Businesses that find the most success are those that have defined their Buyer's Journey – the path a customer takes to plan their purchase. These businesses have paid close attention to the behaviors their prospective customers take at each stage of their purchase decision: from the Awareness stage to Consideration and finally to their purchase Decision. By doing that, they have provided carefully crafted content to help their prospects each step of the way.
But to be truly successful, these businesses also turn those newly-acquired patrons into long-term loyal customers by moving them into their Customer Journey. The Customer Journey is the strategy businesses use to strengthen the relationship they have with existing customers. When you have worked so hard to earn a new customer you need to make sure you keep them! You can do this by putting steps in place to strengthen and deepen their brand loyalty.
Retaining and delighting current customers provides many benefits, one of which is an opportunity for revenue growth. You may have heard of the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto principle. In marketing, this principle is used to demonstrate that 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers. Think about this in terms of your Customer Journey and build out a process that draws your customers further into your brand's experience.
Here are some examples of the types of marketing tactics that can build brand loyalty within your current customer base:
- Focus on your customers' post-purchase experience by providing them with content that helps them feel a part of your brand's community. Consider newsletters, product tips, surveys and giveaways.
- Ask for feedback, reviews or testimonials about their experience with your company. Also ask permission to use their responses in your marketing materials.
- Introduce a customer loyalty program that encourages repeat purchases and rewards at certain levels. Improved customer retention rates will directly translate to retained market share among your competition.
Thinking beyond the customer's initial purchase is a valuable part of your marketing strategy. When done well, a consistent Customer Journey will ultimately increase the customer lifetime value and provide you with an audience full of brand ambassadors ready to sing your praises.
If you are not sure where to start, download our Buyer's Journey worksheet to map out your prospect's path to a purchase decision. Then take it a step further to develop the Customer Journey that we discussed above. The result will be a consistent brand experience for both your prospects and customers.
