Every site wants have a loyal fan base, right? The best way to ensure that your site experiences growth is to make sure you retain consumers. So, how is it done? Well, it's really not that difficult. Just give various incentives to get your customers to come back for more. Customer retention is probably one of the easier facets of a company. As long as you show that your customers are valued, they will continue to come where they are valued. Here are a handful of ways you can ensure customer retention.

1. Be Mobile Friendly

The first recommendation that I am going to mention is that you need to make sure your site is mobile friendly. Have AMPs or an app, anything would help. This may not seem like it's relevant but I assure you it is. Everybody and their mom has a phone nowadays. They're practically glued to our hands. Say a potential consumer hears about your product from a friend and wants to take a look. They're more likely to do it from their phone as their friend is singing your praises. But how does it look to them when they try to view your site from their phone and are unable to do so? Whoops. That'll sour the taste for sure.

Not only could it turn away potential customers, but your current ones might not want to come back if the only way they can reach you is via desktop or laptop. Many people browse websites on public transportation, or while they're waiting for a friend to be ready, or in the waiting rooms of a doctor's office. They do it to kill time on the go. If they can't reach you on the go, then they might stop trying to reach you at all.

2. Loyalty or Referral Programs

Everybody needs love and everybody wants to feel appreciated. Consumers want to feel like they're special to you as a customer and that you truly appreciate their business. They also want to feel like it's worth their while to continue using your site. In today's society, people can go just about anywhere to get what they want. Why is your site so special?

Don't give the consumer a moment to even doubt you. If you offer loyalty/referral programs not only are you likely to retain customers, but you're also likely to gain consumers as well. I am a book junkie and one of the reasons why I will always prefer buying my books through Barnes and Noble is because they're constantly sending me coupons just for being a customer and a loyal member. One year I even got a gift card, not a coupon, during Christmas time just as a thank you for being a customer. Do you understand how ecstatic I was?

It is for this reason that I am always recommending Barnes and Noble to anyone who claims they want to be an avid reader. They will gladly support your habit and show you appreciation in the process. Don't you want your customers to sound as pleased as I do?

3. Birthday Gifts

Most people want to feel special on their birthday and they usually want everyone to know it and celebrate with them. This is where you, their favorite store, come in: give them a birthday gift. I know what you're thinking: birthdays only roll around once a year. And you're not wrong. But the catch is that they roll around every year. So, at the very least, you'll have a customer who's coming back for their birthday "gift." That gift can be anything from a coupon to a free product. Honestly, if you couple this with the referral/loyalty program, you'll have someone coming back year round.

4. Always Something Extra

As I said, customers like to feel special and appreciated. They can take their business anywhere. They need the reassurance to stick around with yours. A nice little thank you card goes a long way. Or if they want more than that, give them a thank you coupon. I cannot tell you how many sites I've revisited simply because they gave me an incentive to come back for more just for buying one thing. Barnes and Noble is one of them, as I've mentioned, but there have been several others that have given me coupons to return for more. I almost always use them.

Some sites can take the extra step and send more than a coupon. Say you're a site that sells beauty products. You can include some samples for a new product, or rather any product that you think they might enjoy based off of their previous purchases. The same could go for food. If you have a clothing site, perhaps you could give a smaller and less expensive thank you giveaway, for example some socks or a t-shirt. It's the extra thought that will matter in the eyes of the consumer.

5. Showcase Customer Social Media Posts

This one is pretty important. Many consumers are apprehensive about sites and many people trust the word of the average joe more than any paid endorser. This is especially true with clothes. Clothes are advertised to look good on models. But everyday people aren't models...or are they? If you showcase the social media posts from consumers who have purchased products recently, current or potential consumers are more likely to feel more at ease with your products. This doesn't only go for clothes, though. This can apply to anything: food, beauty, tools, novelty items, the list goes on.

What could even work to your benefit is that your customers may not only be encouraged by the posts, but they may also want to showcase their own purchases, which would in turn require them to purchase more of your products.

Personally, I'm ecstatic when I see that a site utilizes social media posts from consumers. If it's clothes, you can see how they would normally fit. If it's food, you can see how it really looks upon delivery. If it's jewelry, you can see how it looks being worn. There are so many advantages to this.

Conclusion

There are really so many other ways to get your customers to come back for more. And you can always tweak the ideas offered here. It's always all about what works best for your company. Every site and circumstance is different and you want to make sure that your consumers see that your site is different than all the rest. Once you show them how much different (and better) you are than your competition, they'll come back like flies to honey.