Track your customer!
by Jenny Peters
A satisfied customer is your most valuable type of relation in the database. A satisfied customer will readily return for a repeat purchase and send his friends over for a look too. Cherish this behaviour and stimulate it by tracking the customer life cycle.
Direct approach
Directly after a purchase you can show a customer your appreciation and your desire to stay in touch. A short online survey about how they liked the purchasing process, for example, will make him feel good and improve your sales. Or you can choose a more commercial approach and start cross selling. Send him a special offer on a product related to the one he purchased, like a headset or a trinket to accessorize a mobile phone. Another good option is to offer a discount with their next purchase, which has double impact because it stimulates a repeat sale.
Keep track
The most important thing about marketing to customers is not to pause too long between messages. Contact them at least once every three months, that way you’ll be top of mind when they need your services. Don’t just send commercial offers, but also news bites and information updates on their products. The main thing with satisfied customers is to stay top of mind; mouth-to-mouth and repeat purchase will follow in its wake.
To help you track the customer life cycle you can make selections on your database. For example use the date of first purchase + 3 months, + 6 months and +1 year. Each of these moments can trigger and e-mail emphasizing how much you value your customer and offering them your newest products. Naturally, you should also always make the content of your newsletter relevant to the contact’s status.
Another approach is to make follow-up contact dependent on the purchased products. What is the average lasting time of the item? When may it need replacement or maintenance? Track these moments through selections on your database and send appropriate offers at the appropriate times.
Automate campaigns
Different customer phases can be linked to automated e-mail campaigns. For example you can send out an e-mail once every week to all customers who at that moment have not visited your webshop for 6 months. Or schedule a daily check on the expiration of guarantees and contracts and link a mailing to that selection. Of course, instead of e-mail you can also integrate other channels such as mobile text messages or personalized print items.
Charting and tracking the customer life cycle and linking it to campaigns will take a one time effort on your part. An effort well worth the reward of the continuous flow of interaction you create. A satisfied customer which you can bind to your brand, will return time and again and hand you new customers.
This article was published in Dutch in Twinkle Magazine.
