Old is Gold: Here’s Why You Should Focus On Nurturing Existing Customers

The “Why” and “How” of retaining customer loyalty.

In this Digital Age, when marketers have easy access to a wide market, why stick to accommodating older customers? Well, we’ve got a 101 reasons why you should nurture your customers, but here are the top 5 you should know of:

THE WHY

#1 Lower Marketing Cost

According to a recent study, the cost of selling to existing customers is 20-25% lower than that of finding new customers and pitching to them. And the success rate of selling to your existing customers is 60-70% while that of selling to new customers is around 5%.

#2 A Powerful Referral

Your marketing strategy is only as good as your product/ service. Sure, with the right marketing, you can enhance your products, but if you want customers to return and make more purchases, your product must be top notch. Nurturing customers by providing them with quality products and customer service can also work in your favor when they start referring you to their friends and family.

#3 Finding Look-alike Audience is Easy

When it comes to digital marketing in particular, retargeting a lookalike audience is easier and always more successful than testing new audience sets, which might we add, is super time consuming. As a Digital Marketing Agency in Abu Dhabi, we have noticed that while running ads, the success rate is much higher when we target audiences with existing customer traits and shopping habits.

#4 Brand Loyalty

Back in the day when there were not too many brands to compare with, customers were loyal to a particular set of brands. For example, People would choose between McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC. But today, we have 100s of fast-food joints with better food and maybe even greater offers to compare with. So, building up on Brand Loyalty in today’s age may not be as easy. However, if you’re a brand with existing loyal customers, you should understand that having “loyal customers” in today’s age is really outstanding and you must work towards nurturing them and building their loyalty as they work as great marketers for your brand. #WordOfMouthMarketing

#5 Creates a stronger, more sustainable business

According to a study, existing customers cater to 60-80% of a brand’s sales as compared to new ones. By nurturing your existing customers, you ensure that your brand always makes a good percentage of sales at every new launch which helps keep you afloat when finances are involved.

THE HOW

Now that we know why it’s important to nurture customers, let’s understand how we can make it possible and sustainable for the long run.

#1 Invest in Customer Service

Investing in customer service is one of the most important things you can focus on when trying to nurture existing customers. By always being available to solve problems for your customers, you create a better relationship with them, in turn building customer loyalty.

#2 Build Excitement

What sets you apart from the competition? Are you just another brand selling cosmetics? That’s alright. But, to really get your customers excited, you must run special campaigns to help build curiosity and get your loyal customers excited about what you have to offer, thus increasing their chances of buying your products.

#3 Start a Customer Loyalty Program

Customer Loyalty Programs can immediately impact your customer retention rate. For example, Starbucks’ Green Card/ Gold Card allows a customer to collect a “star” at every purchase and after 10 stars, the customer gets to enjoy a free beverage. This not just keeps the customer excited and looking forward to visiting the store, but also keeps the customer connected to the brand for a longer term. When planning a loyalty program, make sure you have something truly exciting to offer to your audience.

#4 Choose the right place to communicate

Social media is a vast place and your ideal customer is not on every platform. To understand where most of your existing customers are, you must run a thorough research and maybe even a survey. After which, you can choose a couple of platforms to cater to their needs and keep them in the loop.

#5 Keep up with social media

Social Media is the most cost effective way to influence your existing customers and give them a platform to engage with your brand. This will not just help you retain existing customers, but also have a brand new audience influenced by your existing one. To make sure this is a success, it’s important to always stay positive and consistent on your social media channel.

Are you looking to reignite your connection with existing customers? We’ll build the perfect marketing plan for you. Click here to get in touch.