It’s very easy to assume that once the sales transaction takes place that your marketing is done. However, if you want to continue giving value to your customers, new and old, then the customer lifecycle needs to be considered and managed with the right tools. With a customer lifecycle management tool your customer experience will make you stand out from the competition.
What is the customer lifecycle?
This is the journey a customer takes from the moment they find out about you and your business, the steps they take after that all the way to the purchase and beyond. Simply, it’s what happens before, during and after their transaction.
Why is customer lifecycle management important?
Knowing the stages your customer goes through will allow you to shape your marketing to where they are in their decision making at that time.
The stages of the customer lifecycle
Here’s a quick overview of the customer lifecycle stages:
1. Collect
Know your customer, attract interest and capture their details.
2. Convert
Follow up, educate and nurture, make a compelling offer and close the sale.
3. Create fans
Deliver excellent customer service, rewards and repeat business.
We shared more about lifecycle marketing in a previous post, read it here.
Get to know your customer lifecycle
What happens during your customer lifecycle, do you know?
To be able to manage your customer lifecycle you first need to know what the customer lifecycle looks like in your business. Map it out, from start to finish. Get to know the journey you take your customer on. This is important if you want to start managing it.
Once you have the customer lifecycle mapped out and you know what the journey looks like then you can manage it. Why? Because then your marketing can be highly focused and targeted with precision.
Now you can follow your customers on their journey, share communications with them that are timely and relevant to the stage they’re in with their decision making. Here’s two scenarios to think about:
Scenario 1
You have a prospect, they visit your website and open your emails, but is this the right time to make an offer? If it is then send them an offer by email or phone them. If not, what else could you share with them that brings them closer to the sale instead?
Scenario 2
A customer has already bought your offer and they’ve received an email from you with that same offer. This offer is irrelevant to them and now it’s just spam. What could you share with them now that they’re a customer?
Different experiences call for different communications and offers. Make them relevant and continue the customer lifecycle for longer.
Tools that help with customer lifecycle management
There are so many tools on the market, which would help you with customer lifecycle management?
At Solofusion, we recommend Keap. We are certified consultants for Keap and can help you map out the customer lifecycle with you or for you.
Why do we choose Keap?
It’s an all-in-one marketing and sales tool. It can manage the customer lifecycle from the initial enquiry to customer onboarding and follow-up. It will trigger automations for you based on where your customer is in their own journey, even notify you when it’s time to make the call and move them forward to the sale.
Every business is different, including yours, and your customer lifecycle will be different too. Keap can be set-up to your individual needs and the customer experience you want to provide from day one of the customer lifecycle.
Do you want to know more about using Keap as your customer lifecycle management tool? Book a call with Tania today.
What are your thoughts on customer lifecycle management, do you have this working for your business?
Let us know. Leave your feedback or comments below.
