Expanding Sales Horizons: How a Marketing Team Influences Product Adoption, Customer Loyalty, and Upselling Strategies
Marketing's Essential Role in Customer Relationships, Especially for Multi-Product Companies
In the fast-paced world of business, everyone's aim is to secure new customers, right? But what's the purpose of marketing once a customer is secured? Most organizations focus on "hunting" activities to draw in new leads and revenue. However, if you're selling several products, regularly updating features, then marketing should be a part of the ongoing customer relationship. Let's dive into why this matters and what obstacles product sellers often face and how a marketing team can help overcome them.
First off, customer service generally deals with installing and implementing a customer's solutions, resolving issues, and handling product renewals. They aren't armed with the tools or resources to promote awareness, education, or self-discovery that can lead to upsell opportunities at scale. It's rare for a single phone call or quick email to accomplish an upsell.
A revolving door of staff turnover, both on the customer and product provider sides, can cause significant disruptions to the relationship and service levels. When the provider needs to constantly re-discover the organization, it's challenging to pursue renewals or upsell/cross-sell opportunities. Marketing is crucial to bypass these barriers. After all, who in the business typically possesses the necessary scaling tools that can accomplish awareness, education, influence, and call-to-action at scale? Marketing!
By devising well-planned marketing strategies, a company can expect numerous benefits:
- Enhanced Total Customer Lifetime Value
- Increased Revenue Per Customer
- Boost in Qualified Leads from Customer Referrals
- Better Customer Education and Deeper Adoption of Products
Here are some potential marketing activities that contribute to retention, product participation, and long-term customer value:
- Awareness Programs: Regular communications that increase product awareness, keep customers engaged, and provide exclusive customer offers.
- Monitoring/Scoring Customer Participation: Utilize CRM systems to track customer usage like websites. Determine average login frequency, product usage patterns, and identify potential issues that could be addressed via awareness campaigns.
- Exclusive Specials for Current Customers: Offer special discounts and promotions exclusively to existing customers to create value and maintain engagement.
- Communication Through Consistent Newsletters: Regular, well-thought-out newsletters or email campaigns around a specific theme help to maintain connection with customers and collect valuable data to bolster future marketing efforts.
- Easy Feedback Methods: Simple feedback mechanisms make it effortless for customers to provide input. Consider incorporating quick surveys or live chat links within your communication strategies.
- Internal Process to Escalate Feedback: Establish a process to manage feedback and ensure that issues and compliments are addressed promptly. Involving key executives, like the CEO, in the feedback process ensures accountability and promotes positive change.
- Discover and Manage Your Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measure customer satisfaction through the Net Promoter Score Survey. This insight informs future retention and attrition of clients, as well as fostering customer advocacy.
- Recognize and Reward Referrals: When you have a solid NPS, use it to motivate customers to refer new business. Offer rewards for referrals to show genuine appreciation for long-term customer loyalty.
Nurturing ongoing relationships moves beyond the initial sale. Marketing teams are essential to keeping customers engaged, informed, and enamored with your products. By aligning your marketing strategies with the customer journey, you can foster and expand relationships, driving increased revenue for your business. Don't limit your marketing efforts to growth marketing – unlock the full potential of your marketing department!
Marketing teams play a vital role in maintaining and strengthening customer relationships, especially in multi-product companies. By implementing awareness programs, monitoring customer participation, offering exclusive specials, and providing easy feedback methods, marketing can enhance the Total Customer Lifetime Value, increase Revenue Per Customer, and boost qualified leads from customer referrals. Furthermore, marketing can help manage customer education, product adoption, and fostering customer advocacy, making it an integral part of a business's finance and overall success.
