Most brands in the world aren’t big enough to go about their day-to-day business without considering the general customer perception of their company. With the internet only intensifying competition, each business has an uphill battle to win over as many customers as possible, as well as retain their existing patrons.
There are several benefits to acquiring new customers, including increases in sales, better brand awareness, and growth, but keeping those who have already bought into your offering is just as vital, if not more so. Retained customers help to raise your bottom line, particularly if you offer a regular-use or subscription-based service. For these benefits, encouraging customers to keep coming back for more is essential.
Here, we’re exploring the different ways in which your business can reach out to new customers, encourage further engagement from current patrons, and implement key communications strategies.
Targeting the right form of marketing for modern customers
When customers think of marketing, what often comes to mind are the intrusive, annoying calls about an accident that they never had or piles of emails that end up in the junk folder by default. However, when done in a way that isn’t irritating and does appeal to the needs of the customer, many forms of marketing can prove to be both successful while giving your business a personal touch.
The essential first step for this is to focus on your target audience. You need to know exactly who your target demographic is, what their preferences are, and how they would prefer to be reached. This all comes down to personalisation, both in how you present your marketing and how customers want to receive the marketing. Personalising the point of contact for each customer makes a much more favourable impression – some 80% of customers say they’d be more likely to do business if the personalised approach is used.
SEO marketing has also become a primary course of action for most businesses due to how overwhelmingly central online search engines have become to everyday lives. Elements like this have also swung the marketing preference to inbound marketing, in which the goal is to attract customers rather than interrupt them, attempting to attract, engage, and delight. It was found that much of Barack Obama’s internet-driven funding for his 2008 campaign to the US Presidency was primarily driven by inbound marketing.
Free trials and offers – for everyone
Free trials, welcome offers, and new customer bonuses are tried and trusted methods for new and existing brands to get their foot in the door. They offer a relatively non-committal method for someone to try your product, and by doing so, they become familiar with it, making it easier for them to become a paying customer – especially as it becomes more convenient to do so after making the account and learning the platform.
The success rate of a free trial or offer increases with the products or services that rely on regular payments to deliver, such as subscription services or pay-per-use structures. For example, in iGaming, the casino bonus has become essential to businesses. They range from platform to platform, but you’ll usually see offers of ‘Spend £X, Get £X,’ matched deposit bonuses, free spins, and the coveted no-deposit bonuses.
However, where several brands go wrong is that they’re only fixated on the new customers. While the best sites that offer casino bonuses have ongoing promotions for existing players, not all businesses work out a way to keep the good times rolling with later freebies. Existing customers like free stuff too, and are much more likely to remain engaged and positive about your business if you offer them a path to trials and offers.
Improve customer communications
The internet has made business transactions incredibly impersonal, with hordes of customers regularly bemoaning the lack of good customer service and communications as a primary issue. In fact, increasing your customer service’s effectiveness has been proven to lead to increased revenue, adding a further reason to make your customer communications as strong as possible.
Now, there are two key areas that customers have come to expect to be available. The first is a webchat on your website. People want to be able to easily locate and use a chat feature to put them in touch with a human customer service agent, with the instant chat fulfilling their need for an expert to help. The next is to make your social media platforms customer service points.
Of course, the main reason to have a social media account is to showcase your goods, reach new people, and offer another way for them to engage and get you likes. However, they can also operate as easy-to-use, cost-effective customer service platforms. The UK energy company Bulb dove into this aspect of social media, with their Twitter account starting each day with the customer service rep saying “good morning” and that they’re available.
Whenever you’re looking for ways to grow your customer base, always consider the ways in which the methods can be applied or expanded to your existing customers, and be sure to keep them in the loop.
