Customer marketing is becoming more and more important. Merely having satisfied customers is less than useful if you sit on those laurels without doing anything about it.
Many companies, however, focus all of their investment on attracting and engaging new leads, rather than improving relationships with existing customers.
So, why should you care about customer marketing?
5 Reasons You Should Invest in Customer Marketing
Customer marketing is, as mentioned, often neglected. But here are some reasons why you should nurture it:
- 91% of B2B buyers are influenced by word-of-mouth, which requires customers to not be merely satisfied, but enthusiastic. Customers who remember you exist and feel as if you care about them are much more likely to make a recommendation.
- Increasing your customer retention rate by 5% can increase profits by anywhere from 25% to 90%. This is without making any other marketing efforts.
- Existing customers are a lot more likely to make a purchase than new ones. The majority of new leads evaporate despite your best efforts.
- Existing customers tend to bring in more revenue, as they make regular purchases or routine upgrades. A customer who is kept very happy at one level of service is likely to want more of what you have to offer.
- It’s often easier to be more relevant when marketing to existing customers, as you already have more information on their goals and pain points.
The primary reason to use customer marketing, though, is the much higher ROI.
Marketing to your existing customers brings in more profit for less time and turns them into brand ambassadors that help bring in new customers. This results in what’s sometimes called the “flywheel,” where the energy creates satisfied customers, who then generate new leads.
Top 8 Customer Marketing Tactics
Marketing to existing customers, however, has to be done right. A mistake can result in a lost customer, poor reviews, and lost revenue. Companies (especially when upselling) need to use the right tactics for customer retention and upselling/reselling. Here are some top tactics and tips.
1. Make it a Company-Wide Cooperative Effort
Avoid “siloing” customer marketing in, well, marketing.
Good customer marketing is a cooperative effort between marketing, sales, and customer service.
Providing an excellent product is part of customer marketing, and so is providing the best support when things do go wrong.
Think about your own buying experiences: How important is it that a business take care of you when their product lets you down? Vital.
2. Be Informed
Do your research and analysis.
Separate customers into segments based on their buying behavior and what else you know about them. The more information and data you can use, the more tailored and bespoke your service can be.
This should be leveraged to improve the customer experience at every step.
This brings us to our next tactic.
3. Personalize Your Marketing Efforts
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is trying to upsell the same add-ons to every customer, regardless of that customer’s buying history or budget.
When somebody is being upsold something they already told you they didn’t need or want and which costs more than what they’re buying, they will likely go somewhere else next time.
Instead, offer your customers what they need based on what other customers are buying and the data you have on them.
This is where AI tools come in handy by identifying patterns in customer behavior, purchasing habits, and preferences.
4. Use Surveys
Involve your most reliable customers. Customer surveys can provide you with even more information that helps you analyze customer satisfaction and create better customer personas.
When customers ignore the surveys, consider taking those customers off the list to focus on those willing to take the time. This ensures that you are not sending survey and review requests to customers who might be put off by them and, again, go somewhere else next time.
Ask, among other things, why your customers chose you, so you know which of your overall marketing tactics is working the best.
5. Ask for Reviews
Politely remind customers to leave honest reviews online. Don’t give direct incentives for reviews (this looks like buying reviews if it comes out), but rather let them know how much reviews help and support you. This encourages positive reviews without actively saying you want positive reviews. Learn how to manage your online reviews properly and when and how to respond to reviews.
6. Provide Education and Resources for Your Customers
Content marketing is a key part of any strategy, but the people most likely to delve deep into your blog are, in fact, your existing customers.
By updating your blog regularly with news about your business and also providing informational resources, you keep your customers coming back to your website and thinking about you when it comes time to make another purchase.
Youtube channels and even customer-focused webinars can also help keep your customers focused on you. This might include information on updates to products and services, tips on how to get more out of your product, and customer testimonials.
7. Send Out a Regular Newsletter
Only half of small businesses do this, and it’s a great way to keep yourself in your customers’ minds.
Use your newsletter to send out tips, updates, promotions, news related to your business, etc. Provide some kind of incentive for newsletter signups, such as a mini-ebook or a discount on a product. You don’t have to spend a lot of time on this; newsletters can be short. Include pictures, even if it’s only of yourself, your team, or even your pets.
8. Engage with Customers on Social Media
A Facebook page is a good way to engage with customers, but a Facebook group can be even better.
Use social media as a two-way street to allow more direct communication and interaction with and between customers. This encourages your existing customers to recommend things to each other and exchange peer tips on how to best use your product.
The most important thing to remember is to keep things personal. Collect all of the data on your customers that you can and use it to approach them in ways that address their needs, rather than coming over as “spam.”
Your existing customers are one of your best marketing resources, and by engaging with them properly, you can turn them into brand ambassadors who will bring you even more revenue.
To find out more about good practices for marketing to existing customers, contact LocalBizGuru today.
