In today's digital world, consumers have more choices than ever before. With the click of a button, they can order exactly what they want from almost anywhere in the world. The options are nearly endless—which makes it more important than ever before to focus on customer retention.

If you've put in the time and effort to earn that customer, why let them walk out the door? To stand out, eCommerce brands need to focus on building brand loyalty. Offering a more personalized experience online can ensure your customers feel appreciated and keep them coming back for more.

experience online can ensure your customers feel appreciated and keep them coming back for more.

That's exactly the principle behind Smartrr, the first subscription app built with the end-consumer in mind. Keep reading to learn how they're helping eCommerce brands—and how you can get started today.

What is brand loyalty?

Brand loyalty can be seen as an emotional bond that customers have with a product or brand. A customer's preference for one brand over another is influenced by his or her experience with the product. A positive experience with a brand will likely lead to more purchases from that company, while negative experiences may cause customers to buy from competitors instead.

Brand loyalty contributes greatly to corporate profitability, as it increases sales and reduces marketing costs. A company's ability to retain customers means they do not have to spend money on advertising or promotional campaigns to attract new clients. Instead, they can focus on making their current customers happy with great products and services at good prices.

In order to achieve increased brand loyalty and build trust with consumers, companies need to provide exceptional customer service and create compelling advertising campaigns that appeal directly to their target audience's values and needs.

Enter the subscription model

The subscription model isn't a new concept—magazine subscriptions have been around since the early 1800s—but it was the rise of Netflix in the late 1990s that kicked off this new era of brand loyalty.

Since then, some of the most successful companies in the world have built their businesses on a subscription model. Not only does it guarantee repeat business for you, but it offers benefits for your customers, too.

Subscription models are convenient for customers. Customers who sign up for a subscription will receive ongoing deliveries of a product or service, so there's no need to worry about running out of inventory.

Many subscription companies also have special offers and promotions exclusive to subscribers. This is an additional incentive to customers in exchange for their commitment.

Some subscriptions may even offer customers the chance to try new products—a bonus gift for subscribers can help introduce them to new products they may reorder in the future.

For businesses, subscriptions decrease customer acquisition costs (CAC) and increase lifetime value (LTV) per customer. When customers subscribe, they're committing themselves to making regular purchases over time—which means less money spent on advertising and marketing campaigns needed to attract new customers. This also allows businesses to more accurately predict revenue.

In short, both parties can benefit from the stronger relationships that subscriptions build.

Enter Smartrr

The value that subscriptions bring to consumers and businesses alike is what motivated Smartrr Co-Founder Gabriella Yitzhaek and her team. 

She believes that true brand loyalty is about building relationships between customers and businesses. The motivation behind the Smartrr subscription tool was to improve the customer experience.It was designed to integrate seamlessly with the Shopify checkout. 

“Since the beginning, the need for Smartrr has been underscored through our conversations with e-commerce leaders who were frustrated by the lack of innovation around the consumer experience in the subscription space,” wrote Yitzhaek on LinkedIn in her announcement about the Smartrr app launch on Shopify’s app store. The app was also featured on ProductHunt as one of the products of the day, a huge accomplishment for this small but mighty team. 

Many subscription offerings were focused on the merchant and it was difficult for customers to see the benefits of a commitment. The question Yitzhaek and her team proposed was simple: if subscriptions are a tool to build relationships with customers, why were they not a part of the app development process?

Smarter decided to focus on this customer experience and is the first subscription app designed with the consumer in mind. The tool offers a personalized subscription experience that encourages customer engagement. The tool took a year of research and development to build and incorporated “feedback from 100s of brands” before it launched on the Shopify App Store, wrote Yitzhaek. 

How it works for customers

The branded account portal and native compatibility with Shopify checkout and apps means customers won’t realize they’re using an app. Instead, they’ll attribute the seamless experience with your brand. 

A subscription option appears on every product page and, upon checkout, Smarter uses AI to upsell customers—suggesting subscriptions or add-ons of similar products from your store. If a customer signs up for a subscription, they’ll be eligible for perks of your choosing in exchange for their repeat business. 

Merchants are no longer limited to a “subscribe and save” model—Smartrr offers prepaid, sequential, finite, build-a-box, and many more subscription models, so you can customize it to fit your customers needs.

Customers can easily modify their subscription in the customer portal, where they can also gift subscriptions or opt-in to notifications via email, SMS, or in-app. 

Better yet, Smarter has built in retention features, such as skip and swap options, to encourage subscribers to stay engaged with your brand. 

Thanks to the streamlined app, customers feel in control of their subscription and part of a community, resulting in happier and more loyal subscribers. 

What merchants can expect 

This customer-focused approach to subscription was designed to result in better results for merchants, so expect the app to work for you, too. 

It’s easy get started, with three pricing plans that ensure whether you’re thinking of starting up a DTC (direct to consumer) brand or already operating 50,000 subscribers, you’ll be able to leverage their powerful tool. 

If you’re looking for additional support, consider the Grow and Excel plans which offer white-glove onboarding to help make things even easier. Both plans also include a dedicated Client Success Manager to help you implement the tool effectively.

Migrating your current subscription set up is a breeze with their team of migration specialists who ensure no engineering is required and that your customers won’t experience any disruptions.

Aside from the high quality of support and ease of use, you can also expect a tool that offers best-in-class analytics. The larger plans provide an Advanced Analytics Dashboard that allows eCommerce merchants to better understand their subscribers and customers. 

=You’ll get a crystal clear picture of your business model, allowing you to optimize your programs and marketing efforts to bring in higher value customers. At a glance, merchants can see the number of subscriptions as well as the revenue generated, both at a high level and in a more granular way with details on revenue by product and order type.

You’ll also be able to quantify your customer retention, with metrics such as cancellation rates, churn rates, and new subscription activations. 

Beyond that, you’ll get new insight into customer demographics. The dashboard features reports on top customer locations and order details based on their location. This can offer keen insight into the psychographics of customers that can further inform your business strategies.

Smartrr is designed to help your business grow and to grow with you. The powerful integrations, REST API, and headless subscriptions mean your business is ready for anything. 

Smartrr may have been designed for an improved customer experience, but eCommerce businesses were top of mind in the planning process. The end result is a powerful, easy to use tool that can help any business—whether they’re new to brand loyalty or have a loyal customer base—grown their business in a meaningful way. 

Start building brand loyalty today with Smartrr

Brand loyalty is the foundation of a successful business. The more brands your customers feel loyal towards, the more products they will buy from you.

Building that loyalty has never been easier than with Smartrr.

Smartrr is a subscription tool that helps you build brand loyalty, attract more customers and build stronger relationships with them.

It's easy to use and set up and offers nearly endless customization options to guarantee a personalized experience for your customers and a product that fits your needs. With the Smartrr team there to support you, you can launch your own loyalty program in a matter of hours.

Boost your business and attract quality customers with Smartrr. Check it out in the Shopify app store or read more about them on the Smartrr website.

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