Last Updated on February 16, 2023
As an elite marketer, your main goal should be to do more than attract new customers to a product or service for one-time use or purchase. You should also be able to nurture customers at various touchpoints within the marketing/sales funnel, and build trust between them and the brand – thus creating loyal brand advocates who are proud to support the brand’s, products or services. This is called lifecycle marketing.
All businesses should create their own unique lifecycle marketing strategy – but the goals are still the same:
- Customer engagement
- Increase revenue
- Brand growth
Different from the typical buyer’s journey and conversion funnel, customers are thought about long after their initial purchase. This requires time and strategy, so don’t think there’s a quick way to create a brand advocate out of a customer without those two things.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO LIFECYCLE MARKETING?
- Awareness
- Engagement
- Evaluation
- Purchase
- Support
- Loyalty
Awareness is the first step, this is when potential customers learn about your brand and product or service. It is at the top of the conversion funnel and is when you have a chance to first guide them further down the funnel.
Engagement is when the customer starts interacting with your brand. This can be considered through social media comments, shares, or even writing about your business. This is because they’re interested in your product or service offerings.
Evaluation is all about providing information to the customer about what makes your brand stand out from the competition. This can be done through feature comparisons, value props, and even pricing.
Purchase is when any customer who is a part of the funnel finally decides to use your product or service. It is important to make this portion of the funnel as simple and easy for the customer as can be because no one likes to jump through hoops and ladders to spend money.
Support is another important part of the funnel. This is when you get to learn more about the customer and get their feedback on why they ultimately chose your product or service over the competition. This is typically when you see a lot of drop-offs, so make sure you’re maximizing this with follow-ups and surveys to ensure satisfaction.
Loyalty is when customers feel completely satisfied and so happy to use your product or service that they go out of their way to tell others about your brand. This helps attract new customers that you might not have otherwise, and if done correctly, will continue to advocate for your brand on all of their platforms.
INCORPORATE LIFECYCLE MARKETING INTO YOUR STRATEGY TODAY
Now that you know the keys to what makes for a successful lifecycle marketing strategy, take this into account when going through your other marketing efforts. Figure out who your targeted audience is, so you can create better strategies to show them why to choose your brand, and why they mean so much to you. If a customer feels that your brand gets who they are as a person, and how you can clearly help them with any issues they’re experiencing, you will have a brand advocate in no time.
If you need help creating a lifecycle marketing strategy, HAVOKis happy to help and offer a free 15 min introductory call to better understand your needs.
