Building Buyer Loyalty by Using
eBay Store Features
by Katie Sween
eBay Stores Marketing

The key to success is repeat sales to past buyers.
Savvy sellers know the key to successful selling is not only in acquiring new buyers, but also in encouraging past buyers to continue buying. Repeat buyer business should be an essential part of your eBay Store selling strategy. Fortunately, because you have already successfully sold to a past buyer, you've most likely already provided the service level that particular buyer desired. Which means – this buyer will be an easier sale for you in the future.

There are many tools within your eBay Store to help build loyalty with your buyers. Here are some strategies to help you build buyer loyalty.

Use cross-promotions to get the right products in front of buyers while they are shopping with you.
One important way to get buyers to purchase more from you is by cross-promoting additional items you feel they may be interested in at the right time. It's like when you've ordered a hamburger (or a garden burger for my veggie friends) and your server asks, “Would you like fries with that?”

Similarly, as an eBay Stores seller you can make product suggestions to your buyers immediately after they have purchased one of your items. You have the option to display four more additional items on the Buy It Now/Bid confirmation page. This is the page displayed to buyers immediately after they have placed a bid on your items or purchased with Buy It Now.

It is important to think like your buyers when setting up your cross-promotion rules. For instance, if a buyer has just bid on a digital camera that you are selling, you can suggest accessories that go with the camera, such as a camera case, a memory card, or an additional lens. eBay Stores allows you to easily create sophisticated rules that automatically determine which items to display. A new feature for Store sellers even lets you create cross-promotion rules using keyword searches in your Store. Visit the Stores Cross-Promotions page to learn why it's never been easier to get the right product in front of your buyers while they are shopping with you.

Customize your message and branding in your checkout and invoice emails.
So, your buyer has successfully bid on your items or purchased it with Buy It Now. Here is your opportunity to build your brand and selling identity with the buyer while they are in the process of paying.

As a Store seller, you have the ability to customize the look of your checkout pages and invoice emails to help you build stronger relationships with your buyers. You can insert your Store logo and your own personalized message in your invoice. This is also a great point in the transaction to thank your buyer for their purchase. You can also include an invitation to shop again, or mention special deals for returning buyers.

To customize your checkout, go to the Manage My Store page and select “Custom Invoice/Checkout.” You can also customize your checkout by clicking here.

Email your buyers to make them aware of new items or deals.
Every Store seller has the ability to create and send customized emails to their buyers with the Email Marketing tool that's included with their Store. Emails are a great way to make buyers aware of new items, specials, or events in your Store. The key to success in email marketing is to send compelling and timely information to interested buyers.

With the eBay Stores Email Marketing tool you can easily create professional looking emails. Our templates make it easy to display pictures of your items and include information on and links to items or specials. You can also create up to five different mailing lists to offer finely tuned targeted messaging to interested buyers.

Buyers need to sign up and opt in to your mailing lists before you can send them any messages. As a seller, you should actively encourage buyers to sign up for your mailing lists by reminding your buyers to add you to their favorites.

Visit the Stores Email Marketing page to learn more. 

Include messages in all your shipments to buyers—encourage them to shop again.
Don't forget to include messages or a thank-you note in all of your shipments to buyers. Savvy sellers include their Store name, their Store URL (Web address) and a pleasantly worded thank-you message for the completed purchase. By including messages in your shipments you are giving your buyer another “little something” to help them remember their positive experience with you and your Store, and creating another positive connection with your buyer, at a time when they have just received their purchase and are already very satisfied.

As a Store seller you can easily create your own professional-looking flyers to highlight specific items or specials. And similar to Email Marketing, there are effective templates to make designing your flyer easy.

Visit the Collateral for Your Store page to learn more.

Establishing a positive relationship with a customer is one of the most critical factors for success in business. Every little thing that you do to nurture this relationship will ultimately add to your success.