Slow and Steady Wins the Customer Base
By
VendorSeek
Before a relationship begins, a period of courtship ensues. There is an initial interest on one party’s behalf, and they endeavor at intriguing the other to reciprocate the sentiment. This dynamic is usually thought of in regards to person-to-person relationships, but it also exists in business-to-customer relations.
How do you court your customers? How do you show interest, and entice them to engage in relations with your business in return? What is your approach?
Some companies attempt to woo their customers from the beginning, while others take a more subtle and steady approach. The latter seems to work more successfully. Consider the following marketing technique:
The slow and steady approach
Grand sales are meant to immediately capture the attention of consumers. Oftentimes, they work as a call to action. Customers become aware of the event, and make a purchase. Some of these consumers come back and some do not. The problem with this trend of marketing is there is no attempt at maintaining the customer’s business. It often becomes a one-time occurrence.
It is better to capture the heart of the consumer by repeatedly exposing them to your brand and products. Methodically contact existing customers, or utilize a list broker to incorporate new clients by sending them literature about upcoming sales, new products and services, company news, etc.
Little exposure over long periods of time
Marketers have long believed that consumers need repeated exposure to a company and its products/services in order to become a ‘regular.’ Marketing can take many shapes, so it is easy to use direct mailing, telemarketing, and other forms of advertising in making contacting potential customers a habit.
The subtle, consistent approach seems to be more effective in creating long-term customers. The key is to continue exposing them to your company using little reminders over long periods of time.
Avoiding the cycle
Consistently contacting your customers will help your company avoid cycles affixed with slow periods. The situation with musicians is similar. An artist issues a new album, it becomes popular, and they go on tour. Album sales coupled with concert tours produce a large sum of revenue for the artist, but then a dormant period ensues. The artist must enter public isolation in order to write more material, record, and eventually release another album to begin the cycle again.
Ideally, you want your company to stay in your customer’s mind about once every month. Offer them coupons, host sales, or issue new products/services on a regular basis. Obviously, it is easier to plan ahead rather than coming up with ideas on a month-to-month basis. Your marketing plans should be projected at least a quarter ahead of time.
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