The Importance of Marketing to your Current Customers
Bringing in new business is and always will be important. However, marketing does not end when the ink is dry on the contract. Many businesses leave money on the table if they don’t continue marketing to customers once they make an initial purchase.
Engaging current customers positively impacts overall business goals in several ways, including increasing revenue by generating opportunities for sales of additional products and services. The problem is that not enough businesses connect these top goals with customer marketing.
Top performing businesses understand that when the right marketing messages reach current customers at the right time they can have a measurable impact on revenue goals and customers’ lifetime value.
There are three main reasons to market to existing customers.
To Increase Retention
When done right, marketing to current customers can increase retention by reminding them of your business, its products, and their value. Being at the forefront of your customers’ minds reinforces your relationship with them, making them more likely to stay with your company.
Retention is further improved when you illustrate your value by including educational material in your marketing messages. This material should be tailored to each customer and relate to their current investments in your company.
According to research, existing customers want to receive this kind of marketing content and advice on how to get the most out of their purchases.
By providing your customers with educational material on best practices, you open the door to additional marketing messages. The research shows that as long you provide educational material first, 72% of customers actually want you to follow up with additional, customised marketing offers.
Newsletters are the perfect vehicles to offer your current customers education, information and marketing offers.
To Increase Revenue
Current customers are generally more reliable buyers than new customers. As you increase up-sell, cross-sell, and other marketing offers to existing customers, they’re more likely to purchase new products or upgrades. Research also shows that existing customers are also more likely to spend higher amounts of money on this kind of repeat or additional transaction.
Revenue can increase so significantly because current customer purchases have higher margins than those of new customers. With new customers you need to spend time and money explaining your company, your offers, and your value.
The key is to continue to focus on what customers have already purchased. Presumably, they went through the purchase process to help achieve a specific set of goals. Improvement and enhancement offers interest your customers the most, and are more likely to result in both improved retention and additional sales.
To Increase Sales Through Customer Support
The final reason behind marketing to current customers is their power to influence your prospects. By inserting happy customers into your sales and marketing processes, you can attract prospects, convert them into leads, and even nurture them until they become customers. This begins as satisfied customers spread the word about your business to their networks and business circles.
Current customer advocates are often willing to tell their success story with your products in blog posts, interviews, video testimonials, and at conferences. These testimonials provide social proof, and help both draw new prospects into your lead funnel and give buyers confidence in your solution as they make their final selection. In your online community platform, customer advocates can continue interacting with leads throughout the decision-making process, helping you close a new customer.
When your business begins to focus on marketing to current customers and providing them with fresh offers, you also provide current customers with new information for these advocates to discuss with their friends. The combination of success stories, new products, and conversation creates a compelling purchase environment for your prospects.
Effective customer advocates have a big impact on your lead generation and acquisition. By owning this environment and process, you can more easily connect customer advocates with prospective customers.
Summary
Relationships and communication with existing customers can have a tremendous effect on your business. You can increase revenue by focusing more on marketing to existing customers, improving customers’ lifetime value as well as tapping into a powerful source of business growth.
To get the most from this group, start by gathering customer purchase and activity data, then use it to create a customised marketing plan. Tailor each marketing message to contain educational material relevant to each customer, and make sure that new offers relate to past purchases. You’ll nurture repeat business, sales, and advocacy as you do so.
Remember, getting existing customers to convert on actions that are important to your company is easier than marketing to prospects. And the results of effective marketing to current customers will help you fulfil core goals such as increasing revenue and improving customer retention.
If you would like to discover ways you can market to your current customers - the low hanging fruit of your business - then get in touch.
Look forward to hearing from you!
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