Retention is the New Black
I just love it when I see reference to survey and big data that tells us the importance of a retained, loyal purchaser. This article shares data from an Adobe (software company) study indicating that 1 returning purchaser is worth 5 new shoppers. It points out that the cost of a customer retention program could be traded, successfully, for a customer acquisition program. I also appreciated that the article presents an approach to cultivation that is worthy of our gaze, suggesting that businesses "...Have a plan for your customer on days one, seven, thirty, and on." It might actually be that simple. Know who they are. Plan for them. Execute. The article does spend some time on a 10,000 foot view of behavioural email campaigns, which is of value. It also addresses the concept of an onboarding guide, which I had not encountered before, but which seems like an emergent best practice to me.
Mobile Apps and Customer Experience Enhancements
This was a good brief synthesis about how mobile apps could be a great differentiator for businesses seeking to engender deeper loyalty and enhance customer self-service. The article outlines the rationale for introducing an app. It is tricky, of course, to be app-crazy; most of us only rely on about 7 apps on our phones (span of attention) on a regular basis, so getting on that short list can be complex. But I do admit to being enthused about my WestJet app (Canadian airline), which serves as repository of flight information and gives me little extras, like internet service while on a plane (in theory, at least). Do it right - and you just might get somewhere. (To angel investors - I have this idea for a loyalty/word of mouth app ;-) )
Endangered Customers - An Elegant Expression for Inelegant Customer Experiences
Richard Shapiro's newest book, The Endangered Customer: Eight Steps to Guarantee Repeat Business, sounds like a tome for our times. This article undertakes a brief interview with Shapiro, and gives us insights into what should be in our crosshairs as we strive towards favourable and retentive customer experiences. I am, of course, particularly enamored of the human touch, the personalization of experience efforts, and endorse wholeheartedly a thought he expressed in the article - namely, "...The strongest loyalty is person-to-person, not person to company or brand. If your company employs people who can build loyalty one customer at a time and is coupled with an organization or brand that stands behind them, then that is a winning combination."
