Understanding these lifecycle stages and how to adopt them inside of your small business will increase customer loyalty and therefore annual revenue.
In this blog post we’ll examine the various aspects of understanding each stage in detail:
WHAT IS THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE AND WHY DO BUSINESSES NEED TO BE AWARE OF IT
A customer lifecycle is defined as the lifespan of a customer’s relationship with your company. It may have many stages and they can be different for every organization depending on their industry, products, services, etc.
Understanding the lifecycle stages helps companies focus their strategies to increase long-term value from customers.
A business must have a marketing strategy for every stage that is tailored and customized to the customer needs at that particular stage.
It is not enough anymore for a business just to focus on attraction, they must also focus on converting customers into repeat buyers who are willing to pay more as well as grow their lifetime value. Business owners can do this by understanding every phase of the lifecycle process including:
a) Attract – getting them through your door (traffic generation), either in person or online,
b) Engage – engaging with current customers in order to bring them back again, and
c) Convert – turning one-time shoppers into long term customers over time so that once they are ready for something new they will come back because you’ve been there for them.
Study your customer journey and become familiar with each stage of your customer lifecycle.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS
Now that you understand what a customer lifecycle is, now it’s important to focus on the attract stage. The attract stage is the first step in this cycle. It’s all about getting those new customers through your door, whether that be by online or offline means.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF STRATEGIES TO DO SO:
a) Targeted marketing for niche markets – Find out where your target market congregates and reach them there such as at industry conferences, trade shows, etc.,
b) SEO tactics – Make sure you’re optimizing your website content with keywords relevant to the customer’s most recent search so that when they type into Google “retailers who specialize in high end clothing” yours will appear on page one instead of page ten and garner more attention.
c) Social media advertising – this can either be an expense, when it is done incorrectly or it can be an investment because those dollars come back to you in the form of increased traffic and increased conversions.
ENGAGING WITH CUSTOMERS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, EMAIL MARKETING, AND OTHER METHODS
After your small business has done the hard work of attracting potential customers to your brand, your work isn’t finished.
When you combine your efforts in attracting and engaging with nurturing potential customers, then you have a much better chance of converting them into lifetime customers who will buy from you again and again.
Nurturing customers means making sure to keep in touch with those who may not have made a purchase yet and reminding them of your brand’s value without being too pushy about it.
The more you work at attracting, engaging, and converting potential customers the more your brand will build up goodwill in the eyes of those that come in contact with your business.
CONVERTING YOUR CUSTOMER INTO A REPEAT BUYER OR REFERRAL SOURCE BY PROVIDING EXCELLENT SERVICE AND QUALITY PRODUCTS
Small business owners know that finding new customers can get expensive. That’s why a repeat customer that already knows. likes, and trusts your business is so valuable.
Customers who are happy with your business and can refer it to their friends, family, and social circles is a priceless asset. The hard work of impressing the customer is complete and now every new referral that comes in is like free advertising.
"It is not enough anymore for a business just to focus on attraction, they must also focus on converting customers into repeat buyers who are willing to pay more as well as grow their lifetime value." - Joseph Hollak, Business Coach
For small businesses with tight budgets, the best way for you to grow revenue over time is by “converting” those potential customers into loyal repeat buyers or referrals.
Think about your average customer for a moment. After the purchase is made, what is your business doing to reach back out and stay top of mind with that buyer?
Chances are if they enjoyed your products or services they will likely be open to buying from you again. The key is to be proactive and not reactive.
HOW A BUILD SUCCESS™ BUSINESS COACH CAN HELP
Every business has a customer lifecycle with stages that include attract, engage, nurture and convert. Understanding these stages and how to adopt them inside your small business will increase customer loyalty which will lead to increased annual revenue.
One way you can implement a strategy is by working on developing effective marketing campaigns for each stage of your lifecycle.
However, if you don’t have the knowledge or team required in order to do so then it may be worth hiring a business coach who can help map out your customer life cycle while also helping strategize ways to best reach those customers at their various points in the process.
Book a free call today if any of this sounds like something that might help your business move forward.
