By Dave Reeder · We all have dream customers who come back time and again. Sadly, it's often a small number of our website visitors, so how can we increase that number and get more repeat business?
What is visitor retention?
When people visit your website, they will only remain for a certain amount of time. But a number of these people will return — these are your loyal visitors.
The returning visitors are the ones we're referring to when we talk about visitor retention.
Typically, we talk about our Retention Rate, which can be calculated as follows:
According to Envive, customer-obsessed organizations achieve 51% better retention alongside 41% faster revenue growth.
Why do so few of my visitors return?
There are many reasons why visitors don't return, including:
- Not ready to buy
- Expectations weren't met
- One-time need
- Strong competition
- Lack of engagement
- No relationship was built
- No habit was formed
We can't do anything about some of these reasons, but others we can definitely improve.
By reducing friction to enquiries or sales, visitors are more likely to purchase and come back in the future to buy again.
Visitors don't want to wait for answers or complete forms with loads of questions, and they probably don't want to end up on a phone call either. According to Leadferno, over-65s prefer the phone, but all other age groups prefer texting and messaging apps.
How do we get visitors to come back?
Interactive features like chatbots and website comments encourage visitors to come back. This is because:
- They get instant answers to questions
- They see community content (comments) which boosts trust
- Chatbots reduce friction — they ask one question at a time
- More personal, breaks the ice
- Visitors come back to check replies to their comments
- People like to follow developing conversations
- Visitors feel a stronger brand connection
- Users receive more guidance on products, delivery etc.
How does this help you?
Your business or organisation will benefit in the following ways:
- Building brand awareness and authority
- Reducing the cost of answering typical questions
- Repeat sales or donations (for charities / not-for-profits)
- More conversions: enquiries, purchases, demo bookings, quotes
- Lower marketing costs for the same revenue
- Improved SEO performance
- Enhanced customer insights
Your existing customers are your greatest opportunity. They are far more likely to buy from you, so what do you say — shall we start engaging with them today?
Start today!
Why wait when you can set up commenting and a chatbot on your website today, and start re-engaging your website visitors for free?