Proven ecommerce strategies like SEO, paid ads, social media, and email marketing have been effective, but competition is growing. With this increased competition comes decreased effectiveness. Because of this, a new ecommerce strategy has emerged: retention marketing. Retention marketing is the strategy of keeping more customers actively engaged for longer, and is the new battleground on which ecommerce brands will fight. In his talk, Steve Deckert addresses how you can continue to keep your customers engaged and win this fight.

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Retention Marketing:
The Next eCommerce
Battleground
Steve Deckert
Co-Founder, Sweet Tooth

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Steve Deckert
@stevedeckert

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Sweet Tooth
@sweettooth
eCommerce loyalty
programs
4,000 retailers
sweettoothrewards.com

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Inbound > Outbound

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Outbound
=
Customer Acquisition

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Outbound
=
Acquisition

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eCommerce
=
Acquisition

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1994: "Ten Summoner's Tales" by Sting becomes the first secure online
purchase. Pizza Hut also claims to be first to sell online.
1995: Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com. eBay founded as AuctionWeb.
1996: Dell begins selling computers online.
1998: PayPal founded.
1999: Alibaba Group established in China. Overstock.com founded.
2002: eBay acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion.
Early eCommerce History

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1994: "Ten Summoner's Tales" by Sting becomes the first secure online
purchase. Pizza Hut also claims to be first to sell online.
1995: Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com. eBay founded as AuctionWeb.
1996: Dell begins selling computers online.
1998: PayPal founded.
1999: Alibaba Group established in China. Overstock.com founded.
2002: eBay acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion.
2004: Inbound conceptualized by Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah
Early eCommerce History

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eCommerce
=
Acquisition

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Outbound vs Inbound
=
Cust. Acquisition vs Retention

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The companies that will win the
next 5 years of eCommerce will
win using customer retention.

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Why?

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Because acquisition won’t work.

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https://blog.shareaholic.com/search-visit-value-06-2014/

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http://searchengineland.com/google-showing-fewer-ads-per-search-219834

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http://www.statista.com/chart/2021/organic-reach-of-brands-facebook-posts/

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http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/infographic-paid-reach-on-facebook-getting-more-
expensive/299749

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http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/global-display-ad-spend-growth-forecast-to-
outpace-paid-search-22423/zenithoptimedia-global-online-ad-spend-2010-2014-
june2012png/

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https://moz.com/blog/consumer-survey-reveals-the-efficacy-of-inbound-vs-outbound

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https://moz.com/blog/consumer-survey-reveals-the-efficacy-of-inbound-vs-outbound

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http://andrewchen.co/the-law-of-shitty-clickthroughs/

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http://www.marketingcharts.com/verticals/retail-and-e-commerce/51-of-americans-
switched-service-providers-in-the-past-year-due-to-poor-customer-service-
37627/attachment/accenture-switching-service-providers-oct2013/

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Consumers have had enough of
companies trying to
acquire them.

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Outbound vs Inbound
=
Cust. Acquisition vs Retention

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Customer Retention

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http://success.adobe.com/assets/en/downloads/whitepaper/13926.digital_index_loyal_s
hoppers_report.pdf

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http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2013/under-the-influence-consumer-trust-in-
advertising.html

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Historically, <20% of marketing
budgets dedicated to retention.

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http://www.marketingcharts.com/uncategorized/customer-retention-top-marketing-
priority-17975/

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http://www.marketingcharts.com/traditional/retailers-say-customer-retention-will-be-key-
revenue-growth-driver-45664/attachment/kpmg-most-significant-retail-revenue-drivers-
sept2014/

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Source: 2013 Colloquy Loyalty Census

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Source: 2013 Colloquy Loyalty Census

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Source: 2013 Colloquy Loyalty Census

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The companies that will win the
next 5 years of eCommerce will
win using customer retention.

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Customer Retention Model

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Visitor Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate

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Visitor
Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate

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Visitor Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate
Customer Acquisition Customer Retention

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Visitor Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate
Customer Acquisition Customer Retention
Transactional Relationship Emotional Relationship

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Loyalty is an Emotion

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Visitor Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate
Customer Acquisition Customer Retention
Transactional Relationship Emotional Relationship
• Good prices
• Fast shipping
• Site speed
• Easy UI
• Product Images

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Visitor Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate
Customer Acquisition Customer Retention
Transactional Relationship Emotional Relationship
• Good prices
• Fast shipping
• Site speed
• Easy UI
• Product Images
Hygiene Factors

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Visitor Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate
Customer Acquisition Customer Retention
Transactional Relationship Emotional Relationship
• Good prices
• Fast shipping
• Site speed
• Easy UI
• Product Images
Hygiene Factors
• Loyalty programs
• Lifecycle email
• Amazing customer support
• Personalization
• Referral programs

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Visitor Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate
Customer Acquisition Customer Retention
Transactional Relationship Emotional Relationship
• Good prices
• Fast shipping
• Site speed
• Easy UI
• Product Images
Hygiene Factors
• Loyalty programs
• Lifecycle email
• Amazing customer support
• Personalization
• Referral programs
Delight Factors

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Visitor
Purchaser
Repeat
Purchaser
Brand
Advocate

58. 1. Acquisition = Outbound. Retention = Inbound.
2. Customers have had enough of companies trying to
acquire them. Acquisition becoming less effective and
more expensive.
3. Retention marketing is a good way to grow revenue and
get new customers
What Did You Learn?

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Do What You Believe

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Thank You!
Questions?