There’s a saying: “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver, and the other gold.” For almost all businesses, their strength and income are based on who currently uses their products and services, not who might. Outside of valuation, potential won’t make you money. Therefore, it’s interesting that so many companies focus on new sales without looking to their current user base. Retention marketing is all about this: re-connecting with those who use your services and products and bringing them back for more.

Easiest Marketing is Always Your Current Clients

Where would your business be without your past and current clients? Whether you run an app, store, restaurant, or corporate business, your user base – from hundreds to thousands – is a treasure for your company. Not only from a sales and financial standpoint but also from a marketing standpoint. The easiest and most effective marketing will always be to your current clients. A few examples:

• Contact Information: Since users provide you with contact information and preferences, you’ve got everything you need for email marketing, social media marketing, and more.
• Familiar with Your Company: You don’t need to explain your products and services to existing clients, they already know why and how your products work.
• Interested in Your Services: You know existing clients like your products and services – after all, they are using them! What they will be interested in is new products.
• Spreading the Word: Your clients are also your biggest fans and are most likely to spread the word on products and services. Word of mouth is always the most powerful marketing.

How Retention Marketing Works

It’s easy to take your current clients for granted and forget about them – and the opposite is true as well as clients lose interest just due to inactivity. Retention marketing  is about bridging that gap and strengthening your existing relationships and using them to keep current clients on and market additional or new products and services to them. Different mediums work best depending on your industry and services, from setting up and sending email marketing funnels to existing and new customers, to engaging with existing clients on social media with celebration and exclusive deals.

Stages of Retention Marketing

There are three primary stages of retention marketing: acknowledgment, dialog, and expansion. These act as an abbreviated marketing funnel to sales (including complete automation) that engages with and provides CTAs (Calls To Action) that promote your products and services.

Stage One: Acknowledgement

As we mentioned before, it’s important not to take your current clients for granted. From those who just signed up to those who have been with you for years, your first step to retention marketing should be recognizing and thanking your existing clients. This can be on any platform including social media, but over 80% of companies rely on email marketing to start their retention marketing.

Stage Two: Opening a Dialog

After you’ve reached out to your clients, it’s time to engage with them. This can be a literal dialogue, such as a phone call or PM, but often this comes in the form of either surveys and feedback (let us know how we’re doing or how do you like our product) or by rewarding them through things like promo codes or sales.

Stage Three: Expansion

The third step is getting the customer to make a purchase from your business, from upgrading existing services to buying new products. Since you already know their interests and can capitalize on your existing relationship (exclusive deals, etc.), the chance of landing successful sales is much, much higher than the normal cold sales process.

At the end of the day, marketing is best used as a tool to create and build on relationships between you and those who use your products and services. Especially for established brands, the adage of a bird in the hand rings true: maintaining relationships with current clients is always more fruitful than gaining new ones. To learn more about how retention marketing can fit in an overall marketing strategy, it’s time to contact Vision Advertising. We’re experts in providing comprehensive marketing, from social media to email marketing.