Entrepreneurship
3 Digital Marketing Strategies That Can Improve Customer Retention
Marketing team reviewing digital strategy.
getty
What happens if you gain 10 new customers but lose 20 from your existing client base? The net result clearly isn’t positive, and if the trend continues, your company’s market share will shrink. Even if your net results were break-even, the business isn’t growing its revenue. In the long term, this can challenge a company’s ability to compete and innovate.
Focusing too much on adding clients to the roster causes marketers to overlook a business’s greatest asset: its current customers. Your company neglects these important individuals at its peril. It’s great that they already signed up for your service or bought something from you online. But customers need a reason to stay, since you’re probably not their only appealing option.
Therefore, a vital piece of any company’s marketing arsenal is digital strategies that aim to keep customers onboard. The trick is to execute plans with more long-term than short-term potential. Let’s look at three of them below.
1. Keep Them Interested With Engaging Content
Need another reason to take a second look at your online content? Well, you’ve found it. Effective customer retention strategies will be difficult to execute without a captivating pull. The difference here is you want your content to keep clients interested in what you can offer.
Instead of introducing people to who you are, you’re finding ways to re-engage them. Digital marketers who leverage content well with existing customers use it as a relationship-building tool. They determine what relationship stage various customer segments are in and distribute different materials accordingly.
Clients who haven’t made a purchase in months might need a reminder of why they value specific products. However, more consistent buyers may respond better to information about enhancing their experiences. Say this segment’s data reveals their interests include self-improvement techniques. Regardless of what your business sells, you could make a self-improvement podcast available through your ordering app to pull these clients back in.
2. Make It Personal
The statistics on personalized customer experiences don’t lie. About 71% of shoppers expect personalization from the brands they do business with. Roughly 76% of consumers grow frustrated when their experiences aren’t unique enough.
What does this mean for digital marketing strategies that focus on customer retention? It means generic approaches won’t fly. Everything from emails to product recommendations must use client data. Customers don’t want to feel as though they’re just another transaction. They’re also less likely to respond well to email blasts advertising irrelevant promotions or products.
If your customer data isn’t up to par, getting it there should be a top priority. Otherwise, your personalization efforts will be like putting the cart before the horse. Once you’ve got reliable information about your clients’ behaviors, interests and preferences, you can provide tailored experiences. These could include emails featuring discounts based on past purchases or how-to guides about existing products.
3. Strike Up a Conversation
Whatever the relationship, no one likes to feel ignored. When the other side doesn’t seem to be listening, it can motivate people to leave. Not feeling heard is why spouses sign separation papers, employees turn in their resignation notices and customers flock to competitors.
When a business doesn’t do much more than push products, customers might think they’re just a number. They have little reason to keep forking over their hard-earned dollars, especially if a company doesn’t invite feedback. Giving clients a chance to voice their opinions through online communities and surveys is a start. But acting on those concerns is more important because a lack of response makes expressing them feel like a waste of time.
Customers who indicate dissatisfaction on an online survey deserve one-on-one follow-up. The conversation may uncover a problem with a simple fix. Say you provide internet service and communicate the status of outages through an app. While this is convenient, what happens if the app doesn’t let clients talk to a live rep about a more complex outage? Adding a feature to allow questions to go through to a person shows that customer input matters.
Social media is another avenue for feedback and personal conversation. Topic-driven communities are a way to interact with customers, collect insights and respond to concerns. Such interactions demonstrate a willingness to treat clients as humans with individual needs.
Inspiring Loyalty
Retaining customers is about building loyalty. Digital marketing strategies must be personal enough to make clients feel seen, valued and heard. Without these critical elements, a company’s campaigns can become a liability rather than a tool that drives results. Marketers willing to increase their retention efforts are more likely to achieve the net gains they’re after.
Entrepreneurship
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It’s been a while since I talked to anyone enjoying the recent stock market action. Too volatile. Too illogical. No real trend. All true. However, the more we understand why this is happening the easier to diagnose what will happen from here and how we can trade our way to profits. (Spoiler Alert) I am still bearish. Gladly I still see 7 timely trades to use to make money as the S&P 500 (SPY) heads lower from here. Read on below for the full story….
I woke up 2 days ago already knowing the theme for this article:
The WORST Stock Market Ever!
That’s because this ride is more Tilt-A-Whirl than Merry-Go-Round thanks to all the volatility. Pretty soon the corn dogs, cotton candy and elephant ears are coming up. (sorry for the visuals…but needed to drive home the point 😉
Gladly if we pull back to the big picture, we can make sense of it all to chart our way to calmer shores. That is what is in store in today’s commentary.
Market Commentary
OK…I might be kidding about this being the worst stock market ever…but it’s certainly not fun. That’s because most people are rational and want things to move ahead in a more orderly fashion. This stock market of late has been anything but that.
Up, down and all around. Not just across weeks and months…but INSIDE of a single session. This candlestick chart of the past month tells that story in spades:
So much to point out on this chart starting with us being absolutely flat month over month. This would seem to indicate that nothing of significance happened.
Now look deeper. Note how short lived all the rallies are…as well as the quick duration of the sell offs. And finally notice how big some of those candles are with tremendous intraday moves.
All that action over the past month…and nothing to show for it in the market average.
That’s where it makes sense to now look at things on a Sector level where we see a lot more diversity between winners and losers.
The obvious part is the weakness of the financials thanks to all the bad news in the banking sector. Real estate is so intra related with the banks that it’s pretty obvious why that group has taken it on the chin as well. The rest of the weaklings are a fairly Risk On groups which talks to growing fears of future economic health.
The counterpart to that is to discover that most of the Risk Off groups are near the top of the list: Consumer Defensive, Utilities, and Healthcare. The oddity is the strength of Communication Services and Tech. However, when you think of Tech as being dominated by FAANG…and they often act as a defensive group people often cling to…then you understand that the totality of this picture says it was a Risk Off month even if overall market breakeven.
Everything discussed so far explains WHAT is happening…now let’s shift to WHY.
The simple answer is to say the outlook for the economy (and thus the stock market) is unclear. Thus, each new day brings new headlines that tilt bearish today and bullish tomorrow.
Certainly, people see the threats that could lead to recession…but it keeps not happening. And that is what confuses the odds on what happens next and that lengthens this tug of war between the bulls and bears.
For example, a lot of economic data was weakening at the end of 2022. Like ISM Manufacturing under 50. And Retail Sales actually shrinking after removing inflation. This led to a large cut in corporate earnings expectations for Q1 of this year where Wall Street is currently looking for -9% earnings loss.
That steep loss doesn’t look as much in the cards when you appreciate that many thought Q1 GDP would also be in negative territory…perhaps marking the start of a new recession. And yet now as we look at the most revered GDP prediction model (GDP Now from the Atlanta Fed) that stands at +3.2% for the current quarter.
Reity, you are starting to contradict yourself. I thought you were bearish on the market?
Yes. That is true. I just wanted to make it clear WHY the market was so volatile. That being the mixed signals on the economy making bulls and bears tussle for control.
Now we have to turn our attention to the future and what is likely to happen. Here again, I want to share this simple, yet effective equation to quickly explain why I am still wearing the bear cloak. (It includes an important new addition in bold)
Higher Rates on the Way (5%+)
+ In Place AT LEAST til End of 2023
+ 6-12 Months of Lagged Economic Impact from Fed Policy
+ Banking Credit Crunch
= Fertile Soil to Create a Recession in the Future
Fed Chairman Powell talked about all of the first 4 factors at the recent rate hike announcement and press conference on 3/22. In fact, stocks were going up during the speech til he hit folks with a 1-2 hawkish punch staring with:
“It’s possible that this [banking crisis] will turn out to have very modest effects – these events will turn out to be very modest effects on the economy, in which case – and inflation will continue to be strong, in which case, you know, the path will look – might look different. It’s also possible that this potential tightening will contribute to significant tightening in credit conditions over time, and in principle, if that – that means that monetary policy may have less work to do. We simply don’t know.”
This was followed by a statement that the credit crunch IS happening and is relatively equivalent to a 25-50 point basis cut on its own. This got stocks coming down from nearly +1% session to about breakeven. And then came punch #2.
That being when a reporter stated that current surveys show that the average investor expects just one more rate hike of 25 basis points and then rate CUTS every meeting thereafter. So, are investors wrong?
YES!
It wasn’t just the words he used. It was how Powell said it. Like a disappointed parent when his kid brings home an F on the report card. (what are you not understanding here!!!).
And then he reiterated quite emphatically that their forecast still calls for NO CUTS this year. From there the S&P 500 gave up the 1% gain and tumbled all the way to -1.65% into the close.
For me the aforementioned equation starting with a hawkish Fed ends with recession at some point in the future. Clearly not Q1…but Q2 and the rest of the year are still very much into play.
Unfortunately, until investors see more PROOF of a recession unfolding then the recent trading range and extreme volatility will continue. That is why I recommend investing based upon what you predict will happen beyond that range. Again, that leans decidedly bearish in my book.
What To Do Next?
Watch my brand new presentation, REVISED: 2023 Stock Market Outlook
There I will cover vital issues such as…
- 5 Warnings Signs the Bear Returns Starting Now!
- Banking Crisis Concerns Another Nail in the Coffin
- How Low Will Stocks Go?
- 7 Timely Trades to Profit on the Way Down
- Plan to Bottom Fish for Next Bull Market
- 2 Trades with 100%+ Upside Potential as New Bull Emerges
- And Much More!
If these ideas concern you, then please click below to access this vital presentation now:
REVISED: 2023 Stock Market Outlook >
Wishing you a world of investment success!
Steve Reitmeister…but everyone calls me Reity (pronounced “Righty”)
CEO, StockNews.com and Editor, Reitmeister Total Return
SPY shares . Year-to-date, SPY has gained 3.88%, versus a % rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
About the Author: Steve Reitmeister
Steve is better known to the StockNews audience as “Reity”. Not only is he the CEO of the firm, but he also shares his 40 years of investment experience in the Reitmeister Total Return portfolio. Learn more about Reity’s background, along with links to his most recent articles and stock picks.
The post The WORST Stock Market Ever! appeared first on StockNews.com
Entrepreneurship
Creativity Shines At The Acko Drive Awards Jury Meet For Communications and Advertising in Auto
The Acko Drive Awards for the Indian Automobile industry aim to set the highest benchmarks in this space. Being comprehensive and credible is step one! And so the awards had not one, not two but three jury meets – each specific to a set of award categories. While the first two were dedicated to testing and assessing the new bikes and cars launched in the last year, the third jury meet evaluated the work that was done around those products or their brands. These are the awards that recognise the best communication work in the automotive category – be it advertising, marketing, or public relations. It is a unique opportunity to recognise the people behind the products too!
The overwhelming response to this category of awards, meant that the jury meet had to be spread across two days. There were a range of entries from leading automotive brands and their agencies. In round one, participants had to present their entries virtually to the jury panel. Each entry was evaluated on creativity, effectiveness, and impact – as also how it was presented to the jury. The categories included Best Creative Film, Best Integrated Campaign, Best Social Media Campaign, and the Best PR & Communications Team. All categories have separate awards for both the two-wheeler and four-wheeler spaces.
The jury included Ajay Gahlaut, former Creative Head of Dentsu India, Nandini Dias, Ex-CEO, Lodestar, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Chief Creative Officer, Acko Tech and Vice Chairman – World Car Awards, Yogendra Pratap, Editor, Auto Today, Anita Sharma, Marketing and PR Veteran and Nikhil Chawla, Tech & Auto Expert.
The judges were impressed by the high standard of entries and found it difficult to narrow down the field to a finalists shortlist. And so, only the top 5 in each category could gain access to the final round, which was held at The Oberoi Hotel, Gurgaon. The shortlisted finalists were invited to present their entries to the jury – this time in person. The jurors discussed each category and then voted in the presence of the awards’ official tabulator – Grand Thornton Bharat. The winners would only be revealed at the awards ceremony.
The PR, Advertising, and Marketing categories highlight the importance of effective communication and marketing strategies in the automotive industry. The entries showcased not just creativity and innovative ideas, but also demonstrated the power of effective communication in driving brand awareness and sales – as indeed the value of good presentation of that messaging. The Acko Drive Awards programme acknowledges and honours the best of the industry, which is why, it is ‘The One That Matters’ or #TOTM.
Disclaimer: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio.
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