During uncertain economic times, it’s easy to cut Marketing budgets, prioritizing new customer acquisition over what you invest in current customers – the most important people in your world. If you nurture and serve your current customers well (NOT blasting them with more emails, as you’ll switch them off), there’s always an opportunity to expand your business, and/or drive referrals.
NOW is a great opportunity to show-off your creativity, demonstrate your spirit of partnership, and invest at a time when your competition is pulling back – thinking longer term.
Here are five ideas to “invest” in your customers, as we start out the new year:
- Commence third-party customer satisfaction (CSAT) research, to find out what you’re doing well (so you can build on that), and where you need to improve – so you can optimize your business for future success. You can also use third-party CSAT research to help identify customers that have potential to churn – locking in valuable revenue in the process… and to identify customers that are most satisfied, and therefore most likely to participate in customer advocacy efforts such as case studies, references, and referrals. All three are a great way to help grow your business, while driving a spirit of partnership, and showcasing the value you deliver
- Initiate a comprehensive, consistent quarterly business review (QBR) process, to help drive deep, meaningful dialog with your customers, and ultimately help deliver more value – based on their business needs – as opposed to what you want to sell
- Offer to do work pro-bono, safe in the knowledge that if you do the right thing, good things will happen longer term. Your customers will remember when you stepped up in a moment of need, when they might not have budget
- Find creative ways to make your services more affordable, so clients can continue to engage, when budgets and/or headcount are cut. Look for more ways to run your business more efficiently and effectively, and pass those savings onto customers
- Double-down on account-based marketing with your top customers – strengthening relationships, increasing relevancy and ultimately the value you deliver
After all, what is the point of bringing a new customer through the front door, if an existing customer is walking out the back door? We all know it costs a lot more to acquire a new customer, than to nurture and grow an existing one.
If you’re interested in discussing creative ways to help engage your customers, I’d love to chat. Drop me a line @ davids@idebamarketing.com
Thank you.
David Sly – President
