Doing so not only drives
more sales, it can turn
customers into fans
and fans into raving
enthusiasts. These
buyers are valuable
to your business beyond the bottom
line; they carry your brand messages
to the marketplace as an advocate and
influence new buyers. One way to turn their
enthusiasm into trackable dollars is with a
referral program. (See page 12 for other
ways to increase the lifetime value of your
customers.)
The digital age has permanently altered
the ways in which you can communicate
with your customers, and savvy marketers
understand this. By carefully considering
where your clients are in the buying
process, you can leverage the available
channels to create marketing that is
personal, relevant and welcome. This is the
essence of effective customer nurturing.
The Customer Relationship Two-Step
Ruth P. Stevens, president of eMarketing
Strategies, gives some practical advice for
marketers looking to deepen relationships
with their customers.
“Keep in mind that customer nurturing
is a very specific process and not a
one-time event,” Stevens explains. “First,
set an objective. Define
the ‘why’ behind your
communications.”
According to Stevens,
this part of the process
is critical, whether you
want to upsell existing customers, stay in
touch with prospects until they are ready
to buy or engage new donors for your
organization.
“Next, create a plan for
a series of outbound
communications
intended to stay in
touch, giving them
the information they
need to take the next step in their path to
purchase,” she says. (See chart below.)
A multi-channel approach is ideal for
customer nurturing, according to Stevens.
A landmark study by the Aberdeen
Group on the value of multi-channel lead
nurturing programs showed that nurtured
leads delivered 47% higher average order
values over non-nurtured leads. The top
Sample Customer Contact Matrix: An Ongoing Communication Model
Email
Direct
mail
Phone Sales visit
Total
contacts
Expense
per
customer
Revenue
per
customer
E:R
Customer
segment
Customer
quantity
$0.25 $1.50 $15 $250
Inquirers 350
6
1
1
0
8
$18
$50
36%
One-time
buyers
400
12 3
6
0
21
$97.50 $500
19.5%
Multi-
buyers
200
12 6
6
1
25
$352
$2,000 17.6%
Dormant
customers
150
3
1
1
0
5
$17.25 $75
23%
Total
1,100
You might set up a plan to contact your best customers 25 times a year: 12 by email, six by phone, six
by mail and one face-to-face sales call. Inquirers, on the other hand, merit a different set of contacts
designed to move them along to become first-time customers. Your lapsed, or dormant, customers
would be treated entirely differently with a series of contacts intended to win them back. Social media
activities would span customer type and be ongoing.
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