Retain existing customers to acquire new customers

Do you know how much the cost of customer acquisition is? You definitely know: it’s expensive and not easy. Let me tell you one truth: the cost of customer acquisition is 10 times of the cost of customer retention. Yet, 63% marketers still regard new customer acquisition as their marketing goal and they may overlook the relationship with customers after consumption. This is not cost-effective while the cost of customer retention is 10 times lower. Moreover, by boosting the customers’ loyalty of existing customers, you will gain free and the most powerful, persuasive spokesperson: your loyal customers.

As per the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, a customer will spread theirbad experience to 9-15 people. However, if you provide a customer with great experience, conversion rate will be driven 3-5 times higher by their recommendations, compared with traditional marketing tools. If you just focus on boosting sales amount, you will lose the potential leads which can be generated by current customers (and the value of existing customers is USD243 each). Instead, you need to understand your customers and find out how your products or services can fit their needs and even improve their lives.

Is it difficult? Definitely not. Thru email marketing, you will be able to analyze your customers’ preference thru their online activities. When a consumer approaches your brand, your product must be valuable or interesting to them. By utilizing email marketing, you will be able to help consumers to derive value from your brand. Once the consumers gain positive experience, and of course, you keep nurturing the relationship with them, they will become your loyal spokespeople who “acquire” new customers for you.

Thru email, a daily one-to-one communication channel, you can build trust with your customers. While more than 91% of consumers check emails daily, 77% of consumers prefer to receive commercial message via email. For example, personalized welcome email is a good start of a lasting customers’ relationship. By personalization, emails which are tailor-made according to customers’ activities, such as clicking history in eDM, can effectively boost loyalty as they provide effective solutions to meet customers’ needs. Once customers’ needs are satisfied, positive experience with your brand is nurtured and those customers will become your loyal advocates.

Never forget how valuable the existing customers are. Retain them and you will get new customers.
 
 
Source:
Exact Target: The 2012 Channel Preference Survey