Chapter 4
CAPTURE, THEN REWARD, THEIR BUSINESS
Many companies spend a lot of time and money trying to attract new customers to their product or service. They spend a good portion of their marketing budgets on mass approaches such as advertising and direct mail. While those media have their place in finding new prospects, frequently they are not as helpful in keeping a company's most valuable asset: their existing customer base.
What does the content of your marketing communications say about how much your company values its current customers? Interactions with existing customers tend to fall into one of the following categories: a bill, an up-sell offer, a cross-sell attempt, or a renewal offer. There may be some customer value in these actions, but they tend to benefit the company more than the customer. In fact, customers who answered a survey on their feelings about regular company communications expressed frustration with what they do receive. Nearly 54 percent of existing customers stated that if companies kept sending what they, the customers, perceived as spam and irrelevant messages, they would disconnect from those communications altogether.1
Customers want to know that you value their business. They want to know that you know how long they have been with you, and they want to feel appreciated. Showing customers that you do indeed care about them is one of the most effective ways to capture their business for the long term. A well-planned communication strategy that balances ...
