Keep loyal customers or acquire new customers?
Every marketer should know that it is very important to keep their loyal customers happy. Incenti...Who are your most valuable and loyal customers?
Challenges
In recent years several new channels have emerged, such as Facebook, Twitter and mobile. The overall focus is to find new customers and to serve those customers as efficiently as possible. Online is all about fast delivery, streamlined registration and competitive pricing. Failure to recognise this has resulted in many companies losing track of their most valuable and loyal customers.
In real life, these loyal customers are actually responsible for the profits and value of your company. Ultimately, existing customers are easy to serve, they ask fewer questions, and - over time - will recommend your products and services to other people.
It’s therefore important to reach out to your most valuable customers and show your appreciation.
Multiple channels
Your customers are becoming more and more active across different channels, whether it’s a mobile channel, your website, or with friends on Facebook/Twitter. To gain insight into your most loyal and valuable customers, it’s important that you understand their activities across these channels. Customer value is ultimately determined on the basis of their cross-channel activities.
Who are they?
Many companies don’t want to burden new customers with a complex registration process. And rightfully so. Customers find it difficult to answer certain registration questions if it’s not clear why they should share that information with you. You run the risk of treating every customer as a virtual stranger. To add value to your customers and get greater insight, it’s important that you can recognise them and understand their preferences and behaviours.
How do I reward?
A lot of companies think that every new customer is valuable. When profits start to drop, the sales strategy becomes more aggressive and new customers start getting discounts. There is a risk that these customers ultimately become unhappy with your products or services and to a certain extent feel they were coerced into becoming a customer. It’s important to thoroughly understand which customers add real value and to stimulate and reward their behaviour.
