Marketers have always placed a high priority on traffic, acquisition, and sales. Customer retention is also a critical factor, but it’s often overlooked.
A Belly study on small business marketing and retention initiatives revealed that only 49% had implemented a plan to retain customers or to reward them. The 429 businesses surveyed are from various industries and use a wide range of marketing solutions and tools.
Here, I will share five of the most important findings for small businesses. I will also share marketing strategies to help you achieve your revenue and growth goals.
72% of marketers plan to spend most of their budget on customer acquisition rather than customer retention
This was a surprising finding, given that acquiring new customers can cost up to five times more than retaining existing ones.
Only 28% said they spent most of their budget on customer retention. According to brand influencer Tamara McCleary, this is a big mistake. She says that existing customers are more than 50% likely to purchase a new service or product from someonm they have done busine withss.
How can business owners and marketers drive acquisitions without sacrificing customer retention?
Consider the teams and processes already in place within your company. Improve customer service and experience by upselling to improve the overall purchasing experience.
Customer service excellence requires constant interaction with customers. Soft-selling training for your customer service teams will allow you to provide your customers with more products and services.
Reacting to social networks can be another way of increasing customer retention. You can monitor people’s conversations about your company using tools such as Mention.
Attention to the channels on which these conversations take place. You can also contribute valuable content in the form of guidance.
Email, social media, and customer loyalty programs are the most effective marketing channels
In 2016, we asked 429 companies where they would spend their marketing budgets. The top three answers were:
Social Media Advertising (63%)
Customer Loyalty Programme (55%)
Email Marketing (50%)
It’s unsurprising, as these channels are easy to measure and offer a strong ROI. Digital media are replacing traditional marketing methods, which are harder to measure. How can you test (or optimize) these digital channels?
Email is still a valuable tool, but only if used correctly. Today’s consumers are savvy. The modern consumer is smart. They know all the tricks that can be used to create and schedule mass emails, but they prefer personalization and transparency in their messages.
The average email open rate is between 20 and 25 percent. There are four billion email accounts worldwide, of which 25% are for business. What can you do to improve that metric?
Contrary to conventional wisdom, a customized approach does not always work. Many people have learned to ignore emails that include the recipient’s name in the subject line. Consider this: Would you include the recipient’s name in the subject of an email?
Remove all names and fields to test an anti-personalized strategy. This will disrupt the recipient’s instinctive reaction to marketing.
The “Promotions” tab of Gmail and similar apps has become a new enemy for marketers. For this obstacle, send email subscribers to the Thank You page. This will remind them of why they signed up. Also, keep an eye on their confirmation email.
Add a call-to-action to the Thank You Page to direct the user to the email.
Make sure your emails are optimized to work on mobile. It’s possible that your email doesn’t look right on mobile devices if you notice high open rates but low click-through rates.
Consider social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. These are effective and hyper-targeted paid acquisition channels. You can target the audience based on age, location, and other demographic information.
First, test on a smaller scale by matching the audience with the right message. Your personas will help you align your copy to their needs and challenges. Once you have a positive ROI, use a tool such as Perfect Audience to increase your reach.
30 % of SMBs do not have the budget to hire full-time marketers
Most SMBs do not prioritize marketing in their budgets because they believe they will need to hire someone full-time to manage it, which is not the case. Even business owners who allocate a budget to marketing activities believe measuring the results is difficult.
Before hiring a marketing professional, owners of businesses should market their company to grow. There are many ways to achieve this.
Test channels automatically. Your employees and you can test out a few different approaches. Track results for a couple of weeks and then iterate.
If you are unsure where to begin, start with the three top channels listed above. You can, for example, spend a few hours writing emails to be sent to your customers every month. You can schedule and track these campaigns using MailChimp or an -compatible ESP.
Facebook is a great place to find your customers. Spend some money on Facebook ads. Create a campaign based on your best customers’ demographic and track results weekly. AdEspresso’s ” Beginner’s guide to Facebook advertising” is a good road map.
Consult a consultant or an agency if you don’t have the time or resources to do it yourself. A local supplier may offer a consultation for free. This conversation will help you identify the activities that are worth investing in. Many suppliers offer very affordable payment plans.
You can also find freelance websites such as UpWork or Freelancer. Post a job description on the internet and invite freelancers. Many business owners prefer this affordable option to hiring a full-time marketer.
The majority of small businesses plan to spend more money on marketing in the coming year.
We spoke to 70% of the small business owners who plan on increasing their marketing budget this year.
They estimate that 42% will spend $1,000 to $5,000 in marketing alone this year. It’s good news for small businesses and marketers selling software and services to these companies.
Increase your reach if you are marketing to SMBs. Ensure your offer focuses on solving a particular problem and aligns with customer needs.
Email, social media, and customer loyalty have become the most popular tactics for SMBs because they address the three most significant challenges that SMBs face: sales, retention, and acquisition. Your proposition should be aligned with these challenges. Prove that you can solve the problems, and you will generate a positive return on investment.