Let’s take a moment to look back at our favorite 2003 romantic comedy, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” We laughed, we cried, and most importantly, we learned (at least according to Hollywood) what NOT to do in a relationship. “So, wait, guys DON’T want me to call them 82 times until they answer… interesting…” It was definitely a turning point. Fast forward to 2015, and there’s another relationship on my mind. It’s just as important and just as complicated: the relationship between businesses and consumers. So, in a fun spirit, here’s How to Lose a Customer in 10 Days, or basically what not to do with your CRM strategies. As a bonus, many of these ideas also apply to your personal life.
Day 1- Call them by the wrong name
Cultivating a new customer into a loyal brand ambassador is no easy feat, especially if you start off your relationship showing that you don’t really know who your customer is. Bad Data is the number one reason for CRM failure for a variety of reasons. When customers are sent inaccurate outreach they don’t feel like a most valued customer, and can leave them doubting your records competency. Or, it may leave no impression at all as many times consumers with incorrect contact information will not receive intended communications at all.
According to the a 2014 survey by Ascend2, 36% of marketers say that low quality and inaccurate data is the biggest obstacle to marketing automation success. Even if the information was input correctly, data decays at a rate of 2% per month. On average, every 30 minutes 120 business addresses change, 75 phone numbers change, 20 CEOs leave their jobs, and 30 new businesses are formed. (Source: D&B The Sales and Marketing Institute) So make sure you know who you’re talking to, and that they’re receiving your message.
Day 2- Be a “One Night Brand”
Once the deal is sealed it’s important to continue “courting” the customer. Maintaining a positive relationship with the consumer keeps your brand front of mind and sets the tone that they are a valued asset to your company. Any conversion should immediately be followed by a thank you, but it can’t stop there. Consistent and positive outreach via personal contact and email campaigns increase the chances that the consumer will return when they’re ready for the next purchase.
Day 3- Call constantly
It’s important to maintain contact, but it’s just as important not to over contact. Marketers and sales professionals must find a fine balance between staying relevant and not bombarding consumers with information. Over contacting with irrelevant offers, surveys, and attempts at upselling and cross-selling before a solid B2C relationship is cultivated can leave consumers with an unfavorable opinion of the company. One way to address this problem is using data analytics to segment consumer groups by age to assess what outreach will be the most readily accepted. Millennial consumers are accustomed to email contact, and being constantly connected makes them less offended by consistent email contact. An older consumer who checks email less frequently may be annoyed by an inbox full of your marketing email, but will take more notice to a direct mail piece.
Day 4- The Magic Trick
Many marketers find themselves performing the age old magic trick, “Watch me while I disappear……and reappear!” Namely, only contacting their customer when it’s time to renew their services. An acceptable frequency of contact will ultimately depend on the industry and target demographic, but it’s universal that disappearing from your customer’s life and then popping back on the scene only when there’s a possible purchase on the table isn’t a great relationship management strategy. A case study by insurance company Aviva actually achieved a 48% in digital engagement by contacting their clients more often than just when their policies were due to expire.
The summation of Days 1-4 is there is no one size fits all approach for frequency of contacting, but by analyzing your consumer data and split testing with segmented groups you can find the sweet spot for your particular target audience.
Day 5- Become complacent in the relationship
The world is evolving by the minute, so shouldn’t your marketing strategy? As technology ebbs its way ever so steadily into our lives there are boundless opportunities to harness new digital solutions and implement cutting edge CRM strategies to increase consumer satisfaction and retention rates. Don’t miss out by falling into the same strategies year after year without looking into what the future may hold.
Day 6- Ignore their friend request
Your customers expect you to have a social media presence. Not only do you need to accept their friend request or follow back, but according to the Social Habit 42% of customers expect a response within 60 minutes of posting. And 57% have no sympathy for a delayed response due to it being a night or weekend. Plus, why wouldn’t you want to be connected to them via social media? Social media provides troves of information that help you understand and segment your customers, and by using data-as-a-service solutions you can know exactly when your consumers are primed for purchase via social signals.
Day 7- Wait for them to say there’s something wrong
You know your significant other doesn’t mean it when they say “I’m fine.” And your customers are no different. A study by 1Financial Training Services found that a 96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, and of that group 91% leave and don’t return to the brand. Customer satisfaction surveys help measure satisfaction, pinpoint potential problem areas, and locate brand advocates. These are often done through on-line surveys or post-purchase calls. Customer satisfaction metrics should constantly be measured to identify problems that can affect future revenue, anticipate customer’s needs, and create an ongoing company culture of meeting and fulfilling customer expectations. Social signaling and data collection is another way to pinpoint consumers who are at a risk of leaving your company, but haven’t yet or won’t lodge a formal complaint.
Day 8- Don’t appreciate them
Making your customers feel appreciated and valued will keep them coming back for more, which saves you the costs incurred over lost customers and creates an army of brand ambassadors spreading the word about how great your business is. As many as 3 out of 4 customers say they have spent more with a company because of a history of positive experiences, and appreciation and incentives “just for being you” is a great way to give your customers the warm and fuzzies. Appreciation events, loyalty programs, incentives, and even good old fashioned personal outreach are great ways to build brand loyalty.
Day 9- Treat them like everyone else (“Are you seeing other customers?”)
Customers need to know that they’re special, and a great way to show them that is personalized outreach. Data-as-a-Service allows businesses to create comprehensive consumer profiles from which actionable insights can be drawn. Consumers expect and react the most positively to campaigns that are relevant to their needs, wants, and current situations. A recent study by Yahoo and IG shows that 55% of consumers are more likely to engage in a personalized vs. a general ad. On the other hand, they will react negatively if they receive too much outreach that is unrelated to them. Specifically, 94% of respondents to a 2014 study reported taking at least one of these actions in response to a company that consistently mis-targeted them in their marketing efforts:
- Automatically deleted the emails (68%);
- Unsubscribed from emails (54%);
- Categorized emails as “junk” or “spam” (45%);
- Became less likely to buy products (29%);
- Visited the website less frequently (13%); and
- Never visited the website again (10%).
Day 10 – Be a bad listener
You collected the analytics, you conducted the surveys, you did all the preliminary leg work – but don’t forget implementation. Research and data analytics mean nothing if you don’t build in a methodology for drawing actionable insights from your new found knowledge. Don’t miss the opportunity to use the knowledge to provide the best experience for your customers- after all customer experience is paramount. A study by Oracle showed that 81% of customers are willing to pay more for a product if it means a superior customer experience, so make sure to avoid these 10 mishaps and get started with wow’ing your customers.
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