Promote Customer Loyalty Programs

Customer loyalty programs reward shoppers for their support, giving them extra incentives to choose your brand over another. These programs can help optimize customer retention strategies.  There are various loyalty programs available, ranging from membership subscriptions to cumulative points systems. A well-structured loyalty program can drive up to 20% of a company’s profit

You can attract one-time shoppers by actively promoting loyalty programs alongside seasonal discounts, presenting them as a packaged deal. 

Buyers in a festive shopping mood are likely to show more interest in signing up for a loyalty program compared to non-holiday periods. These loyalty programs apply beyond the year-end celebrations, providing active customer engagement. 

Leverage Social Media 

Social media is a powerful customer engagement tool that can help your brand connect with shoppers in the long run. Individuals spend an average of 145 minutes on social media daily, giving your brand a significant window to make a lasting impression. 

However, rather than limiting customer interactions to paid Facebook or Instagram ads, you should actively respond to user comments and suggestions to develop the image of an approachable brand. Additionally, it’s a strategic move to diversify your outreach across multiple social media platforms to retain the attention of a larger group of customers. 

Festive social media content should tap on the spirit of the holidays, creating an impactful and personalized connection with audiences. By doing so, one-time shoppers will associate positive emotions with your brand and offer continuous support – enhancing customer retention practices.

Raffles, Drawings, and Other Giveaways

Seasonal contests are effective ways to encourage customer retention. Aside from creating an interactive shopping experience, you may consider featuring some of your top products as prizes. Consider promoting the prize tiers across your social media channels and official website for added traction. 

One effective contest strategy involves customers posting the best snapshots of themselves with a featured product. These initiatives provide your company with publicity through social proof elements that build trust and brand loyalty. 

Keep Your Brand at the “Top of Mind” 

Modern customers have the freedom and accessibility of several shopping options, making the business world highly competitive. Therefore, you should ensure that you keep your products at the top of mind for one-time buyers. 

Aside from social media outreach, consider releasing periodic newsletters that highlight the latest deals and promotions, or podcasts and videos that feature a popular product. 

However, if you decide to apply a content-rich customer engagement strategy, you should keep things personalized for optimized response. For instance, 71% of consumers react negatively to impersonal content, which could backfire on your engagement campaigns. 

Practice a Consistent Approach

Consistency is critical for maintaining repeat shoppers. You need to prioritize constant communication, from social media posts to notifying customers about the latest loyalty program offers and responding to complaints. Consistent engagement keeps customers excited about upcoming offers and confident that you have their best interests at heart. 

Use Automation in Re-engagement 

Manually reaching out to individual shoppers is time-consuming and counter-productive in the modern digital age. Alternatively, automated marketing and customer management software can effortlessly help you follow up on one-time customers across their buyer journey. 

A quality CRM should include built-in calendars and notification systems to generate personalized messages and promotions, maintaining promises and engagement while you focus on developing your business. 

Refine Payment Processes

While festive customers may turn a blind eye to clunky payment processes for a one-time shopping event, it reduces the appeal and chances of returning for a repeat purchase. 

Cart abandonment is a lingering concern for online businesses, with eCommerce sites losing an estimated $18 billion every year. Various reasons lead to incomplete transactions, with one leading cause being the complexity and opacity of checkouts. 

A significant price difference between the base and net prices could easily exceed a shopper’s budget. You can minimize the risks of cart abandonment by clarifying all fees during purchase, such as clearly indicating surcharges, taxes, shipping, and other fees. Efficient payment processing provides a necessary convenience that shapes customer retention.

Additionally, you should make payment processing as seamless and frictionless as possible – a policy that should apply to eCommerce and brick-and-mortar stores alike. Contactless payments have become a rising technology during the pandemic, and more companies have expanded their payment options in line with consumer trends. 

Apple Pay is one popular contactless payment mode, providing customers with fast, secure, and accessible transactions from the convenience of their mobile devices. For in-store payment solutions, you may consider contactless card terminals and curbside services, where customers may book a slot for self-pickup items. 

At NMA, we offer merchant services tailored to help you connect and convert one-time customers into regular shoppers. Through a combination of personalized services and industry expertise, We Work For You™ to establish your brand. 

About NMA 

NMA is a merchant advocacy group dedicated to reducing or eliminating the unnecessary fees associated with accepting credit card payments. Since 2004, NMA’s payment processing solutions have delivered tailored solutions, best-in-class customer service, and high-quality service offerings for businesses across multiple industries. Whether it’s high-risk or low-risk, brick-and-mortar, or eCommerce, NMA will create the best processing experience for your company. For more information, visit us at our legacy.nationalmerchants.com or by calling (866) 509-7199.