- Original Poster
- #1
Last year, I met a guy called John Jantsch. He's a fairly well-know chap from the old-school book of marketing but he has a ridiculous amount of knowledge. (He has a great podcast called Duct Tape Marketing.)
The one thing that stuck in my mind was his comment about turning customers into advocates. He said, from the time they purchase a product, you have 60 days to turn them into a raving fan. That's the period when the product is still fresh, novel and exciting. If you fail to do that then they won't tell anyone about you or come back to buy more.
He advice was to map out the 60 days and decide how you are going to give your customer the best experience possible over that period.
Where most fail
With most companies, you never get anything useful once you've purchased. They just take your money and then add you to their mailing list for the next blast. You then get a series of untargeted emails that are poorly-timed and meaningless. This results in a poor onboarding experience and that has a negative impact on customer loyalty.
You've probably heard that we now live in a so-called 'subscription economy'. Cars, Netflix, Food, Dry Cleaning, Coffee are all becoming subscription-based. People are not buying anymore, they rent.
This means that companies need to work harder to keep customers. They need to manage the entire lifecycle to keep a customer happy. They need to become valuable.
How to keep your customers
Moving forward, all companies need to change to this mindset, whether they offer products on a subscription basis or not. We should all be looking at how we communicate with after they buy our products because that's where many let themselves down.
We need to learn how customers continue using our products and where we can add value. Retention is about giving your customers those quick wins early on and lots of personal attention along the way.
You don't need to sell to your customers every time you contact them. You could:
- Train them on your product
- Show them a new hidden feature
- Remind them to call you if they need help
- Ask them for feedback
- Direct them to a useful article or guide that might interest them
- Send them a thank you video
- Remind them to register for their extended warranty
- Introduce them to your community on your social channels
- Direct them to a video you have created
For example, if I have just bought a Labrador puppy and I buy organic puppy food then why can't I be sent:
- A video guide to training my Labrador
- A nutrition guy for healthy growth
- A guide on organic food through different stages of the dog's life
- An email to a number of Labrador owners groups on Facebook or Instagram
- A partner offer for dog insurance (you could be an affiliate)
- Tips to keep your puppy happy and amused when you're out
- Top toys available on Amazon (Again, you could become an Amazon affiliate and you'd get a commission on anything else they buy)
- A list of the UK best kennels (they may not use it but it's handy)
- Dog grooming locations nearby
The list is pretty much endless. It doesn't always need to be on your own site. Remember, you are building a relationship with your customer. If you want to keep your customers loyal then you need to add value before the purchase, during and after. You need to be the go-to resource they can trust.
As John said, you should map out the first 60 days of your customer experience, create instant wins and personal interactions from the point of purchase to the 60th day and beyond.
This isn't fluff. This is how you create customer loyalty. Don't be one of the lazy companies. Go beyond and give your customers a reason to love your business and love your product.
Much of this can be automated with a simple email drip campaign.
The one thing that stuck in my mind was his comment about turning customers into advocates. He said, from the time they purchase a product, you have 60 days to turn them into a raving fan. That's the period when the product is still fresh, novel and exciting. If you fail to do that then they won't tell anyone about you or come back to buy more.
He advice was to map out the 60 days and decide how you are going to give your customer the best experience possible over that period.
Where most fail
With most companies, you never get anything useful once you've purchased. They just take your money and then add you to their mailing list for the next blast. You then get a series of untargeted emails that are poorly-timed and meaningless. This results in a poor onboarding experience and that has a negative impact on customer loyalty.
You've probably heard that we now live in a so-called 'subscription economy'. Cars, Netflix, Food, Dry Cleaning, Coffee are all becoming subscription-based. People are not buying anymore, they rent.
This means that companies need to work harder to keep customers. They need to manage the entire lifecycle to keep a customer happy. They need to become valuable.
How to keep your customers
Moving forward, all companies need to change to this mindset, whether they offer products on a subscription basis or not. We should all be looking at how we communicate with after they buy our products because that's where many let themselves down.
We need to learn how customers continue using our products and where we can add value. Retention is about giving your customers those quick wins early on and lots of personal attention along the way.
You don't need to sell to your customers every time you contact them. You could:
- Train them on your product
- Show them a new hidden feature
- Remind them to call you if they need help
- Ask them for feedback
- Direct them to a useful article or guide that might interest them
- Send them a thank you video
- Remind them to register for their extended warranty
- Introduce them to your community on your social channels
- Direct them to a video you have created
For example, if I have just bought a Labrador puppy and I buy organic puppy food then why can't I be sent:
- A video guide to training my Labrador
- A nutrition guy for healthy growth
- A guide on organic food through different stages of the dog's life
- An email to a number of Labrador owners groups on Facebook or Instagram
- A partner offer for dog insurance (you could be an affiliate)
- Tips to keep your puppy happy and amused when you're out
- Top toys available on Amazon (Again, you could become an Amazon affiliate and you'd get a commission on anything else they buy)
- A list of the UK best kennels (they may not use it but it's handy)
- Dog grooming locations nearby
The list is pretty much endless. It doesn't always need to be on your own site. Remember, you are building a relationship with your customer. If you want to keep your customers loyal then you need to add value before the purchase, during and after. You need to be the go-to resource they can trust.
As John said, you should map out the first 60 days of your customer experience, create instant wins and personal interactions from the point of purchase to the 60th day and beyond.
This isn't fluff. This is how you create customer loyalty. Don't be one of the lazy companies. Go beyond and give your customers a reason to love your business and love your product.
Much of this can be automated with a simple email drip campaign.
