When I logged onto Facebook last night, the first story that appeared at the top of my newsfeed was a video of a thrilled toddler followed by a mother’s caption which read:
“I cannot say enough great things about Schneider Chiropractic Center […] the fabulous staff there always go the extra mile […] and give extra special attention to Bayleigh when she comes [to my appointments] with me, by spoiling her with stickers & suckers. You have all outdone yourselves with sending Bayleigh a birthday card filled with her favorite chiropractic stickers!! THANK YOU for taking the time to make this little girl feel so special!”
One of the strongest driving forces behind brand loyalty is the ability to show your clients you care by building personal customer relationships over time. Sure, you can send the same generic birthday email to all your customers, but it’s about going the extra mile and connecting with consumers on a level that’s going to “humanize” your brand.
Think of people in your own life. There are different relationships stages – new, old, and in between. While there are people you may have just met, there are others you’ve known for a lifetime. Like Customer Lifecycle Marketing, people in your life go through different relationship stages as they get to know you better (and depending on whether or not the friendship is worthwhile, you do things for certain people to strengthen those relationships).
Customer Lifecycle Marketing makes it possible to give clients at different stages in the buying process more personalized content, information, and attention that creates lasting relationships, while laying the foundation for brand loyalty.
How Customer Lifecycle Marketing (CLM) Creates Personal Relationships
1.) Increase client interaction and engagement. With insight into profile and engagement scores, you can see who is unengaged or has had little contact with you over a specified period of time. Visibility into this information can help you reel in your out-of-touch consumers in order to rekindle their relationship.
2.) Nurture different relationships accordingly. A CLM tool not only provides insight into where a customer is in their relationship with your brand, but it allows you to develop and grow deeper relationships based on captured information about your clients. For instance, a customer of 10+ years would fall in the “Brand Advocate” lifecycle stage. A personalized deal or discount based on a brand advocate’s purchase history would be an example of how best to engage individuals in this lifecycle stage to create customers for life.
3.) Capitalize on information stored in your CRM to make your content and communications more personal. Like a friendship, over the course of time, you learn more about a person. The same holds true with Customer Lifecycle Marketing. As you gather and store more information on your clients, you can use what you know about them to build a stronger connection. Maybe it’s more than sending a personalized email! Perhaps a handwritten note to a client that deserves recognition – refer back to the Schneider Clinic situation above. Schneider used the power of information gathered from a long-term relationship, and drove the human element into their marketing.
For more on Customer Lifecycle Marketing, be sure to check out our lifecycle marketing ebook as well as our CLM video breakdowns.
