Digital Marketing World speaker Russell Kern recently spoke about one of his passions: lead generation. Here are some of his advice:
What’s the most important fact (or two) about lead generation that people overlook?
The critical importance of the title of the offer, which motivates a response. The title of a webcast or video or whitepaper can affect the quality of the response given and how an offer is positioned. A title, such as “10 Things You Must Know Before You Buy Software” will attract a different kind of lead than “10 Trends in Cloud Computing Today.”
Why should anyone care about lead generation?
It’s how to jumpstart the revenue-generation process for a company and how to help increase the effectiveness of the sales channels. Its enables highly paid salespeople to focus on proposing and closing deals versus prospecting for opportunities, which can be done through lower-cost lead-generation methods.
What’s your favorite tool/app/idea for lead generation?
I love the use of a survey as a lead-generation strategy. I like how it determines who is in market, what they have currently, and when and why they might replace what they have.
Do you have a favorite story about a lead?
My favorite story about lead generation is less is more. Most marketers think they need to generate dozens and dozens of leads for salespeople. The truth is a good salesperson would rather have one highly qualified lead than 10 unqualified. If the marketer would spend more time with an inquiry, confirming interest and desire before passing it to the sales channel, the sales channel will think the marketing program is more effective.
For more information on effective brand integrated multi-channel demand generation—from data to delivery, visit MODI$club or contact us.
Source: MarketingProfs
Friday, February 11, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Best Practices for Mobile Retail Strategy
Efforts should address each stage of the purchase funnel
Mobile devices accompany consumers everywhere throughout a busy day. Through mobile initiatives, retailers have unique opportunities to engage with consumers as they move through each purchase phase—whether they’re in a store, in transit, at work or at home.
Data from InsightExpress showed that during the holiday 2010 season, smartphone owners used their devices at different stages of the purchase funnel: to receive sale alerts (awareness), look for better prices and product reviews (consideration) and redeem coupons (conversion). This gives retailers many opportunities to connect with consumers and encourage purchase and loyalty.
Forward-thinking retailers are devising mobile strategies to address each stage in the consumer purchase funnel—awareness, engagement, consideration, conversion and loyalty. For example, retailers are use mobile to aid in the awareness stage, enabling consumers to research and learn about products via SMS and mobile websites. They can facilitate engagement via the mobile channel through targeted coupons and special offers as well as invitations to opt in to sweepstakes and contests. And retailers drive consideration via mobile by offering complete access to product ratings and reviews, promoting free trials or samples and links to social media feeds so that consumers can see what friends have to say about potential purchases.
For many retailers, mobile remains a work in progress. Among US retailers polled in the fall of 2010, 60.7% reported planning to beef up their existing mobile web presence or SMS campaigns. Nearly 40% of those polled planned to launch more SMS campaigns or test various mobile initiatives. “It’s clear that retailers need to do more than dip a toe in the mobile waters.” said Tobi Elkin, eMarketer writer/analyst and author of the new report “Mobile Web: Best Practices for Retailers.”
Also read our blog on topics like:
Source: eMarketer
Mobile devices accompany consumers everywhere throughout a busy day. Through mobile initiatives, retailers have unique opportunities to engage with consumers as they move through each purchase phase—whether they’re in a store, in transit, at work or at home.
Data from InsightExpress showed that during the holiday 2010 season, smartphone owners used their devices at different stages of the purchase funnel: to receive sale alerts (awareness), look for better prices and product reviews (consideration) and redeem coupons (conversion). This gives retailers many opportunities to connect with consumers and encourage purchase and loyalty.
Forward-thinking retailers are devising mobile strategies to address each stage in the consumer purchase funnel—awareness, engagement, consideration, conversion and loyalty. For example, retailers are use mobile to aid in the awareness stage, enabling consumers to research and learn about products via SMS and mobile websites. They can facilitate engagement via the mobile channel through targeted coupons and special offers as well as invitations to opt in to sweepstakes and contests. And retailers drive consideration via mobile by offering complete access to product ratings and reviews, promoting free trials or samples and links to social media feeds so that consumers can see what friends have to say about potential purchases.
For many retailers, mobile remains a work in progress. Among US retailers polled in the fall of 2010, 60.7% reported planning to beef up their existing mobile web presence or SMS campaigns. Nearly 40% of those polled planned to launch more SMS campaigns or test various mobile initiatives. “It’s clear that retailers need to do more than dip a toe in the mobile waters.” said Tobi Elkin, eMarketer writer/analyst and author of the new report “Mobile Web: Best Practices for Retailers.”
Also read our blog on topics like:
- How are businesses using text message marketing to boost sales?
Five Social Media Projections for 2011
Untapped Potential for Mobile Loyalty Programs
Source: eMarketer
Friday, January 21, 2011
SMS Text Marketing Case Studies
How are Businesses Using Text Message Marketing to Boost Sales?
So you've heard a lot about SMS marketing, but how can your business use this mobile marketing medium to boost your sales. We've examined a few case studies for you to show how some of the world’s largest companies are using text message marketing to build their business. 
McDonald’s makes everyone a winner - Just send a text to Santa & get your gift within seconds.
So you've heard a lot about SMS marketing, but how can your business use this mobile marketing medium to boost your sales. We've examined a few case studies for you to show how some of the world’s largest companies are using text message marketing to build their business.
Dunkin Donuts SMS Text Message Campaign #1
GOALS
- Entice trial of Dunkin’ Donuts hot lattes to high school/college age students in the Boston area
- Drive in-store redemption of $0.99 small hot latte mobile coupon in month of October
MECHANICS
The SMS offer was sent to 7,500 targeted opt-ins. Boston radio DJ’s invited participation; “text in to DD-123” each Thursday morning. In addition, 400,000 Mobile Internet (WAP) ads ran in Boston targeted content. Over 1,000 Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owners and workers were educated with marketing materials about how to help consumers redeem the SMS coupons.
RESULTS
The targeted WAP and SMS messaging coupled with radio created a 21 percent increase in store traffic and redemption of the mobile coupon. The SMS message promoted the viral element of the coupon. This proved to be a very beneficial aspect of the campaign, in that 17 percent of participants forwarded or showed the message to a friend. In the research subsequent to the campaign, 35 percent considered themselves more likely to buy lattes and coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts.
Dunkin' Donuts SMS Campaign #2
A two month mobile interactive ad campaign in Italy has resulted in a 9% increase in sales for Dunkin’ Donuts, according to the two companies that created it.
As a result of an SMS-based marketing campaign, customers were able to get coupons for Dunkin’ Donuts product by using their mobile handsets to respond to advertisements displayed on store signage, billboards and on the radio.
By sending a short message to the published numbers, users receive an immediate reply featuring a free gift coupon or special offer redeemable at local outlets.
Sales were reportedly up 9% within the first three weeks of the campaign. By enticing consumers to request special offers, Dunkin Donuts ensures that they achieve a great consumer push without running the risk of breaking down the client relationship by contributing to the wealth of 'spam'.
The key to the success of campaigns such as this one with Dunkin’ Donuts is ensuring that the power of the SMS medium is put to good use in an ethical way and one which doesn't encroach upon users' privacy
And Dunkin Donuts' Italian franchisee GianLuigi Contin says that the SMS marketing solution has been a positive brand-building experience: "We are directly reaching our targets with a message they can understand. Cellular coupons are not cute promotions, rather they are serious marketing tools that not only extend the brand but are also directed towards the people we want to reach."
Source: Mobile Marketing Association
On-Package Promos
Starburst
's "More Juice More Burst" campaign looks to engage teens by using their cell phones to text a unique promotional short code found under specially marked packs of Starburst Fruit Chews.
Using the code J-U-I-C-Y (58429) across any cell phone carrier, and online at starburst.com, users can find out instantly via a return message if they’ve won juiced-up technology prizes like a 42-inch flat-screen TV, i-Pod Photo and more.
With more than 60 million on-pack impressions, the Starburst Brand More Juice for More Burst contest was, at the time, the largest short-code, cross-carrier campaign for a consumer product goods company in U.S. history. Using packaging to drive the promotion, the company reports that online daily visits have nearly doubled since its April debut. Text messaging has accounted for 40 percent more traffic than anticipated.
Source: InsideBrandedEntertainment.com
McDonalds Text Message Holiday Promotion
McDonald’s makes everyone a winner - Just send a text to Santa & get your gift within seconds. GOALS
Create a new mass market sweepstake mechanism for McDonald’s Italy where consumers can participate and win directly in the restaurant. Bind winning a prize to the purchase of the product & activate POS to increase response.
MECHANICS
Print unique codes on cups for consumers to send in with 1 text message – right in the restaurant. The revolutionary idea: Every code wins - for the first time even physical prizes. Presents ranged from mobile content such as personal calls from Santa, sending postcards to friends, personal photos with Santa to attractive physical prizes like prepaid credit cards with 20.000 Euro, 13.000 x free airtime and 150 mobile phones. This innovative prize pyramid combining physical prizes with millions of digital presents was shown on TV and in the restaurants (on products, traymats, menu boards, etc.). SMS & WIN granted customers a very Merry Christmas!
RESULTS
A stunning 25% response rate - with more than 1.5 million participations in five weeks. The best result of a McDonald’s mobile marketing campaign ever.
Walgreens Debuts New Mobile Site, SMS Alerts
Walgreens announced today the launch of several new mobile features including Prescription Text Alerts, which notify customers via text message when their prescriptions are ready, as well as a brand new iPhone app and mobile site.
“We strive to lead the market in bringing new and innovative technology to our pharmacies and pharmacy patients,” said Mark Wagner, Walgreens Executive Vice President of Operations and Community Management. “Text alerts are a valuable time-saving tool, and the latest example of how our mobile applications are further connecting the Web to Walgreens stores and pharmacies, giving customers on-the-go convenience wherever they are.
The company is now offering special offer texts, which allow consumers to find deals and coupons using their mobile devices, as well as the addition of Blackberry and Android apps that bring the full power of Walgreen’s mobile site to a quickly-accessible mobile app.
Source: www.mobilemarketingwatch.com
Hilton Uses SMS With Success
The Hi
lton Hotel group has successfully used SMS messaging to increase guest numbers to its hotels and build customer loyalty.
The hotel sent out important marketing messages such as on-site specials and promotions directly to its members’ mobile handsets. SMS allowed the hotel to get the messages out instantly and at the most appropriate time of day.
The use of SMS as a direct marketing tool resulted in a 10-25% increase in offer redemptions sent out by the hotel and proved to be an integral part its direct marketing and loyalty strategy.
Source: www.EmailMobileMarketing.com
Just What The Doctor Ordered
A Quee
nsland-based chiropractor, long plagued with no-shows of appointments made perhaps weeks earlier or by last minute cancellations, now sends SMS reminders to patients of their appointments that day and asking they notify the clinic if they cannot make the appointment. This has increased the successful appointment rate and also allows opportunities to fill cancelled appointments.
Fight Against Swine Flu
Bulk SMS is being used in an attempt to both contain and combat Swine Flu in the United States. Although some of the initial public panic around Swine Flu seems to have died down, more people are becoming infected throughout the U.S. every day; a country that now has the second highest infection rate in the world.
In this campaign, US citizens can text PIGFLU to 41411 and receive regular updates about Swine Flu. Sponsored by cellphones.org as a public service, the only charge is the regular cost of receiving text messages. Bulk SMS messages will be sent to subscribers with World Health Organization updates, information about new outbreaks and information from national health authorities.
Source: www.CellPhones.org
ELLEgirl Magazine Text Message Magazine Promotion
GOALS
- Encourage ELLEgirl readers to focus on advertisements
- Provide readers with reasons to buy, keep and read the magazine
- Capture the interest of media savvy, ad-saturated, instant-gratification-driven Gen-Y readers
- Authentically link print magazine to the mobile and online space
MECHANICS
A full page spread introduced the instant win calendar. Each day of the month a different advertiser is featured in the calendar. Readers are instructed to find the ad in the magazine, snap a picture of the advertiser’s ad using their mobile phone and send it to Mobot to get a chance to win a prize and get more information about the advertiser’s products. The Mobot visual search technology recognized the pictures sent in and responded back with notification of whether the reader won a prize along with product information from the advertiser. Examples of prizes include Target $100 gift certificate, Sweetooth handbag, and a Split tube dress.
RESULTS
A follow up survey revealed that purchase intent was on average 14% higher, advertiser favorability was on average 18% higher, and aided recall was on average 15% higher among participants compared to non-participants. Readers enjoyed the promotion and entered on average of 22 times during the month. Instead of throwing out the magazine after a few days reader participation actually increased as the month progressed.
Source: Mobile Marketing Association
Pepsi Co. SMS Super Bowl Promotion
In the run up to the 2007 Super Bowl, Pepsi unveiled 15 new can designs and created a range of promotions as part of a major new branding initiative. Its Super Can contest gave fans the chance to win Super Bowl tickets for life and a jewel-encrusted can valued at $100,000. Alongside traditional and online promotions, Pepsi also became the latest brand to deploy a mobile advertising program on the Sprint Mobile Media Network, and one of the first to incorporate video into its campaign.
GOALS
- Expand the promotion of its Super Can contest
- Increase awareness of the 15 new Pepsi can designs
- Drive traffic to its mobile web site
- Increase video and wallpaper downloads
MECHANICS
Pepsi was able to cut through the noise around the Super Bowl as the exclusive advertiser on the Sprint Mobile Media Network’s homepage in the days leading up to the big game. And, as a result, drove consumers from four different banner display ads to Pepsi’s branded mobile web site, where consumers engaged in a variety of actions.
Pepsi enabled users to download a custom wallpaper of the “blinged-out” Pepsi can, click to see the video spots featuring the new Pepsi can designs, and click through to Sprint Power View -- the only made-for-mobile video programming network in the United States with original sports and entertainment shows -- where they could view live Super Bowl video clips, sponsored by Pepsi.
RESULTS
- 9 million impressions
- An average click through rate of 4.5 percent, with the most popular creative achieving an 11.5 percent average
- 175,000 Pepsi wallpaper downloads
The program was one the first to integrate several engagement mechanics, including content downloads, click-to-view a video ad, and click to see a live TV broadcast. At a time when advertisers are vying for consumers’ attention across multiple media channels, Pepsi built awareness and engagement for a major marketing initiative using the Sprint Mobile Media Network – leaving a lasting impression with the 175,000 people that now see the Pepsi wallpaper every time they look at their Sprint mobile phone.
Source: Mobile Marketing Association
Guinness Beer SMS Text Marketing St. Patrick's Day Promotion
GOAL
In March 2008, Yahoo! conducted a study to measure the brand impact of a mobile campaign on the Vodafone Live! platform.
MECHANICS
Using the Guinness St. Patrick’s Day campaign, we surveyed those exposed to the campaign and a matched control sample, to understand differences in:
- Brand awareness
- Mobile ad awareness
- Brand favourability
- Purchase intent
RESULTS
Campaign results for the target audience, men age 25-44, were extremely positive as a result of exposure to the campaign on Vodafone Live!. Exposure led to:
- 2.5 million impressions
- 25%pt lift in mobile ad awareness
- 12%pt lift in brand favourability 9%pt in purchase intent
Benchmarked against online norms, these results emerge as above average or excellent campaign impact. Additionally, irregular/non-drinkers of Guinness reacted well with a significant impact on purchase intent.
Source: Mobile Marketing Association
Monday, January 10, 2011
Five Social Media Projections for 2011
According to projections done by Forrester Research reported by MarketingProfs, as social media marketing matures in 2011, a host of new challenges will likely confront marketers, including increasingly cluttered social platforms and growing privacy concerns. Thus, even more than content, personality, or responsiveness, social media's new currency in 2011 is likely to be trust.
Consumers' privacy fears are increasing: 36% of surveyed adults—and 50% of Older Boomers age 54-65—say they are very concerned about their privacy on social networks, up from roughly 30% a year earlier. Such growing mistrust will make it harder for marketers to gather friends and followers, or to engage users in social programs in the coming year, according to Forrester:
Source: MarketersProf
Consumers' privacy fears are increasing: 36% of surveyed adults—and 50% of Older Boomers age 54-65—say they are very concerned about their privacy on social networks, up from roughly 30% a year earlier. Such growing mistrust will make it harder for marketers to gather friends and followers, or to engage users in social programs in the coming year, according to Forrester:
- Marketers will therefore have to work harder to earn confidence and involvement from consumers in 2011.
- More social media clutter will make it harder for marketers to connect with their target audiences. Clutter is even a greater challenge among younger audiences: 80% of Gen-Y adults are Joiners and have an average of 220 Facebook friends. Activities on social channels will continue to grow, not just with messages from friends but via a growing stream of check-ins, deals, sweepstakes, and loyalty program updates from marketers.
- More marketers will jostle for attention. Nearly 60% of marketers are already using paid or created social media, and another 25% plan to do so within the next 12 months, leaving just one in six companies absent from social channels one year from now.
More than two in five (43%) marketers surveyed say their interactive budgets will increase in 2011. Mobile and social budgets will increase the most: 48% will increase social budgets and 53% will increase mobile budgets. - Facebook won't own social media. Facebook is just one piece of the social pie. Although 59% of US adults are Joiners, only 45% of men age 45-54 have Joiner behaviors. So the most successful marketing programs won't simply be contained within Facebook; successful marketers instead will "think outside the Facebox." Marketers will continue to use traditional forms of communication and promotion with more and more creative products generated by companies like Sharper. Also, marketers will keep exploring the hottest strategies now in mobile marketing.
- Paid social media may become an important tool for marketers. With 16% of marketers surveyed saying they have no plans to use either paid or created social media in the next year, will paid social media become a legitimate tool for marketers to overcome social media clutter or will there be an even more emcompassing media that reaches audiences more directly and readily? The answer could be in mobile. Mobile marketing is slated to be marketers' next best friend in years to come and marketers are now already combining the technology with traditional and social medias to create winning campaigns, measure ROI and reach audiences in new and exciting ways.
Source: MarketersProf
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Untapped Potential for Mobile Loyalty Programs
Interest is high, but few brands take loyalty to mobile devices
As smartphones and the mobile internet increase penetration among Americans and Canadians, shoppers are relying more on their phones while out and about to get product, store and price information to help them make decisions. Loyalty programs can also be tied to mobile, giving customers an easy way to access points and coupons—and retailers an easy way to capture customer data.
When surveyed in October 2010, more than a third of US mobile phone owners said they would be interested in a mobile loyalty program from a trusted brand. But just 9% were already participating in such a program. Majority of respondents said their favorite brands did not market to them at all on their mobile phone, suggesting companies may be leaving valuable opportunities on the table. Shoppers already involved in mobile loyalty programs were highly satisfied: 90% said they had gotten value from being a member.
Overall, interest in mobile loyalty programs was about the same found in 2009, but respondents’ desire for mobile coupons had gone up over the same period. Nearly two in five US mobile phone owners were at least somewhat interested in receiving mobile coupons, up from 18% the year before. And nearly half were at least somewhat likely to redeem them, a rise of 3 percentage points.
A September 2010 survey of US shoppers by the In-Store Marketing Institute found a similar level of interest, with 34% of respondents interested in mobile coupons—likely somewhat lower because the survey included consumers who were not mobile users. That poll also found a third of shoppers were interested in mobile coupons that could be sent to their loyalty card, and half wanted coupons that could be sent to their loyalty card in general.
For more information on how your brand can instantly go mobile offering mobile coupons, sales alerts, event reminders and more, visit MODI$club.
Source: eMarketer
As smartphones and the mobile internet increase penetration among Americans and Canadians, shoppers are relying more on their phones while out and about to get product, store and price information to help them make decisions. Loyalty programs can also be tied to mobile, giving customers an easy way to access points and coupons—and retailers an easy way to capture customer data.
When surveyed in October 2010, more than a third of US mobile phone owners said they would be interested in a mobile loyalty program from a trusted brand. But just 9% were already participating in such a program. Majority of respondents said their favorite brands did not market to them at all on their mobile phone, suggesting companies may be leaving valuable opportunities on the table. Shoppers already involved in mobile loyalty programs were highly satisfied: 90% said they had gotten value from being a member.
Overall, interest in mobile loyalty programs was about the same found in 2009, but respondents’ desire for mobile coupons had gone up over the same period. Nearly two in five US mobile phone owners were at least somewhat interested in receiving mobile coupons, up from 18% the year before. And nearly half were at least somewhat likely to redeem them, a rise of 3 percentage points.
A September 2010 survey of US shoppers by the In-Store Marketing Institute found a similar level of interest, with 34% of respondents interested in mobile coupons—likely somewhat lower because the survey included consumers who were not mobile users. That poll also found a third of shoppers were interested in mobile coupons that could be sent to their loyalty card, and half wanted coupons that could be sent to their loyalty card in general.
For more information on how your brand can instantly go mobile offering mobile coupons, sales alerts, event reminders and more, visit MODI$club.
Source: eMarketer
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Six Steps to Improve Customer Retention
Customer retention is ultimately driven by value. Even the best segmentation, targeting, positioning, creative messaging, or promotion with flawless execution will fall flat in the absence of value.
Therefore, in developing a plan to maintain and upgrade a customer base, it is necessary to build on a solid foundation. Only then will the plan lead to greater customer retention and overall organizational success.
To succeed, customer retention must be a top-down, companywide initiative. Truly committing to customer retention is hard work because it affects virtually every aspect of your organization, but the payback in sustainable growth and profitability makes the effort worthwhile.
The path to customer retention involves six key steps:
1. Ask
Ask your customers what they want and what they like and dislike. Include customer surveys on your mobile channel, website, at the point of sale, and in package inserts. You'll likely get "extreme" feedback from customers who love you or hate you. Customers who are mildly satisfied are not as motivated to speak their minds.
But ask only if you're prepared to deal with the responses. Turning a deaf ear to a problem is the kiss of death.
Please remember that customers expect you to take action when they complain, especially if you initiated the dialogue. Use feedback from your surveys to make improvements to your product or service. Customers love it when you listen to them!
2. Evaluate
Evaluate your customer data to find out who your best customers are. That may sound obvious, but the devil is in the details. There may be trends that you've overlooked.
And keep an eye on profitability, not just transactions. In the credit-card industry, for example, deep spenders who pay off their balance each month usually are not as profitable as moderate spenders who carry a balance.
When you know who your best customers are, you can tailor your marketing programs to keep those customers and encourage them to spend more with you.
3. Stimulate
If you have sold your customers a service and they're not using it, get them to activate (e.g., online bill pay, long-distance service, and credit and debit cards).
At the start of a new relationship, there's that warm and fuzzy feeling when new customers sign on. You got them to say yes. Four months later, you're wondering why those customers don't love you. Is it something you did?
No. It's something you didn't do: You sold to them and moved on. You assumed that they would fend for themselves and figure out all the great things about doing business with you.
The first few days and weeks of a new business relationship are critical. Shower them with your kindness. Send direct mail and email reminders. Thank them for their business. Do everything you can to make the "honeymoon" phase of your relationship special.
In the long run, if they're not using your product or service, they're likely to bail when a better deal comes along.
4. Reward
Reward your customers with meaningful perks for doing business with you. It seems like everyone has a loyalty program these days. Customers are getting weary of "me too" programs that don't offer substantial value.
Instead of always giving customers what they expect, give them the unexpected. For example, a midsize accounting firm rewarded some of its best customers with a box of Haigh's chocolates for their business. It was an unexpected, tasty little perk that came out of the blue.
Results? Those customers had above-average retention rates the following year. Sometimes the little things can mean a lot.
5. Aggregate
Try to get all the customer's eggs in your basket. In other words, cross-sell other products and services. Doing so is much easier when you already have a relationship with the customer. Offer customers one-stop shopping, consolidated billing, free postage, and other benefits for giving you more of their business.
Everyone's busy, and consumers are looking for service providers that can make their lives easier. It's what they want, so why not give it to them?
6. Take action
A great product and great customer service are the foundation for customer retention. And positive word-of-mouth is by far the best marketing tool in your arsenal. But you can't control when that happens, so you need a marketing plan to keep the customers you want.
Don't just hope your customers love you—be proactive. Put your plan in writing, and make it stick. Follow through and take action. Use direct mail, email, newsletters, and other marketing tools to make your best customers feel special.
Treat your best customers with respect, and they'll reward you with loyalty beyond your wildest dreams. Send them targeted messages. Give them special incentives. Keep in mind that it's easier to cultivate your current customer relationships—not to mention less expensive—than it is to begin new ones.
The role of customer retention in the overall organizational strategy is one of protecting and managing the primary source of resources. It is also one of defending and enhancing market position, and of optimizing resources and opportunity.
That is why although seemingly a purely tactical approach, customer retention also belongs in the realm of strategic market planning and is a required strength of any successful organization.
It costs about five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to keep a current customer. That's why it pays to pay attention to your best customers. In the end, they'll buy more, stick with you longer, and tell their friends how great it is doing business with your company. Isn't that what we all want?
by Chintan Bharwada
Therefore, in developing a plan to maintain and upgrade a customer base, it is necessary to build on a solid foundation. Only then will the plan lead to greater customer retention and overall organizational success.
To succeed, customer retention must be a top-down, companywide initiative. Truly committing to customer retention is hard work because it affects virtually every aspect of your organization, but the payback in sustainable growth and profitability makes the effort worthwhile.
The path to customer retention involves six key steps:
1. Ask
Ask your customers what they want and what they like and dislike. Include customer surveys on your mobile channel, website, at the point of sale, and in package inserts. You'll likely get "extreme" feedback from customers who love you or hate you. Customers who are mildly satisfied are not as motivated to speak their minds.
But ask only if you're prepared to deal with the responses. Turning a deaf ear to a problem is the kiss of death.
Please remember that customers expect you to take action when they complain, especially if you initiated the dialogue. Use feedback from your surveys to make improvements to your product or service. Customers love it when you listen to them!
2. Evaluate
Evaluate your customer data to find out who your best customers are. That may sound obvious, but the devil is in the details. There may be trends that you've overlooked.
And keep an eye on profitability, not just transactions. In the credit-card industry, for example, deep spenders who pay off their balance each month usually are not as profitable as moderate spenders who carry a balance.
When you know who your best customers are, you can tailor your marketing programs to keep those customers and encourage them to spend more with you.
3. Stimulate
If you have sold your customers a service and they're not using it, get them to activate (e.g., online bill pay, long-distance service, and credit and debit cards).
At the start of a new relationship, there's that warm and fuzzy feeling when new customers sign on. You got them to say yes. Four months later, you're wondering why those customers don't love you. Is it something you did?
No. It's something you didn't do: You sold to them and moved on. You assumed that they would fend for themselves and figure out all the great things about doing business with you.
The first few days and weeks of a new business relationship are critical. Shower them with your kindness. Send direct mail and email reminders. Thank them for their business. Do everything you can to make the "honeymoon" phase of your relationship special.
In the long run, if they're not using your product or service, they're likely to bail when a better deal comes along.
4. Reward
Reward your customers with meaningful perks for doing business with you. It seems like everyone has a loyalty program these days. Customers are getting weary of "me too" programs that don't offer substantial value.
Instead of always giving customers what they expect, give them the unexpected. For example, a midsize accounting firm rewarded some of its best customers with a box of Haigh's chocolates for their business. It was an unexpected, tasty little perk that came out of the blue.
Results? Those customers had above-average retention rates the following year. Sometimes the little things can mean a lot.
5. Aggregate
Try to get all the customer's eggs in your basket. In other words, cross-sell other products and services. Doing so is much easier when you already have a relationship with the customer. Offer customers one-stop shopping, consolidated billing, free postage, and other benefits for giving you more of their business.
Everyone's busy, and consumers are looking for service providers that can make their lives easier. It's what they want, so why not give it to them?
6. Take action
A great product and great customer service are the foundation for customer retention. And positive word-of-mouth is by far the best marketing tool in your arsenal. But you can't control when that happens, so you need a marketing plan to keep the customers you want.
Don't just hope your customers love you—be proactive. Put your plan in writing, and make it stick. Follow through and take action. Use direct mail, email, newsletters, and other marketing tools to make your best customers feel special.
Treat your best customers with respect, and they'll reward you with loyalty beyond your wildest dreams. Send them targeted messages. Give them special incentives. Keep in mind that it's easier to cultivate your current customer relationships—not to mention less expensive—than it is to begin new ones.
The role of customer retention in the overall organizational strategy is one of protecting and managing the primary source of resources. It is also one of defending and enhancing market position, and of optimizing resources and opportunity.
That is why although seemingly a purely tactical approach, customer retention also belongs in the realm of strategic market planning and is a required strength of any successful organization.
It costs about five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to keep a current customer. That's why it pays to pay attention to your best customers. In the end, they'll buy more, stick with you longer, and tell their friends how great it is doing business with your company. Isn't that what we all want?
by Chintan Bharwada
Friday, November 12, 2010
Implementing the latest marketing initiatives
Shopper marketing has traditionally been about developing a marketing relationship with consumers in the store. It involves the strategy and tactics that are employed within the framework of a retail environment in order to attain a specific business objective, not the least of which is driving top-line revenue for brands.
Shopper marketing is now evolving at a very quick pace and is becoming much more involved in what is called "the digitally fueled path to purchase".
Brand marketers and retail clients should view the digital path to purchase as a three-step process:
In deriving shopper insights, develop an engagement strategy that is contextually relevant to the actual shopper. It’s not just purely about putting a product on the shelf and offering a coupon or some form of a discount anymore. Shopper marketing is much more about the process of connecting with shoppers when, where and how they would like to engage. Most often, it’s through a digitally oriented methodology.
There are some standard elements in the shopping experience—pre-shopping, while shopping and post-shopping. Those factors focus on the “when” and the “where” aspects but the “how” is becoming increasingly more important. It’s being driven more by individual product categories. For example, how shoppers engage with a commodity like paper towels is significantly different than how they would engage with a durable good or entertainment-based item. The path to purchase varies across categories.
The next generation of shopper marketing is no longer defined by traditional brick-and-mortar stores or ecommerce for that matter. Consumers don’t really have to search for information in the pre-shopping phase. They can have it delivered to them wherever they are and on their own terms based on their predisposition toward different types of communication and technology.
Moving forward, we should see more two-way dialogues taking place between brands and shoppers. We see more preferential treatment for brand loyalists, influencers and those who are actively engaged with brands. Brands will reward loyalty in a more impactful way as it relates to digitally fueled shopper marketing.
Physical retail stores are still important but more and more, we see that how retailers and brands interact with someone digitally, on their terms and through the device by which they want to interact, is becoming much more important. We’re becoming more channel-agnostic and contextually relevant.
Marketers need to understand shopper segmentation based upon purchasing behavior, while also focusing on consumers’ digital lives. They must create digital shopper segmentation models in order to arrive at contextually relevant and holistic shopper marketing opportunities.
Marketers should evaluate the strategic needs of the brand, particularly at the pre-shopping phase. We see that shopping is taking place constantly. The lines are blurring between the pre-, in-store and post-shopping phases. It all counts as shopping, even as you’re consuming and using a product. These lines are blurring, particularly as the path to purchase is more digitally influenced. We should try to understand how a shopper behaves along the entire continuum.
There’s an insight-driven digital component for almost all engagement marketing programs that includes metrics and measurement from an ROI perspective. It’s really important to understand not only the future needs for the brand’s growth, but also the needs of the shopper segments as they evolve and change over time. For example, conduct a research into understanding younger consumers, diverse ethnicities and baby boomers in order to better understand their digital lives.
For more information on how to digitally fuel your business, please contact MODI$club.
Shopper marketing is now evolving at a very quick pace and is becoming much more involved in what is called "the digitally fueled path to purchase".
Brand marketers and retail clients should view the digital path to purchase as a three-step process:
- understanding the brand, its positioning, target and overarching essence.
- create an engagement strategy.
- activate across relevant touch points.
In deriving shopper insights, develop an engagement strategy that is contextually relevant to the actual shopper. It’s not just purely about putting a product on the shelf and offering a coupon or some form of a discount anymore. Shopper marketing is much more about the process of connecting with shoppers when, where and how they would like to engage. Most often, it’s through a digitally oriented methodology.
There are some standard elements in the shopping experience—pre-shopping, while shopping and post-shopping. Those factors focus on the “when” and the “where” aspects but the “how” is becoming increasingly more important. It’s being driven more by individual product categories. For example, how shoppers engage with a commodity like paper towels is significantly different than how they would engage with a durable good or entertainment-based item. The path to purchase varies across categories.
The next generation of shopper marketing is no longer defined by traditional brick-and-mortar stores or ecommerce for that matter. Consumers don’t really have to search for information in the pre-shopping phase. They can have it delivered to them wherever they are and on their own terms based on their predisposition toward different types of communication and technology.
Moving forward, we should see more two-way dialogues taking place between brands and shoppers. We see more preferential treatment for brand loyalists, influencers and those who are actively engaged with brands. Brands will reward loyalty in a more impactful way as it relates to digitally fueled shopper marketing.
Physical retail stores are still important but more and more, we see that how retailers and brands interact with someone digitally, on their terms and through the device by which they want to interact, is becoming much more important. We’re becoming more channel-agnostic and contextually relevant.
Marketers need to understand shopper segmentation based upon purchasing behavior, while also focusing on consumers’ digital lives. They must create digital shopper segmentation models in order to arrive at contextually relevant and holistic shopper marketing opportunities.
Marketers should evaluate the strategic needs of the brand, particularly at the pre-shopping phase. We see that shopping is taking place constantly. The lines are blurring between the pre-, in-store and post-shopping phases. It all counts as shopping, even as you’re consuming and using a product. These lines are blurring, particularly as the path to purchase is more digitally influenced. We should try to understand how a shopper behaves along the entire continuum.
There’s an insight-driven digital component for almost all engagement marketing programs that includes metrics and measurement from an ROI perspective. It’s really important to understand not only the future needs for the brand’s growth, but also the needs of the shopper segments as they evolve and change over time. For example, conduct a research into understanding younger consumers, diverse ethnicities and baby boomers in order to better understand their digital lives.
For more information on how to digitally fuel your business, please contact MODI$club.
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