Understanding the Customer Lifecycle: Retention

The customer lifecycle really does feel like climbing a mountain, doesn’t it?

While your customer searches for a solution, you work hard to be that solution. And if you continually put in the effort, you have your work cut out for you.

If you need a recap, here are the stages of the lifecycle as we know them:

• Awareness
• Education
• Conversion
• Onboarding
• Retention
• Brand Advocacy 
• Word of Mouth
  

Each one funnels into the next as you guide prospects toward brand advocacy -- and a repeat of the cycle with your brand.

If you haven’t read the first four posts in the series, head over there now! You’ll want to be caught up before jumping into retention.

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Why Care About Retention?

Because retention is the point at which your one-time customers become repeat customers. 

You want to create a loyal customer base.

Retention can be defined as your ability to keep repeat customers, increasing the lifetime profitability of each one. 

At this point, you’re trying to reduce churn (the rate at which customers stop doing business with you).

You now have the opportunity to upsell and cross-sell any time they make a purchase, leading to more sales on your end.

Key Concepts During the Retention Stage

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As they travel further down the funnel, they’ll expect more customized services.

Because you should know what they like by now!

You’ll want to reel in your messaging: make sure you don’t send them emails they won’t read, deals they won’t go for, or info they don’t want.

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Customize messaging based on what you’ve learned about them.

One way to know you’re not just annoying your new customer is to move forward with content related to their recent purchase.

If they recently bought a fitness tracker, they’re probably not looking to splurge on another one just for kicks. 

But they might be looking for accessories. 

Any nurture campaigns from this point forward should only show them things you’re certain are relevant to them.

This could be bands made for their specific watch or convenience items like extra chargers. The more they engage, the more you can customize.

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Use their feedback to improve your service.

Brands make a mistake if they think their service can’t be improved. And every customer wants to know they’re heard.

During the conversion process, you should have started gathering feedback (and gathering ideas). Use the feedback to make improvements to your service, product, or brand as a whole.

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Customize the strategy to the customer.

What keeps one person won’t impress another.  

For example, one customer might appreciate custom bands for their tracker, while another just wants the basics -- like a well-functioning charger.

Pay attention to their behavior and activity to make your messaging relevant.

Retention is a turning point toward both customer loyalty and brand advocacy. Let’s be real: you won’t retain every single customer. 

But your work goes a long way into retaining the ones who will propel your business forward.

Want to know more? Read the rest of our series. Need an agency that will guide you as you guide your customers? Schedule a call to get started!