Many ecommerce merchants focus their advertising efforts on acquiring new customers. While customer acquisition is crucial, it’s equally important to nurture and retain your existing customer base. Advertising to existing customers can often yield higher returns than acquiring new ones because they are already familiar with your brand and more likely to convert. By engaging your current customers with targeted, personalized advertising, you can increase loyalty, boost sales, and improve customer lifetime value (LTV). Here’s how eCommerce merchants can effectively advertise to their existing customers.

Segment Your Customer Base

Not all customers are the same, and a one-size-fits-all approach won’t yield the best results. The key to effective advertising is personalization, and this starts with segmenting your customer base into specific groups based on behavior, demographics, or preferences.

Some useful ways to segment your audience include:

• Purchase History: Segment customers based on the products or categories they’ve purchased from in the past. You can create campaigns that recommend complementary products or encourage repeat purchases of the same item.
• Frequency of Purchases: Group customers by how often they purchase from your store—such as frequent buyers, occasional shoppers, or lapsed customers. Tailor your messaging accordingly to maintain engagement or win back inactive customers.
• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): Identify your high-value customers and create exclusive promotions or rewards that cater to their loyalty.
• Engagement Level: Segment customers by how they interact with your emails, website, or social media platforms. Some customers may respond better to email campaigns, while others may prefer social media engagement.

By segmenting your audience, you can create personalized advertising that resonates with each group, leading to more meaningful interactions and higher conversion rates.

Leverage Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to engage with existing customers. As they have already shown interest in your products or services, email campaigns provide a direct and cost-effective way to keep your brand top-of-mind.

Key email strategies for advertising to existing customers include:

• Product Recommendations: Use customer purchase data to suggest related or complementary products. For example, if someone bought running shoes, you can recommend athletic socks or workout gear in a follow-up email.
• Exclusive Offers and Discounts: Reward loyal customers with special discounts or early access to sales. This makes customers feel valued and encourages repeat purchases.
• Abandoned Cart Emails: When a customer leaves items in their shopping cart without completing the purchase, sending a reminder email can nudge them toward checking out. Include a personalized message or offer a small discount to incentivize action.
• Re-Engagement Campaigns: For customers who haven’t made a purchase in a while, send a friendly email reminding them of your brand with a tailored offer. Highlight new arrivals, sales, or products based on their previous purchases.

Personalized and timely email campaigns are a powerful way to keep your existing customers engaged and encourage repeat business.

Upsell and Cross-Sell with Personalization

Once a customer has made a purchase, there’s an opportunity to increase the order value by offering relevant upsells and cross-sells. Rather than suggesting random products, focus on personalizing recommendations based on the customer’s interests and past purchases.

• Upsell: Encourage customers to buy a higher-end version of a product they’re already interested in. For example, if they’ve bought a basic coffee maker, recommend a more advanced model with added features.
• Cross-Sell: Suggest complementary items that go well with their previous purchases. If a customer has bought a camera, suggest a camera bag, lens, or tripod that enhances the product.

This strategy not only increases the average order value (AOV) but also helps customers discover products they might not have considered, creating a more personalized shopping experience.

Create Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are a powerful way to keep customers engaged and encourage repeat purchases. By offering rewards, discounts, or exclusive benefits, you can incentivize your customers to come back to your store and spend more.

To effectively advertise to loyalty program members:

• Reward Tiers: Create a tiered rewards program that offers increasing benefits as customers spend more or make frequent purchases. For example, higher-tier members could receive early access to new products, exclusive sales, or free shipping.
• Personalized Offers: Send personalized offers to loyalty program members based on their spending habits or preferences. This could include birthday discounts, points multipliers, or special promotions on their favorite products.
• Gamify the Experience: Make the loyalty program more engaging by turning it into a game. Encourage customers to accumulate points, unlock badges, or reach new levels to earn rewards, all while keeping them entertained and invested in your brand.

Loyalty programs not only help retain customers but also create opportunities for personalized advertising, where customers feel valued and appreciated.

Use Social Media Retargeting

Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer powerful retargeting tools that allow you to advertise specifically to customers who have already visited your website or made a purchase. Retargeting can help remind customers of your brand and bring them back to complete additional purchases.

How to implement effective retargeting strategies:

• Product Reminders: Use retargeting ads to remind customers of products they viewed but didn’t purchase. This can help re-engage users and encourage them to come back and complete their purchase.
• Customer-Specific Ads: Tailor your ads to different customer segments based on their behavior or purchase history. For example, show frequent buyers a new product launch, or promote a sale to customers who haven’t made a purchase recently.
• Lookalike Audiences: Social media platforms allow you to create “lookalike” audiences that target users with similar behaviors to your existing customers. This can help you find potential new customers while also maintaining a connection with your current audience.

Retargeting ads keep your brand visible to your existing customers, making it more likely that they will return to your store for future purchases.

Incorporate Customer Reviews and Testimonials

Existing customers can become your best advocates when they share positive feedback about your products or services. Using customer reviews and testimonials in your advertising can build trust with your audience and encourage repeat purchases.

Strategies for leveraging reviews in your advertising:

• Highlight Reviews in Emails: Include customer reviews in your email campaigns to showcase the positive experiences of others. For example, when launching a new product, include a quote from a satisfied customer who has already purchased it.
• Feature Testimonials in Retargeting Ads: Use glowing customer testimonials in retargeting ads to remind past buyers of why they loved your product or service in the first place.
• Create User-Generated Content: Encourage customers to share photos or videos of their purchases on social media, and feature this content in your advertising campaigns. Seeing real customers enjoying your products can inspire others to make similar purchases.

Using authentic customer voices in your advertising builds credibility and fosters trust, making it more likely that existing customers will return.

Send Personalized Post-Purchase Communications

The time immediately after a purchase is a golden opportunity to engage customers and encourage future purchases. Post-purchase emails allow you to deliver value, maintain engagement, and build long-term relationships with your customers.

Some effective post-purchase communication strategies include:

• Thank-You Emails: Send a personalized thank-you email after every purchase to express appreciation for their business. Including a discount code or product recommendations can encourage them to shop again.
• Review Requests: Ask customers to leave a review of their purchase. This not only generates valuable social proof but also re-engages customers with your brand.
• Upsell and Cross-Sell Suggestions: After a purchase, suggest related products or higher-end alternatives that complement what they’ve already bought.
• Follow-Up Surveys: Ask customers about their experience with the purchase and offer them incentives, such as a discount for completing the survey. This helps you gather valuable feedback while staying engaged with your customers.

Post-purchase communications keep customers engaged with your brand, increasing the likelihood of repeat business.

Conclusion

Advertising to existing customers is a powerful and cost-effective way to boost sales and build loyalty. By personalizing your approach, segmenting your audience, leveraging email marketing, and implementing strategies like loyalty programs and retargeting, eCommerce merchants can effectively engage their current customers. These tactics help drive repeat purchases, increase customer lifetime value, and foster long-term relationships with your brand. By focusing on the needs and preferences of your existing customer base, you can turn one-time buyers into loyal advocates who return time and time again.

• Post-purchase strategies for customer retention
• How to Design and Implement a Loyalty Program
• Increasing Retention Through Customer Feedback
• Gamification for Customer Retention

• Tracking Page Strategies
• Optimizing Your Returns Landing Page

• Balancing Costs and Customer Experience With Return Fees
• Improving Customer LTV Post-Purchase
• Marketing to Existing Customers