We are the marketing obsessed.
We judge the effectiveness of billboards on our drive into work. We know the latest viral videos and use meme-speak in daily conversation (“listen, Linda, listen!).
We know we should be blogging more, tweeting more, engaging more, and most of all creating more focused marketing campaigns. I hear your deep sighs and see your emphatic nodding, brothers and sisters!
Building loyalty with 5% more customers would lead to an increased average profit per customer of between 25% and 100% (The Loyalty Effect). Brand loyalty campaign creation is an area where the juice is well-worth the squeeze.
Your Loyal Customers want:
To Be Educated
Thought leadership is a huge buzzword for the marketing obsessed but the takeaway is to not just produce or distribute content for contents sake, but to provide helpful value to your brand loyal customers.
- Teach them something new about their industry or customers.
- Fill them in on a problem they didn’t know they had.
- Create an infographic that concisely describes the problem and solution.
To Belong
Welcome emails and new customer onboarding are the quickest ways to lay the foundation for your relationship with your loyal customers.
Compared to basic promotional emails, “Welcome” emails generate:
- 3.7 times higher open rates
- 5.7 times higher click through rates
- 15 times higher transaction rates
- 20 times higher revenue per email
*Experian Information Solutions
To Be Known
Treating customers as individuals by providing layers of relevance lets them feel like you “get it” and can speak to their business needs. It’s important that your campaigns, messaging, and social communications feel customized.
- Personalize the email and/or subject line with the subscriber’s name.
- Target messaging based on where they are in their journey with your brand.
- Give them layers of opportunities to engage with nurturing email tracks.
- Base communications on behaviors (click, open, reply) rather than # of days.
To Feel Special
Reward them for engaging with you. Socially connected loyalty program members have an 18% lift in spend (CrowdTwist). Loyalty programs that provide exclusive perks or discounts are a great way to make them feel special and keep them coming back for more.
- Recognize your influencers and brand advocates
- Highlight achievements
- Reciprocate their loyalty
To Be Treated Well
This seems like a no-brainer but if you do nothing else, make sure you follow through on the customer service aspect of marketing. A Totally Satisfied Customer contributes 2.6 times as much revenue as a Somewhat Satisfied Customer (InfoQuest).
- Send thank you emails
- Give resources to access customer support and ask questions
- Prompt reply to communications
- Customer surveys to provide anonymous feedback
- Give customers more of what they value
We are the marketing obsessed but by switching our focus to customer obsession, we are able to give our loyal customers the five wants that keep them coming back.
5 Things Loyal Customers Want
- To be Educated – Thought leadership, infographics
- To Belong – Welcome emails, social engagement
- To be Known- Treating customers as individuals, providing layers of relevance
- To Feel Special – Rewarding for engagement with loyalty programs and emails
- To be Treated Well- Thank you campaigns, offering customer service emails
