With all the noise in the market today, staying ahead of the competition and acquiring new customers is becoming more challenging. Did you know that it costs 5 times more to acquire a new customer than to sell and retain an existing customer? For this reason, companies who used to spend the majority of their budget on new leads are reallocating marketing dollars to focus on existing customer marketing.
Research shows that customer retention is one of the main differences between companies that thrive and those that don’t. That doesn’t mean that companies should abandon the pursuit of new logos. However, they must remember that beating the competition begins with the customers who already know, like, and trust a brand. The bottom line is that the more customers a business can retain, the more likely they are to achieve business goals.
4 Reasons to Engage in Customer Marketing
- Existing customers have a greater propensity to buy if they are happy customers.
- Targeting existing accounts removes the guesswork. For example, you already know their pain points, company, and personal preferences.
- Brand loyalty is powerful. If a customer is happy with the product and service, they have no need to look elsewhere. Existing customers are easy to upsell and cross-sell.
- Loyal customers should be an organization’s biggest advocate sending referrals that are 30% easier to convert than a lead.
Five Simple Customer Retention Tactics
Where should you begin with a customer marketing program? The strategies below will help to keep existing customers happy for the long-term and boost profits.
- The Customer is King. Roll out the red carpet from the very beginning with a gushing welcome email and a superior onboarding process that wows them and leaves them wanting more.
- Don’t waste any time, the sooner you begin the nurturing process the sooner your customers will become brand advocates. Start by making the most of user generated content such as customer photos and positive feedback. This type of authentic advertising is impactful and you will reap the rewards.
- Don’t miss the opportunity to highlight customer success stories, case studies, or testimonials. Your audience will be influenced by a recommendation that they consider genuine and trustworthy.
- Be a good listener – that means responding thoughtfully on social media and carrying the conversation. Think of social media participation as being akin to be a good dinner guest. Remember to always bring value to the table and don’t monopolize the conversation. After all, you want them to invite you back again!
- Don’t underestimate the value of rewards and giveaways whether they’re in-person or digital. Giveaways are a prime way to renew interest in your product while positioning yourself as engaged and thankful for their business.
- Be consistent with the distribution of your content. For example, don’t go radio silent for lengthy periods of time. Set reasonable goals and stick to those goals.
Develop a Customer Marketing Strategy
Businesses today need to develop a succinct customer marketing strategy so that they can retain customers for the long haul. The ultimate goal is to turn customers into brand evangelists. The good news is that you already have an abundance of customer information at your fingertips which is half the battle in marketing. Here are a few ideas on what is trending in customer marketing for 2021.
