About a month ago, I wrote an article about how to start a digital marketing strategy. The article was meant to be a jumping off point to make sure you create a great foundation to build your digital marketing in 2019. If you haven’t read the article, I would suggest you start there. If you start here, it’s like building the roof of a house before you’ve put up the walls. The foundation of a digital marketing strategy is essential to making sure your business starts on solid footing.
What do you do to take your digital marketing strategy to the next level?
Part one of the strategy was all about establishing a trusting relationship with your potential customer and then eventually making the sale. It relies a lot on social media and reaching out to where the customers are.
In this next step, you get personal. This is more about email marketing and making a direct connection to each and every customer.
Step 1: Keep Doing What You’re Doing
Just because you’re ready to go to the next level, it does not mean that you need to abandon what you’ve done before. You need to continue to offer great customer service and great information to your customers. Plus, you need to continue to listen and respond. Make sure you are offering value and making them feel more like a member of the family than a customer. Keep it up.
Customers these days are looking for relationships. They want to feel valued and appreciated. They want to be seen as a person with needs and wants and desires, not a customer number. That’s something you need to establish in your company culture. Make sure everyone is on board and putting the customer first.
Step 2: Give Loyal Customers a Taste of Your Best Stuff
Your customer knows you offer a great product, it’s time to give him a taste of your other great products. When you come out with a new service or offering, offer it to your loyal customers first. Make them feel special, maybe even offer a discount such as the first month of service free or if it’s an actual product, a free sample. Reward your customers for sticking with you.
Step 3: Here’s Your Chance to Upsell
Once you’ve made someone a loyal customer, you know what they like and you know what they’ve purchased. Use that to your advantage and upsell. Someone who just purchased a pair of tennis shoes from your website might want sweat socks. Someone who just bought a red dress from you might be interested in a pair of high heels to go with it. Find a way to introduce customers to new products that they have a good chance of liking.
This is where your data collection is very important. You need to have details on your customers to make sure your digital marketing is better catered toward each and every customer. If you need more details on that, check out this previous post: How to Personalize Your Marketing and Boost Your Sales.
Step 4: Get Your Customers to do the Work for You
You know how your mom likes to brag to her friends about everything you do? This is something similar. By now, you’ve spent a lot of time making your customers feel like a member of the family. You’ve shown you care about their wants and needs and you listen to how they feel. Now, ask them to brag about you.
Many companies have an incentive for new customer referrals. I went to a spa recently that offered a $5 discount for every friend I referred. The discount isn’t a big hit for the spa to take, but I’m always on board to save a few bucks. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Digital marketing is all about cultivating and then nurturing a relationship with your customers. Make sure you keep that in mind with each and every step you take.
Written by Erika Towne