You may not be surprised to learn that acquiring new clients is one of your most expensive marketing efforts. Growing your customer base has obvious benefits: you can sell more products and services. Increased customer loyalty can also reduce marketing costs, as you will have a larger number of customers and prospects that are easier to reach.
The following five lifecycle tactics will help you identify key areas to focus on when setting your goals and laying out a strategy for the upcoming year.
Target and Acquire
The records in a database are not the only thing that matters. It’s important to refine your targeting techniques to increase your customer base with individuals who are truly interested in your products and services. A positive impact on your bottom line can be achieved by adding 50 new customers who are engaged. This is better than adding 500 prospects who may not be interested in your products or services.
Add to your database those customers with the best connection to your company. Poor leads are a direct result of poor performance and increased costs.
You can use targeted growth to build a database of customers who are motivated to not only open your emails but who will also be less likely to unsubscribe and mark your communications as spam.
In a world of email where your Email Sender Reputation (ESR) is crucial, avoiding higher complaint rates with ISPs will mean better inbox penetration. These spam complaints can damage your reputation as a sender of emails. Still, they also reduce the number of messages your ISPs deliver to customers who actually want to see your message.
The Correct Way to Board
Onboarding programs that reflect your brand set expectations and confirm the correct customer information also need to follow industry best practices.
Prospects and future customers willing to participate in your marketing program will be happy to provide information about their needs. These details can help you build a stronger relationship with your clients and increase their trust in your brand. Create simple and clear forms to allow your customers to tell you what they want quickly.
The more information you have about your customers, not just their email addresses, the better. It is essential to create email program registration forms that include the necessary information to send the most relevant messages back to your customers.
Follow industry best practices by using a welcome message and double-opt-in confirmation. These messages should be relevant and reinforce your brand.
If you wait too long before sending your confirmation of enrollment or first message, it can mean the difference between your prospects staying engaged with you or moving to your competitors.
You should adopt the same approach when collecting information for the enrollment process. Only collect the information you need to get the message to the recipient when it is required.
Deliver the Promise and serve up the Right Content
Your email marketing program should have a clear purpose so that future recipients can easily identify the communications they requested.
Signing up for our newsletter means that you will receive a monthly electronic edition. Tell your recipients when to expect your communications and show them some examples. You may not add as many records to your database if you provide a link for your recipients to view your latest contacts. However, you will gain more customers and prospects if you acquire those who are interested in your contacts.
The right message delivered to the right person at the right moment can produce positive results. In a study conducted over five years, marketers who provide relevant products and services to engaged customer segments reported an increase in annual profits of 15% compared to those marketers who did not consider active customers or relevant content.
Growing the Relationship
Analyze the purchase history of your customers and their Web traffic to learn more about them. Satisfied customers will boost your sales. You can leverage the characteristics of your most engaged customers on an ever-growing customer database by being able to identify them.
You shouldn’t send the same message to all your customers as you would to your best customers. These people are familiar with your brand and know more about your products. They also welcome targeted marketing and promotions.
Be in tune with marketing strategies used by your competitors. All of you are competing for the same customer’s attention. You can tailor your messages to compete by knowing what the competition has to offer. Your customers will be able to make quick decisions if you provide them timely offers, test frequency, and clearly differentiated products.
Customers who are loyal to you will be your best advocates. Your customers have common interests and likes with their friends, colleagues, and family. It is easy to grow your customer base organically by relying on the advocates of these customers.
Retain
The cost of retaining a customer is much lower than the cost of acquiring a brand-new one. According to Bain & Company, increasing customer loyalty by 1% is equivalent to a 10% reduction in costs. Marketing tactics that are “catch-and release” may not be able to maintain your brand at the top of your customers’ minds when they consider a future purchase.
Using messages that go above and beyond the marketing offer will keep your customers engaged. Consider birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries. Why not use these greetings to communicate with your customers as well?
Complementary products and services that complement previous purchases or align with the previous purchase history of customers demonstrate that you know them as customers, can identify their needs, and understand what they value.
It is also beneficial to your relationship to provide your customers with tips and tricks that will help them use your service or product more efficiently. Update your customers on the latest products, upgrades, and updates.
When your customers stop engaging, reach out to them. You can test your communication style with people who are no longer open or engaging with your communications. Sending too many or not enough messages? Your customer may be less interested in communications for a variety of reasons. Watch your reporting to see if there are any cues that you may need to make a change. Test your theory and then apply what you have learned.