Have you ever hit the send button on a customer communications campaign and then spotted a very obvious mistake?

Yes, mistakes happen – but the majority of the time, they are totally preventable through effective QA and testing. So, what does your process look like?

The sinking feeling you get once it’s too late to recall a campaign or customer communication is absolutely awful! Your heart skips a beat and then races as the realisation of the mistake you’ve made overwhelms.

Today, approximately 333.2 billion emails are sent per day¹, which works out at well over 3.5 million emails per second. So of course, it would be impossible for each email to be perfect. Mistakes happen! Yet, they needn’t the majority of the time and the impact of a customer receiving a mistake could be monumental. The customer could lose trust in the brand and take their business elsewhere.

5 prioritisations for effective QA and Testing

1. Responsive emails

Although the email you designed in your email marketing platform looks fabulous to you – that doesn’t mean this is what the recipient will receive. No, people receive messages in all different types of ways; desktop, tablet, phone – through a multitude of email service providers. There’s certainly no ‘one size fits all’. It is imperative that you check the design, layout and display of your email across as many options available to you. Most platforms have the capability to help you do so. There’s nothing worse than looking at an email on your phone that you can hardly read, let alone engage with.

2. A/B testing

A/B testing (also known as split testing) is a user experience research methodology. A refers to ‘control’ or the original testing variable. B refers to ‘variation’ or a different version of the original testing variable.

Many brands conduct A/B testing to determine which variant achieves higher engagement and conversion rates. Variations could include the email subject line, the body of the email, the call to action, design, layout and navigation. If you’re sending a large volume of emails to your customers, then A/B testing is certainly worth investing in early on to optimise engagement.

3. Layer of QA approval process

This is extremely important and often where things go wrong. It’s imperative that when sending out customer communications (of any sort), that there is a multi-level checkpoint. The email owner can proofread themselves, check URL links, image quality and download speed – but they’re not superhuman – often mistakes can slip through the net. Having a fresh pair of eyes to check the communications can make all the difference. We recommend having at least three checkpoint layers before hitting the send button.

4. Benchmarking performances

You learn a lot from analysing the performance of your previous email campaigns. Although Apple has made it more difficult to accurately measure open rates, there are still strategies you can use to ensure your messages are landing in your customers’ inboxes, check out our recent article ‘the significance of your email sender reputation and its impact on engagement’.

By benchmarking metrics from previous campaigns, such as click through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and unsubscribes you will get a much clearer view of what works and what doesn’t. Always conduct a post campaign analysis and learn what you could do differently or better next time.

5. Privacy

Last, but certainly not least – privacy. The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) is the principal piece of Australian legislation protecting the handling of personal information about individuals. You must comply with the Privacy Act – always.

Ensure the right message is being sent to the right customer. When you’re managing a number of email lists, it’s possible to get confused, or accidentally select the wrong list – meaning customers receive communications not meant for them. This can have a dramatic impact on the brand’s reputation and may lead to customer concerns about how their data is being used.

If a customer chooses to opt-out of future communications, you must honour their request.

Remember, your customers are constantly receiving marketing communications from brands, not just yours. Once an email has been sent, it’s very difficult to recall. Invest the time to get the message right and optimised as much as possible to ensure maximum engagement.

If you would like to learn more about effective customer communications and how to achieve higher engagement and conversion rates, we’d love to chat. Feel free to contact one of our Customologists on 1300 264 549.

¹ Earthweb

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Australia’s largest group of independently-owned wholesale Food Service Distributors, Countrywide, sought to redefine the B2B loyalty landscape by relaunching their existing loyalty program ‘Countrywide Signature Rewards’.

Countrywide partnered with Customology to support the strategy and implementation of their new program.

Download the full case study to learn how Countrywide’s ‘InSeason rewards’ program became Australia’s largest food service rewards program. We reveal the extensive research that was undertaken to help Countrywide deliver a ‘first of its kind program’ that benefits the customer, the member and the supplier.

DOWNLOAD CASE STUDY

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In today’s digital age, there’s no excuse for brands not delivering personalised experiences to their customers. In fact, customer expectations continue to evolve, so those not keeping up are at risk of being left behind.

Our research report, The Unspoken Customer revealed that almost half of Australian customers don’t believe they are being targeted in a relevant way, and worryingly – 82% of these customers could be tempted by a competitor. 

It’s all in the data…..customer data

Every time a customer makes a purchase from your brand, they are revealing a little bit more about themselves. It’s up to you how you use that information to build that individual relationship.

The problem many marketers have is that their customer data is stored in multiple platforms or in some cases, spreadsheets. It’s difficult to get a clear single customer view and determine exactly how their customers are behaving. How are you supposed to target customers or influence their next purchase if you don’t have all of the information in front of you?

There’s many negatives to juggling multiple individual platforms – such as segregated communications strategies, the extensive time required to manage each one, ineffective marketing spend, inaccurate analysis and importantly, the risk of your customers receiving mixed messages.

Data comes from a number of sources, such as the point of sale (POS), your CRM, email marketing platforms, social media…the list goes on!

So how can brands leverage the customer data readily available to them?

Market smarter, not harder

The digital age has not only enabled brands to learn more about their customers, it’s also made simple solutions for brands to integrate their data into a single source of truth. You don’t need to invest in expensive technology to achieve this. There’s a much simpler and quicker way to make this happen. 

Through effective API integration, you can integrate all of your data into one place. Helping you to segment your customers much more effectively, in order to genuinely continue the conversation with them, influence their next behaviours and ultimately, drive customer loyalty. 

Customology’s innovative customer engagement platform, Avecta was built to help brands achieve a real-time single customer view, with endless segmentation data fields available to ensure hyper-personalised targeted messages are being shared – at all times. 

This means instead of targeting customers based on generic demographics (as many still do), brands can become data led, with the customer at the heart of every communication.

Of course, marketing smarter, not harder is not just about data and segmentation. It’s also about finding the right channel to engage your customers. Too many rely solely on email, when in fact there are so many alternative routes to the customer; SMS, phone, push notifications, social media, direct mail…to name a few. Avecta not only integrates all of your data into a single source, it can help you manage integrated campaigns across channels.

Summary

Marketing today is driven by data-decision making. Customer data should be at the centre! Instead of second guessing what your customers may be interested in, leverage the data available to you – which will tell you what they’re interested in. 

You don’t need to invest in an expensive marketing automation platform, you can leverage all of the customer data readily available to help you transform your marketing communications strategy by investing in an alternative solution, such as Avecta.

What makes Avecta different is its ability to integrate multiple data sources into a single view, its dynamic segmentation capabilities and multi-channel campaign management. Achieve stronger customer engagement, higher conversion rates and increase ROI.

If you’re interested in learning more about Avecta or would like to request a demo, we’d love to help. Contact one of our Customologists on 1300 264 549 or hi@customology.com.au.

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Acquiring new customers within the B2B world is much more complex and time consuming than B2C. So it’s no surprise that B2B marketers are investing a great deal of time and effort sourcing new ways to retain their customers and drive long term loyalty. We shared a few strategies on this topic in our recent article ‘5 ways to drive B2B loyalty’.

One strategy which we did not cover was B2B loyalty programs. Loyalty programs have been around for hundreds of years, with the first retail loyalty program believed to be the S&H Green Stamp program, which launched in 1896. Since then, brands around the world have been attempting an array of initiatives and strategies to win the hearts, minds and wallets of their customers. It appears, however, that B2B is lagging somewhat. A recent PwC survey, revealed that almost 60% of B2B customers reported they had never had an experience with a brand that made them feel special. 

There are many successful B2C loyalty programs active today, but you will find a lot less B2B loyalty programs. This is changing, however, with B2B marketers recognising the benefits a program could have on building customer stickiness. 

What is a B2B loyalty program?

We once wrote that “a loyalty program should be described as a structured customer strategy to help build stronger relationships. Providing a value exchange between the brand and customer, beyond the product and services paid for.”

This absolutely applies to B2B loyalty programs too. The incentives may differ, but the purpose remains the same. 

B2B loyalty programs – things to consider

1. Member nuances

At the end of the day, we’re all consumers. There’s certainly plenty to learn from our own personal experiences with loyalty programs and many B2C techniques that are transferable to B2B. However, in saying that – there are a number of nuances to consider. Keep in mind that B2B buyers make rational purchasing decisions, whereas B2C customers tend to make more emotionally based decisions. There are complexities around regulatory requirements which must be adhered to, and what works for one brand or sector doesn’t mean you can replicate for another. There are extremely high levels of personalisation involved within B2B that are time consuming but should be maximised.

2. Decision making unit

We’ve covered this in one of our previous articles. There are multiple layers of stakeholders within the B2B space. Take some time to understand the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. If you’re considering implementing a loyalty program then you need to be clear who is eligible for which rewards/incentives and what the process entails. Although there may be only one decision maker who signs the dotted line, don’t forget those who influence that decision!

3. Research

B2B buyers are highly under-analysed. We recommend conducting extensive market and customer research before doing anything else. You’d be surprised how many brands skip this completely, thinking they know what their customers value – then are surprised when their program fails. Don’t make that mistake – although it’s a huge investment upfront, trust us, it will be worth it in the long run.

4. Types of rewards

Firstly determine the goals and objectives of the program. What are the expectations? Loyalty programs help to influence future customer behaviours. Consider which behaviours can help to drive profit before contemplating which rewards your loyalty program will offer. Tiered incentives work well within B2B and keep customers engaged, as does forming strategic partnerships/alliances that offer mutual benefits and opportunities. Referral programs are extremely popular – and for good reason, 84% of B2B decision makers start the buying process with a referral (source: HBR), offering exclusive discounts, anniversary incentives, credit and gifts/gift cards.

5. Success measurement

When done well – loyalty programs pay for themselves. If your loyalty program is costing you then it’s time to revisit. Keep track of your customer lifetime value, repeat customer rate, average spend and the number of referrals you’re receiving. Analyse and benchmark this data frequently. The strength of the relationship is imperative and must be regularly assessed to ensure the customer is happy, helping to reduce the risk of them going to a competitor. 

Loyalty programs are fantastic initiatives – but as mentioned, only when done well. If you’re considering a B2B loyalty program for your brand, please invest in the program upfront by understanding more about your buyers and what incentives could help create stickiness and strategic loyal partnerships. A couple of great B2B programs to check out include Lenovo’s LEAP Program and Countrywide’s InSeason Rewards Program. 

If you already have a B2B loyalty program, then conduct a mini self-assessment, determine the following:

1. Can you easily measure how your customers feel about the program?
2. Can you determine how much incremental value your program is creating?
3. If you removed your program, would it have an impact on retention? 
4. Is the program rewarding the right behaviours to help you drive profit?
5. Are you receiving as much interest as you had projected?
6. Do you know how many referrals to the program you are receiving from existing members?
7. Can you easily measure the impact your loyalty program has had on increasing customer frequency and customer lifetime value?
8. Is the program delivering against its objectives?
9. Is the program easily managed and maintained?

Customology are customer growth and retention specialists. We have extensive experience supporting B2B brands, helping them build long term loyalty with their customers. If you’re thinking of implementing a B2B loyalty program or aren’t happy with the deliverables of your existing program, we’d love to help. Contact one of our Customologists on 1300 264 549 or hi@customology.com.au for a confidential chat.

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It’s a common fact that 80% of your future profits will come from just 20% of your customer base. This is true within the business to consumer space, but also business to business too. B2B loyalty, growth and retention is certainly at the top of today’s boardroom agenda. However, it doesn’t happen overnight, it takes a great deal of time and investment to build strong relationships which result in long-term strategic partnerships.

There are, however, a number of ways you can accelerate B2B loyalty, we’ve shared some of our thoughts below:

1. Acknowledge the entire decision making unit

We shared an article on this recently. The B2B buying process is much more complex than B2C. There are a number of stakeholders involved, each with a different motivation and intention. It’s vital you invest time in getting to truly understand the various layers of the decision making unit and what’s important to them. Many brands make the mistake of going straight for the decision maker and dismissing anyone else that gets in their way. We would highly recommend not doing this. After all, long-term loyalty is generated through building strong relationships, and in the B2B world, that includes more than one stakeholder.

2. Introduce a seamless on boarding and project management experience 

Once you’ve won a new project, it’s absolutely imperative that you implement a transparent and seamless on boarding process. The last thing you want is for your client to have buyer’s remorse straight after they’ve signed on the dotted line. No, they will be expecting you to lead the way and make things as easy as possible for them, from the paperwork to the strategic kick-off meeting. The kick-off meeting is the perfect opportunity to ensure all stakeholders involved are fully aligned on the objectives and expectations. For ongoing project management, agree on a process which suits you and the client, this may include project management platforms allowing easy access to ongoing activities, responsibilities and status updates/deadlines. Finally, have a clear agenda for any WIP meetings with the client. People are time poor so will appreciate succinctness at all times.

3. Build a strategic partnership

As mentioned above, long-term partnerships take a great deal of investment. When you begin working with a new client, you’ve already gained their trust in believing you’re the right partner to help them achieve their goals. However, maintaining that trust requires a lot of dedication (beyond what’s expected). Strategy leaders have a continued responsibility to the client, even if the work is being delivered by other departments. A responsibility to be available to the client, to contact them with anything of importance or interest, offering help in any way possible. The strongest type of strategic partnership sees both parties contacting each other to share ideas, to ask for perspectives and opinions outside of what’s already being delivered. It’s being viewed as a respected, authentic advisor. B2B loyalty is much easier to obtain once you’ve truly embedded yourself into your clients environment and you understand their pain points and what’s required to succeed. 

4. Create joint branding opportunities

There’s many benefits to sharing joint content, as it helps raise brand awareness for both you and your client. Brand building is an ever-evolving task, especially within the B2B world. Joint branding opportunities create added exposure and credibility on both sides. We love creating joint content with our clients, be it a case study, press release, award submission down to simply asking them for a quote for a piece of our own content. It strengthens relationships too, and invites further stakeholder engagement and collaboration. It plays a vital role in not only B2B loyalty, but also B2B marketing initiatives.

5. Always have the end customer in mind

We can’t stress how important this one is! It’s easy to get caught up in project deliverables, however within B2B, you must always take a step back to consider the end user – your client’s customer. You have a responsibility to bring them to the table too. Your client chose you as a partner because they believe you’re an expert in your field – the best! They want to hear your suggestions on how they can achieve their end goals, whilst enhancing the overall customer experience. Again, this links back to our ‘STOP…and think like a customer’ approach. Always ensure you have a ‘customer first’ mindset from the onset. It’s the most effective way to help your client succeed.

You’ll have noticed we haven’t touched on B2B loyalty programs in this article. No, we didn’t forget or think they’re not important. In fact the opposite is true, which is why we’re going to dedicate an entire article on B2B loyalty programs – watch this space! 

It’s true B2B loyalty takes time to achieve, but it’s absolutely worth the investment. Customology are customer growth and retention specialists. We have extensive experience working with B2B brands, supporting their loyalty and growth strategies. If you’re keen to learn more about our capabilities, please contact one of our Customologists on 1300 264 549 or hi@customology.com.au

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Email marketing plays a vital role for every marketer. In fact, many solely rely on this channel to generate new sales, therefore ROI expectations are always high. Which is why marketers need to be doing everything they can to ensure their messages are even being received by their customers. Most don’t give much thought to the delivery of the email itself – but they absolutely should. In this article, we explore email sender reputation and how IP and domain warming can help you achieve it!

What exactly is an email sending reputation? 

Everyone has a spam/junk email folder, but have you ever wondered why certain emails are automatically sent there or to a dedicated social or promotional folder? 

In fact, not all emails even make their way to your inbox, some get blacklisted completely. So why does this happen? What makes your mailbox take these actions?…….Well, it all comes down to the sender’s reputation.

Marketers send a substantial amount of emails to their customers, yet very few understand the impact that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have on the successful delivery of their emails. ISPs are highly sensitive and get suspicious very easily. For example, when: 

• a new IP or domain starts to send obscene volumes of emails
• an existing IP or domain sends a high volume of messages containing the same content
• an email hasn’t been sent by an IP or domain for 30 days or more
• an IP or domain practices poor data hygiene (by continuing to send to non-existent inboxes for example)
• the IP has been previously blacklisted

Email sender reputation is extremely important in ensuring your messages are reaching your intended audience and thus have the chance to be opened and read. The number of ISPs that reject the message will have an impact on your overall send, as other ISPs who would’ve typically released the email will identify the ISP rejection and could follow suit! 

There are a number of free resources online for you to check how healthy your email sender reputation is, including: Sender Score and Cisco Talos Intelligence. You can also check if you’ve somehow inherited an IP address that was abused in the past through Spamhaus.

How to improve your email sending reputation

It takes time to establish a healthy sending reputation and it’s only achieved by following the best practices (there’s no quick win here), which is why we always recommend IP and domain warming to our clients. Essentially, IP and domain warming is an opportunity to develop your identity and gain trust from the ISPs. Let’s break this down further.

Domain warming

Often overlooked, but equally important as IP warming is the reputation of your domain. For example, Customology’s domain is customology.com.au, so if one day we decided to start using cmg.com.au instead, we’d have to rebuild the high sender reputation we had already achieved. Some brands chop and change their domain names when sending out comms to their customers, when they would see much higher engagement by remaining consistent. If they insist on making a domain change, it should be subtle such as marketing.customology.com.au, i.e. a common ancestral change rather than a whole new domain. 

It’s best to plan ahead when choosing a domain name – picking one that makes sense, aligns with your brand and content and has longevity. If you have an already established sending domain, you’ll be in an even stronger position. 

IP warming

If a device is able to communicate via the internet, it will have an Internet Protocol address, more commonly known as an IP address. A dedicated IP is an IP address specific to an individual user. A shared IP address is used by multiple users, meaning each of these users can impact sender reputation. 

The IP warming process involves sending small volumes of emails from a new/inactive IP address, gradually increasing the volume of sends across a period of time (days, weeks etc.). The warm-up schedule is different for every user and depends on how many emails you intend to send. If you send out a high volume of emails (i.e. 500,000+ a week), then we recommend you use a dedicated IP address to do so.

Martech platforms, such as Vector enable you to automatically limit or cap the number of emails you send each day/week, taking away the manual process of continuously logging in to schedule your sends. 

We recommend that when you begin sending customer communications from a new IP address, you send your first batch of emails to your most engaged customers, as they’re more likely to open the email which will give your sender reputation a positive start, meaning the ISPs are more likely to trust you when you’re trying to reach less engaged customers. 

It’s important that you have visible metrics for engagement and good ‘hygiene’ on your ongoing sends too. Metrics such as delivery, open, click and click-to-open rates will give you feedback on each of your sends and pruning disengaged recipients from future email sends is important for a healthy sending reputation. You can try to reach these customers via another comms channel.

It’s worth mentioning that if you do stray too far with reasonable sending and end up getting marked as spam by an ISP (greylisting or blacklisted) then there’s no clear industry standard about how long you have to wait to try again on that IP and sending domain. ISP’s do have a finite memory however, so you can try again but it would be best to start the entire warmup process again costing you time and money.

Maintaining a strong email sender reputation

Once you’ve undertaken both domain and IP warming, the hard work doesn’t stop there. You’re constantly being monitored by the ISPs, so it’s important you do everything in your power to maintain your strong reputation, including:

• maintaining good data hygiene – i.e. remove email addresses that hard bounce, list-unsubscribe or invoke a spam complaint
• honouring email opt outs
• having good email acquisition from the start (i.e. a two verification process, as this proves if you send an email, they have the ability to receive it from the get go).

ISPs respond well to engaged mailboxes. We often reference that “no one size fits all”, especially when it comes to marketing communications. Therefore, if you have a sophisticated comms strategy, segmenting and targeting your customers effectively, then your customers are more likely to engage with the message – ultimately ensuring an even stronger sender reputation.

Achieving cut through in today’s busy marketplace is proving more challenging by the day. Brands need to ensure that any obstacles preventing them getting their message in front of their intended audience are removed. IP and domain warming greatly improves your email sender reputation, which in itself brings a number of benefits. It’s an imperative in today’s digital world!Keen to learn more about email sender reputations and how to improve yours? We’d love to help, contact one of our Customologists today on 1300 264 549 or hi@customology.com.au.

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Improving the customer experience is high on the agenda for the majority of brands across the globe. Customer expectations are ever-evolving, and these expectations have inevitably spilled over into the B2B world. 

The path to loyalty may differ across B2C and B2B, but the goal is absolutely the same. For any brand to be successful, they need to invest in their customers/buyers and build genuine trusted relationships – which will ultimately result in long-term loyalty. 

B2B loyalty is more complex, due to a number of factors. 

There are various stakeholders involved in the B2B decision making unit, each with different intentions and motivations. Marketing legend, Philip Kotler defines the decision making unit as “all individuals and groups that take part in the decision making process relating to the negotiation of products/services.” 

It takes time to earn the ‘trusted advisor’ status from each stakeholder in the decision making unit, before they are willing to commit. There’s also lengthy sales cycles involved, B2B investments are much higher than that of a simple B2C transaction, so there’s a lot of consideration before any decisions are finalised. Also, the brand may not be in a position to buy yet, so there’s the importance of ensuring that your brand is front of mind when they are ready. This alone takes a lot of commitment and resources. Picking up the phone twice a year is no longer enough.

Decision Making Unit

We recently shared an article ‘STOP….and think like a customer’. Which absolutely applies in the B2B world when considering the decision making unit. The best way to understand your customer is to put yourself in their shoes. B2B is no different. Each stakeholder will have rational and emotional needs and are looking for a solution that could help them do their job better and deliver a fantastic outcome for their brand. Let’s break these roles down further.

Decider – The ultimate decision maker. The person with the authority to give the final sign off. The decider won’t typically be involved in the day to day. They will take counsel from influencers and initiators, however, they will want reassurance that the right decision was made throughout the relationship. ROI is of course the most important, so is having easy access to the supplier’s leadership team, as well as continuous internal feedback.

Influencer – Although they don’t have final authority, these stakeholders play a pivotal role in the final decision, with the decider putting a lot of trust in the influencer, which makes the influencer a key point of contact. Often, there’s a number of influencers across different departments of the business. For example, marketing may be investing in new technology to help them engage better with their customers, while the IT department will be looking for a solution that easily integrates with their existing systems and reassurance of data privacy etc. The supplier will need to have a different conversation with marketing to the one they’ll have with IT – providing evidence which proves why their product can provide solutions for both departments. 

User – These stakeholders have minimal input on the choice of supplier, but will be interacting and the most engaged with the product/service so their feedback will be sought internally. They are also more likely to share their opinions with the market – be it positive or negative. Remember that…..these users could be some of your greatest advocates!

Initiator – These stakeholders recognise their brand has a need or a problem and actively search for providers who can deliver the best solution. They play a vital role and spend time doing their research, approaching only the brands who they are most impressed with. They are also very close to the problem so can deliver detailed briefs. Make sure you ask the initiator as many questions as possible to ensure you can respond with a solution that ticks all the boxes.

Gatekeeper – We’ve all had to deal with a gatekeeper at some point. Their role is to manage access to other members of the decision making unit. This includes passing information across too. It’s easy to feel frustrated with a gatekeeper if you aren’t getting access, however remember that they’re only doing their job. The best approach for the gatekeeper is to be kind, patient and transparent at all times.

As mentioned, it takes considerable time to gain the trust and respect across the various layers of the decision making unit. Put yourself in their shoes, for identifying their challenges, and also their experience across the buyer journey and beyond. Consider everything possible that can make their lives easier and help them to do their jobs better, whilst delivering the broader results they need.

The consumerisation of B2B sales and marketing has meant a huge shift. B2B buyers are looking for highly personalised experiences (the same as they receive in their personal lives as a customer). The commercial success of B2B depends on the brand’s ability to deliver. Building strong relationships across the entire decision making unit is absolutely imperative. Competition is tough, and the best way to gain a competitive edge is to truly understand the problems and challenges your buyer’s have.

Customology are customer growth and retention specialists. We have extensive experience working with B2B brands, supporting their loyalty and growth strategies. If you’re keen to learn more about our capabilities, please contact one of our Customologists on 1300 264 549 or hi@customology.com.au 

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Australia’s leading customer growth and retention agency, Customology, attended the Lord Mayor’s Adrian Schrinner’s strategy planning day last Thursday.

Mark James, CEO & Chief Customologist was invited to present to administration councillors about customer insights.

Adopting a customer-first mindset was high on the agenda for the council, as they met to discuss Olympic-era reforms that can be introduced to ensure Brisbane continues to be Australia’s most small business-friendly city.

Mark shared some of the key findings from Customology’s research report ‘The Unspoken Customer’, alongside several strategies and tactics to ensure the customer is at the heart of every business decision.

Lord Mayor Schrinner said he was grateful for Customology’s input, and that he truly valued Mark’s contribution.

Mark James added, “I was thrilled to be invited along to this important day for our beautiful city. As a Brisbane boy, the success of the city is very close to my heart. It was fantastic to bring the customer to the table and realise the passion and commitment our councillors have in ensuring best practice is delivered in every possible way.”

Mark is currently a mentor for the Brisbane Business Hub, an initiative of Lord Mayor Schrinner to help local businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19.

In addition, he has been supporting several local councils in their ambition to become more customer centric.

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Over the last eighteen months, we’ve seen brands accelerate their digital strategies in order to keep up with their customer’s needs and demands. Digital now has a bigger audience than ever before, giving brands an incredible opportunity to build stronger relationships, through effective customer communications.

Every time a customer makes a transaction, they reveal a little bit more about who they are and what their preferences are. It’s ultimately up to the brand to leverage this insight to ensure they keep the customer engaged so they continue to purchase.

However, many are not taking advantage of the invaluable first party data they are capturing (particularly via digital channels) and continue to send spam messages of irrelevance to every customer on their database. Customology’s research report, The Unspoken Customer revealed that 45% of customers don’t believe they are being targeted properly, and that 74% believe brands lie in their marketing communications. There’s clearly work to be done to earn customer trust.

The marketplace has never been so flooded – the importance of the right channel, and the right message is now vital to cut through the noise. Customers want to be recognised as individuals. Their expectations are ever-increasing and brands are struggling to keep up.

Importance of defining audience first, message second

It’s simple really. When you know who you are talking to, it’s a lot easier to have a relevant conversation. This also applies to customer conversations. When people think of segmentation, they may think of targeting different genders, locations, ages etc. But this is no longer enough. The reality is, brands actually have all of the assets they need to understand exactly who their customers are and what’s important to them. 

Sending a personalised message goes way beyond including a first name. A much more sophisticated level of personalisation is required in order to truly grow long-term loyalty and retention. It’s about understanding exactly where in the journey each customer is with your brand. What does their past behaviour look like and what can you learn from it to influence future behaviours?

No benefits in irrelevancy

Sending irrelevant comms comes with a number of negatives. Most importantly, the customer becomes frustrated and inevitably ends up unsubscribing, thus preventing the brand from making further contact via that channel. This essentially gives competitors the perfect opportunity to swoop in. 

It costs money each and every time you contact a customer, so why wouldn’t you want to ensure the message is relevant in order to generate the highest possible return? 

We shared a story a while ago, one of our colleagues bought a shirt from a retailer and continued to receive two to three messages a week from the same retailer, despite never returning. They worked out that the brand had spent more on marketing costs than they received from the one and only purchase they made. It’s guaranteed they are not the only one, so how much marketing budget is this brand throwing away unnecessarily?

Marketers can get a much higher return on investment by targeting customers based on their actual behaviour. Check out our case study on Youfoodz and how they received over an 8000% return on ad spend (ROAS) by doing exactly this.

Market smarter

Typically, marketers access data through a number of platforms, very little is actually integrated – making it impossible to have a clear single customer view. We touched on this recently in our article ‘The cookie’s crumbling’ . Without that single view, you have no control over what messages your customers are being exposed to. 

Customology is helping brands market smarter. We’re revolutionising customer engagement through our innovative customer messaging platform, Vector. At the heart of Vector is its ability to integrate a dynamic list of customer data, offering extensive segmentation capabilities. Brands are able to access customer data in near real-time, so can plan targeted campaigns based on actual behaviour. Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue¹. 

As we said above, when you know who you’re talking to it’s much easier to continue the conversation and create a message to cut through the noise. 

Is your brand getting the best return on investment when it comes to customer communications? We’re here to help, get in touch with one of our Customologists (1300 264 549 or hi@customology.com.au) to learn more about our Vector and how Customology can help you leverage your first party data to help you create customers for life.

¹ Campaign Monitor

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Customer experience design is the process design teams follow to optimise customer experiences at all touch points before, during and after conversion¹. 

Note the word after. This is where many brands become unstuck. They focus too much on the path to purchase and winning the actual sale. But then what?

The retention opportunity

There is an abundance of strategy which goes into customer acquisition. Brands are looking for quick wins and think that to achieve this, they need to ‘win more customers’. We all know that acquiring customers can cost up to 10x more than retaining an existing customer. Yet, the mindset of “we need more customers” remains.

(Google Search: Customer Journey)

You’ll be familiar with the above typical customer journey model. Lots of activities happen around the awareness and consideration stage, yet when it comes to retention, not so much. There’s even a dot with nothing next to it. STOP….think like a customer……do you think that an FAQ page and a community forum will keep your customers engaged and influence their next purchase? Is that all it takes? NO!

There is a huge opportunity, we’re talking $M’s, for the brands who look beyond today’s sales, and at the long-term customer lifetime value growth. 

You need to invest in customer experience design if you want to achieve sustainable growth and drive retention/loyalty. If you’re not looking after your customers (particularly after they have chosen your brand), then we guarantee that your competitors are lining up to do so. Don’t give your customers a reason to want to leave. 

An experience design mindset 

The best way to really put yourself in your customers’ shoes and mindset is to map the entire customer journey. Experience everything the same as your customers do, this way you’ll recognise how and where you need to improve. From research, to purchase, to post purchase. You’re probably unaware, but there will be several pain points for the customer, which need to be corrected ASAP, and the majority are likely easy fixes. Don’t experience it from the business perspective, and what’s good for the brand – that’s the worst thing you can do. STOP …and think like a customer, assess each and every touchpoint, and ask yourself, “Is there a better way of doing this?”. 

Speak to your customers, go undercover in your business. Ask them questions, from one customer to another, would they recommend your brand, what feedback do they have. Even going on a listening tour within your business can add great value, hear the highs and lows direct from the frontline.  

“The first step in exceeding your customer’s expectations is to know those expectations.”  Roy H. Williams

Put them on the path to repurchase

Once a purchase has been made, what happens next? Post purchase comms are SO important. Often, a brand’s first message to a new customer is to ask them to rate their experience and if they would recommend them to a friend. NO – this is not the best way to continue the conversation with the customer. Once a transaction has been made, don’t assume you have a new customer. You have to put time and effort into nurturing and developing the relationship. Here are just a few considerations to activate the path to repurchase:

The moneymoon – when a customer first purchases from you, they should (hopefully) be feeling very positive towards your brand. You need to take advantage of this mindset, and not let buyers remorse set it. STOP….think like a customer. What would you expect during this timeframe? For more on the moneymoon period, please read our dedicated article here.

Recognise – the first form of communication should be a thank you. You’d be surprised how impactful this can be. 

Reward – the behaviour you want to influence. There’s no point in blasting the same promotional offer to all of your customers. Your loyal customers would purchase from you regardless if you’re on offer or not. Also, taking the time to reward your loyal customers, surprise and delight or doing something low cost which will exceed their expectations will go a long way. We recommend dedicating 10% of your entire marketing budget to keeping existing customers happy.

Staff empowerment – give your staff the freedom to put things right for the customer if something goes wrong. Remove any barriers of approval and let them decide the best course of action. Leading hotel chain Ritz Carlton empowers its employees to spend up to $2,000 to solve customer problems without having to ask a manager for permission. Ask each of your staff to STOP…and think like a customer!

Summary

82% of customers could be tempted by a competitor². Understanding your customers has never been more important. To continue the conversation with your customer, you need to STOP…and think like a customer. Don’t let perfection or technology get in your way. It’s a simple process. Sometimes you need to take a step back to spot the obvious. Really think about the customer, what and how they are thinking when they research your product, make a purchase, receive a specific email or targeted ad. 

Customer expectations are continuously changing and evolving – you need to keep up. Dedicating time to experience design will help you understand the journey your customers are on, what matters to them, what frustrates them. Only by delivering relevant, seamless customer experiences will you prevent your customers from looking elsewhere.

STOP …and think like a customer! 

Customology are specialists in customer growth and retention. At the core of our value proposition is our ability to stop and think like a customer. We’re here to help, if you’d like to have a chat with one of our Customologists, please give us a call on 1300 264 549 or email hi@customology.com.au.

Sources:

¹ Interactive Design Agency

² The Unspoken Customer

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