How Brand Loyalty Can Drive Sales During the Pandemic
November 09, 2020
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Earning a customer’s trust (let alone their loyalty) has never been easy, but in 2020 many businesses are learning just how difficult this can be. From what we’ve been able to observe so far, the pandemic has changed customer expectations—people are more mindful of their spending and more critical of who they’re buying from.
Should you market your business right now? Some experts say “no” while others say, “…sort of?” There are some mixed messages on how to proceed, and here’s why: those who criticize marketing during a crisis are quick to point out how it can be seen as opportunistic or ingenuine; for some industries, marketing may cause more PR problems than sales.
But these concerns don’t apply to everyone. There are still many ways to generate sales and continue marketing in 2020, though the rule of thumb right now is to focus more on long-term goals rather than short-term gains.
Why You Need to Incorporate Retention Marketing
There’s a lot to consider before launching a new marketing campaign right now. While many businesses thrive on new customer acquisition, now is actually a great time to look at more ways to increase customer retention.
Your business has an inherent advantage when marketing to people who have used your products before or are familiar with your brand. In this scenario, you don’t have to “win them over” with a competitive offer but can instead focus on the convenience your company offers.
How Engaged Are Your Customers, Really?
So, how can you shift your marketing focus to retention? First, evaluate your existing customer relationships and outreach efforts. It’s helpful to understand how well your existing customer base is already engaged with your services, and whether that translates to brand loyalty.
This can be difficult to measure...
Just because someone is a current customer, this does not mean they are engaged with your brand. A great example of this is retail banking—having a bank account may require a customer to check their balance, but this isn’t the kind of engagement that strengthens your brand.
An effective customer engagement strategy considers several touchpoints across a variety of platforms—from social media to direct mail to mobile apps, in-person events, email, and more.
How to Use Data-Driven Consumer Mailing Lists in Retention Marketing
Your customer data is a great place to start, but it might not be the only resource you tap into when starting a retention campaign. Consumer mailing lists offer a unique advantage for retention marketing, particularly if your business offers products or services for homeowners and pre-movers. In addition to staying up-to-date on market trends and property listings, pre-mover lead lists can help businesses maintain a competitive edge. By tracking updated pre-mover listings against your business’ customer database, you’ll know right away if a former or current customer in your area is planning a move.
Pre-movers are often going through more than one major transition and are more susceptible to changing services. This is a great time to re-engage these homeowners with competitive offers and friendly messaging about what makes your service so unique.
Homeowners start planning renovations, projects, and other big expenses well in advance; some studies suggest 70 to 90 percent spending decisions are made before homeowners actually move out. From the time they list their home to when close, they might see dozens of great offers for competitors trying to win them over—make sure they have everything they need to stay loyal to you.
Strategies to Re-Engage Cold Leads with Pre-Mover Lists
In addition to your existing customers, you may want to see if there are any former customers or cold leads you can remarket to. These may be folks who you have done business with long ago or had flagged in your CRM as close to a sale but lost. While this is less of a retention tactic and more of a re-engagement tactic, much of the “heavy lifting” has already been done in terms of getting your message across.
As you start reestablishing connections with former customers, take note of any common reasons for customer churn—did you lose several customers in one short window due to a change in management, for example? It may be difficult to tailor your marketing to each customer based on why they might have dropped off, but you can adjust some of your messaging for these broader audience segments.
Ways to Strengthen Your Marketing Campaigns
While customer retention is a great way to continue marketing without coming off as too aggressive, there are many ways to refine your marketing strategy to also bring in new leads. Communication is more important than ever, especially while consumers transition to more socially distant and fully digital experiences. Brands that can make this transition seamless will have a better chance of earning (and keeping) a customer’s attention.
We recommend an omnichannel approach when it comes to marketing. Using a mix of digital and traditional channels, you can connect with customers at the most important milestones during their move. Similar to customer retention and re-engagement strategies, the ultimate goal of generating more leads should also be fostering a strong sense of brand loyalty.
FMAdata Has the Lead Lists You Need in 2020
Our team can help you get your marketing campaigns back on track for 2020.
Use our pre-mover lead lists to build your retention marketing, expand your re-engagement campaigns, and bring more leads into your funnel.
