Acquiring and building loyalty are therefore two key concepts necessary for the good economic health of a company . Loyalty allows you to secure part of your activity thanks to a clientele already adept at your service. However, in times of strong competition, building loyalty is no longer enough . However, your activity must remain sustainable despite an uncertain context. You must therefore use a customer acquisition strategy to maintain your sales momentum.
Loyalty
The easiest way to retain customers is to first make them happy.
Understand the expectations and needs of its customers
Our wishes result from our expectations, our needs are dependent on a certain degree of obligation . Now that our terms are clearly defined, we can enter fully into our subject.
This distinction being made, you will be able to distinguish between the obligations and the wishes of your customers. Indeed, your offer must either meet specific needs or the expectations of your customers (or both). The degree of dependence of your customers will thus vary according to their dependence on a particular need or expectation.
First, you need to identify the needs of your customers. There are 5 of them according to Maslow’s Pyramid (physiological, security, belonging, esteem and self-realization). The first two are fundamental because primary. The offer must be able to respond to it on its own. The customer relationship should satisfy the other needs.
Second, in return for their act of purchase, your customers will want to obtain additional advantages . A real axis of differentiation , these attentions will enhance your image with your customers and will be a guarantee of loyalty . In addition, these are actions that improve word-of-mouth , the most effective transmission of information. Here are a few examples to illustrate my point:
- responsiveness
- The relationship of trust
- Recognition of the biggest spenders and above all loyal customers
Encourage customers to take new purchasing actions
Do you know the Pareto principle (Italian economist and sociologist)? From a marketing point of view, 20% of the clientele generates almost 80% of the turnover. Concretely, this means one thing:
20% of your efforts represent 80% of your activity
However, this does not mean that your commitment will be minimized . Of course, you must invest 100% (with one detail) of your energy fairly to obtain this result.
The small detail, here it is: the valuation of your loyal customers .
You will definitely win if you show appreciation to these customers. We reiterate Maslow ‘s notion of need. The following ways will help you improve your retention rate:
- Provide an offer that meets the needs/expectations of your customers : we have just mentioned this, but an important point to bear in mind.
- Ensuring optimal quality of supply
- Guaranteeing good customer service : accompanying the customer after his act of purchase is a real guarantee of quality and will give you a positive image.
- Do promotional actions : this marketing tool will encourage your customers to make a new purchase
- Take into account opinions and feedback : this approach allows you to constantly question yourself, to reassure you about the quality of your offer, or to refine it to improve it. It shows your involvement. You can also evaluate your image with your customers!
The benefits of loyalty
The first advantage and not the least, it will cost you less. Indeed, it is more profitable to retain a customer than to recruit one (see our second part). In fact, marketing can quickly become a significant cost.
Speaking of marketing, building loyalty also means creating a group of ambassadors , who will promote your services free of charge. Thus, your company will benefit from a positive image in the eyes of a wider range of people. We can even say that this loyalty allows you to transform your customers into a sales force . Let’s illustrate this with a simple example:
👉 Do you know the apple brand?
The genius of Apple , or at least that of its ambassadors, has therefore easily enabled a majority of people to answer this question positively. Moreover, we also fell into the trap since we offer them an external link (backlink). To meditate…
We can also add an emotional dimension to a loyal clientele. His attachment to your products and/or your services will allow you to obtain objective and high quality opinions to improve your services.
In addition, a loyal customer generally has a higher average basket than occasional consumers, he is also less volatile .
Acquire
If you want to develop your customer portfolio, it is essential to do marketing acquisition.
Define your target
1 – Identify the product or service you want to promote
Identification made, it is strongly recommended to analyze its offer . The objective is therefore to identify the needs/expectations to which it responds, to know who it can address (individuals or professionals for example), to which positioning your product belongs (low, medium and high-end to simplify ). This is why it is important to prepare the ground .
2 – Determine your target persona
A marketing persona schematizes the ideal customer for a given offer. It is concretely a question of imagining a group of imaginary individuals.
Find your acquisition strategy
An acquisition strategy is characterized by: all marketing actions aimed at acquiring new customers. There are 3 stages:
- 1 – Hit his target
- 2 – Attract and interest your target
- 3 – Convert your target = final conversion
After identifying the target and the typical prospect, here is what you can put in place:
Inbound marketing (attracting prospects via qualitative content and a unique experience)
Website
Nowadays, this tool is a must. In the same way as a google sheet which contains all the useful elements (address, telephone, etc.), it is your showcase or even your digital business.
- 93% of online experiences come from a website
- 53% of Internet users are suspicious of companies that do not have a website
- 56% more visitors
Aren’t these statistics a source of dreams?
Owning a site is good, optimizing it is better. Indeed, the first thing to do is to optimize your natural referencing (SEO) to position your site at the top of search engines. Users from an organic source are more qualified and likely to like your content .
To do this, you first need a beautiful graphic identity , but also and above all a good user experience when browsing. The modules must be clear and easy to access. The site must be fluid and fast. Integrate internet and external mesh…
Then, you can personalize your site with additional content , such as articles, forums, infographics, white papers, customer reviews…
You can also strengthen your SEO by paying to create ad groups to promote the pages of your website (homepage, articles, etc.). This referencing, also called (SEA) is more effective if your site is already optimized by natural referencing.
Social networks
Social networks are a force for your business today. We have an article about it:
- Social networks and business
Outbound marketing (looking for prospects)
Paid advertisements
Unlike the website which aims to attract prospects, you go directly to seek them via paid communication campaigns on social networks , but also with more traditional channels such as radio, television or cinema for example. This last channel is also the most accessible and effective. It allows you to reach local prospects close to you (if you have a shop in the area)
Prospecting
One of the most effective customer acquisition levers. It will allow you to reach a large number of people, but to guarantee sufficient filtration. You can thus consider creating mailing campaigns or commercial actions on LinkedIn for example. The use of filters will give you watchmaking precision!
Choose the right digital tools
- CRM: customer follow-up, prospecting campaigns, etc.
- Buffer: tracking data on social networks
- Walaaxy: list and make marketing campaigns
- Dropcontact: enriching your prospect lists
- Any other tools that would meet your needs
Escadrille accompanies you
Market studies, satisfaction studies, business plan, communication plan, CSR strategy… All this constitutes our portfolio of services. We are here to help you realize your projects.