I'll admit it, I’ve been a marketing flirt. At the various companies I have
worked for over the years, I have been asked to attract prospects—aquire leads
and, well, keep them entertained and interested throughout the buying cycle.
Then, like a “player”, my relationship with my prospects ends when they
transition from prospect to customer. Sure, I’ve played a role in a few
longer-term relationships such as creating retention and up-sell strategies over the
years, but it’s never been the main focus. In most companies, managing those
relationships—converting customers to fans—has fallen on the shoulders of
customer relationship managers, not mine.
However, because of the emergence of social and how it has
disrupted the buying cycle—becoming a crucial element in the evaluation stage,
I find myself particularly interested in the customer on a more strategic level
these days.
You see, in our socialized world, customers are the people
generating a lot of the content prospects are using to make their buying
decisions. They are adding to the content stream—writing reviews, sharing their latest purchases with their networks,
posting pictures of their favorite things. etc.
In my opinion, beyond retention, beyond the potential for up-sell,
customers, HAPPY CUSTOMERS, are incredibly valuable when it comes to bringing
in new business. However, this valuable resource is rarely tapped for this
reason and often not marketed to in a way that will drive new growth.
As social’s role is
crystallizing, I think it’s a great time for marketers to leverage the “power
of the customer” and create a new communication channel around them. For a
simple example, instead of sending them up-sell emails meant to get them to buy
more products, reposition the email and send them a social-friendly email that
gets them to share a special “friends” deal (or associates deal) with their
friends. You could further incentivise them with additional discounts of their
own if they share it on Twitter or
Facebook, etc.
This example is just the beginning. The idea here is to
control the message and equip existing customers with relevant tools and incentives
designed to get them to share or create content online. This content will not only spread the word to
your customers’ networks, but also puts fresh content out there—content that
others will inevitably come across when they do their own investigating online.
It’s a self-perpetuating strategy.
Customers are a great resource when it comes to growing
business. For starters, customers offer a much better ROI—it is less expensive
to keep a customer than it is to find a new one. Adding to that, they are already invested in
your product—your success is in their best interest. When they are convinced of
your value, even before becoming treasured “evangelists”, they can be a driving
force in the marketplace, particularly when it comes to online content. It just
makes sense to make them a part of your long-term sales strategy—and not just
as an afterthought. Because of their potential to influence prospects across
the Internet at little or no cost, customer-focused campaigns should have as
much priority as lead gathering and lead nurturing campaigns. Together, all of
these elements have the power to build momentum and drive new growth over the
long haul.
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Learn more at www.kristen-maxwell.com
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