The ability to reach out and connect to a seemingly infinite number of potential new consumers through a multitude of social media outlets has many businesses focusing attention and media spend on attracting new customers. Today’s digital environment offers significant benefits in time, cost and effectiveness over traditional advertising approaches, providing minute segmentation and laser focused targeting of consumers, all at a cost per contact many thousands of times less than ever before. A strategy of acquisition over retention, and quantity over quality, is leaving many consumers overwhelmed with all the noise and wanting an authentic relationship with the marketer. With all this messaging overload, building brand loyalty is getting lost among all the noise.
Attracting new converts continues to be a costly process for businesses. A Gartner Group study found that 20% of loyal customers generate 80% of a marketer’s profits, while long-time experience models indicate that new consumers are five to twenty-five times more expensive to acquire than existing customers. While social media allows for the sending of targeted ads to thousands of users, less than 5% will actually lead to making a purchase decision. A stable of loyal customers remains a brand’s most valuable marketing asset. So what elements make an effective strategy focused on creating customer loyalty?
A Pew Research Center study found that a third of email users identify 60 percent or more of their inbox as spam. Avoid repetitive and generalized messages. Personalize your communications and focus on your brand and how it differs from the competition. Emphasize value, not discount prices. Anyone can easily sell for less. Build two-way communication between your brand and your customers. Be honest, credible and consistently genuine in your messaging. Today’s savvy audiences are particularly capable of detecting dishonesty.
Loyalty comes down to trust, and consumer trust is achieved through unyielding delivery on your brand’s promises. Vance Reavie of Junction AI Inc. believes that companies need to get individual personalization right with awareness of location, context and behavior that adapts to the customer as the relationship evolves.
Despite the much touted revolution in digital marketing and how it is upending and disrupting long standing marketing processes, word of mouth conversations among existing, loyal customers is likely to be your best and most cost effective marketing effort. Loyal customers already have experience with your business, are more likely to trust your products and services and readily share their experience with their friends, family and acquaintances.
Follow up and never take advantage of a customer’s loyalty. Stay tuned into your customers’ changing needs and desires for your products and services, it is essential for keeping them in-house. Be resolved that customer onboarding and retention is an ongoing process without a finish line.
To learn more about establishing a strategy of building and retaining a loyal customer base, contact Junction Creative Solutions.