No matter how you spin it, your repeat customers will always drive more profits than your one-time buyers.

On average, 41% of an ecommerce brand’s revenue is generated by only 8% of their customers. At first glance, this 8% may not seem like much, but these customers will outspend their one-time counterparts every single time.

Businesses are built on returning customers, and focusing on increasing this group is your best bet at driving long-term revenue. Converting your one-time buyers into repeat customers is no simple task however, especially in a crowded retail environment. But when you deploy the data-powered insights of a CDP (customer data platform) you can gain a deeper understanding of how to convert your one-time buyers into long-term brand loyalists.

In this piece, you’ll discover 4 unique strategies that drive repeat customers and ensure that your customers choose your brand time and time again.

1. Rely on a customer loyalty program

Customer loyalty programs can be a powerful tool in engaging your customers past the point of the initial purchase. In fact, more than 90% of companies use some kind of customer loyalty program to connect with their customers. At the same time, roughly 84% of consumers are more likely to stay with a brand that offers a loyalty program to their customers.

A loyalty program can help in developing a more long-term connection with your customers, particularly if you give them ample incentive to return and make an additional purchase. From point-driven programs to those that organizes members in tiers, there are many ways to engage with your customers and urge a returning purchase. Taking a data-driven approach to your customer loyalty program can only bolster your success as you can get a deeper understanding of the kinds of rewards that drive the most satisfaction from your customers.

2. Nail the first purchase

In retail, first impressions are everything. The better the first transaction, the more likely your customers are to choose your brand again in the future.

Ensure that your customers can easily navigate from your product list to your checkout page. After the initial purchase, re-engage with them through shipping updates or reminders about curbside pickup. And when they’ve received their product, follow up and ask them to share their purchasing experience with you so that can potentially improve it.

In the end, you should treat your customer’s first purchase as a first impression of what your brand has to offer. Through the insights of a CDP, you can ensure that your customer journey is as seamless as possible. And once you nail the first impression, your customers will come back for more.

3. Provide product recommendations

After the first purchase, your customers may not know what to buy next. By acting as their shopping guide, you can provide recommendations for products that complement their initial purchase. Product recommendations make up 1/3rd of all ecommerce transactions—meaning there is ample opportunity to drive a second purchase.

Customer data can enhance your product recommendations by providing insight into the kinds of products that are more likely to drive that second purchase. You can take this strategy one step further, by tailoring your product recommendations based on the specifics of the first-purchase. Through the deployment of a CDP, you can fine-tune your product recommendations, ensuring that they garner the best results possible.

4. Personalize Your customer experiences

In today’s age of retail, personalized customer experiences are essential—especially when your customers have more options than ever before. Highly personalized customer journeys can help you create a more intimate connection with your customers, which in turn will encourage them to return to your brand again in the future.

Personalization means delivering authentic communication and creating a unified brand narrative that is meant to create a long-lasting and meaningful connection with your customers.

All of your customer touchpoints should be as tailored to your customer’s as possible, and a single customer view provided by a CDP can help with that personalization. With a single customer view provided you can orchestrate highly personalized omnichannel experiences that connect all of your customer interactions through a cohesive brand narrative. Additionally, interactions can all be tailored to satisfy specific customer segments, ensuring that you get the best engagement possible. A customer who is satisfied with your brand’s purchasing experience is a customer who will more than likely return to make the same journey again.

Learn more about the benefits of personalizing your customer experiences.

Drive Repeat Customers with a Customer Data Platform

Customer data platforms (CDPs) like Lexer can provide you with a deep understanding of your customers’ behavior which you can use to drive loyalty. Once you know your customers and how they engage with your brand you can create the experiences that will keep them coming back.

Choosing the right CDP vendor matters, especially when attempting to convert one-time buyers into repeat customers. With an effective CDP, you can tap into deep customer intelligence, marketing automation, and advanced segmentation to drive revenue for your business.

Top brands like Quicksilver, Igloo, Rip Curl, Nine West, and Supergoop! are making the most of Lexer’s Customer Data & Experience Platform and benefiting immensely from the results. As the only CDP built specifically for the retail industry, we support leading brands and retailers to drive sales growth through improved customer engagement.

This article was adapted from Lexer’s case study, ‘How Sur La Table converts one-time buyers into repeat customers with Lexer’s CDP’. If you liked this, you’ll probably be interested in the case study as well. Click here to read the story of how Sur La Table used Lexer’s CDP to drive repeat customers.