Companies invest millions every year chasing new customers, but are the most lucrative ones already just under your nose?
By Julian Fisher from new online marketplace, Bubbles
Are existing customers more valuable?
Existing customers are always more valuable to businesses. The cost of selling to them is considerably less, due to the fact that they haven’t come to you via expensive advertising or as part of a marketing acquisition.
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The fact that you don’t have to spend money to find these customers means that the value of their purchase delivers higher margins. In fact, at Bubbles we feel that repeat customers are 50-60% more valuable than customers you have had to ‘go fishing’ to find.
But of course, they are only valuable if you hold on to and nurture them!
Winning new customers vs selling to old ones
Both are extremely important to businesses to ensure that your database of customers continues to grow and they want to repeatedly spend their money with you.
Although the approach to both of these types of customers are usually handled differently, it’s important that you do not forget the value of continuing to offer the right service, products and experience of your brand to your existing customers.
It’s a common occurrence for brands to offer the best deals to the new customers to get them through the door, whilst repeat customers are not offered the same incentives to stay loyal. We see it all the time!
Whilst it’s true that these techniques are affective in delivering fresh customers, it’s important to also work hard to earn repeat business from your existing customers if you want them to stay loyal and brand advocates.
How to keep customers coming back
We see lots of businesses using vouchers to both entice new customers and encourage existing customers to come back. If used in the right way, it’s possible to draw customers straight to your own site, rather than via affiliate sites that cost money per customer.
It’s important to keep engaging with your customers with email marketing and offers. But the warning here is to be cautious and tailored with your communications to ensure that the customer contact isn’t excessive.
Even with online businesses, customer service is still something that determines a positive, and repeated, experience with a brand. Therefore, it’s important that you embrace this through every part of your business.
In terms of marketing, social media engagement is very powerful if used correctly and can be another way that of endorsing your brand and products. More importantly, the smart brands are using this as a way of communication with their customers… both new and old.
How to compose the perfect email
The two most important rules to consider with email marketing are:
Frequency: How often you mail your customer is a fine line between acceptable and spamming. If you cross this line, your risk unsubscribes from your databases. So the advice is… no more than twice a month should be the maximum.
Keep it relevant: Your customer is more likely to take notice on a regular basis of your marketing messages if they are tailored to you and the things you like to buy.
However large or small you are, knowing your customer will give you a better chance of engaging them, than generic and irrelevant content. We live in a world of ‘big data’ so use it to your advantage.
For more visit: www.lookupbubbles.com
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