And the numbers back up the logic. Acquiring a new customer can cost five to seven times as much as retaining an existing one, depending on the industry your business is in. And boosting a company’s customer retention by just 5% can deliver a 25% to 95% increase in profits over time.
7 steps to increased existing-customer revenues
So just what steps can your outdoor brand take to reap the benefits of increased customer retention? Consider these seven ways to drive more revenues from your existing customers:
1. Understand your customers
One of the biggest keys to all marketing and sales success is to know and understand the members of your target market, including their needs, their preferences and what drives their purchase decisions. And in your existing customers, you have a ready pool of these target-market members — ones who are not only highly likely to convert, but who already have — available to garner insights from. Put the data you’ve already harvested from your existing customers to use to understand even more about them via research and customer profile analysis. And to learn even more about these customers and what drives them, leverage your customer database to conduct informative surveys when you need more direction from your consumers and to form focus groups that can dive deep into topics that can guide your brand’s decision-making.
2. … then segment and serve them
In addition, the information you’ve gathered about your customers and their preferences can help you to segment them into specific groups based on their demographics, their purchase history and their interests. Use your knowledge of each of these groups to create authentic content and messaging that is highly relevant to them — which can help you forge stronger customer connections and instill an increased sense of loyalty to your outdoor brand. For example, if you know that a specific customer has purchased saltwater fishing gear from your brand in the past, target this customer (and more like him or her) with campaigns introducing your latest angling apparel and other fishing gear. Make sure they’re on the recipient list when you email tips on chasing down tarpon in Florida or recipes for cooking up fresh catches from the ocean.
3. Add value to your customers’ product experiences
You know what your existing customers have bought, so tap into this information to serve them with value-adds directly related to the products and/or services they’ve purchased. If they’ve bought a grill from your outdoor brand, provide them with expert tips on how to use it and clean it, how-to videos demonstrating a new (to them) cooking technique step-by-step, and tried-and-true recipes for cooking up delicious dishes with the outdoor appliance you sold them. The more added value you can deliver to them, the more likely they are to come back to your brand for more.
4. Connect through events and experiences
In-person (and even online/virtual) events and experiences can enable your customers to connect with your brand while learning more about/trying out your outdoor brand’s products and/or services with like-minded consumers. And by coordinating and managing such affairs, you can create stronger consumer connections with your brand while increasing brand loyalty and fostering a sense of community centered around your brand and its offerings. Whether it’s a party, a product showcase, an unveiling of new offerings or any other type of gathering focused on your brand, take the initiative to bring your consumers together and treat them to a good time … with your brand front and center.
5. Foster added loyalty
Many of your customers go out of their way to purchase your outdoor brand’s products and services. They could have chosen other companies’ offerings, but they trusted your brand instead. Show your appreciation by rewarding them for their repeat purchases and loyalty. When you establish a loyalty program for your regular customers, you’ll not only be incentivizing repeat business — you’ll also be ramping up their sense of brand loyalty … and hopefully even fostering brand advocacy. And when your loyal customers share their love for your brand by writing positive reviews and making referrals, they’ll not only regularly increase your existing-customer revenues — they can help you attract new customers, too.
6. Engage existing customers in product/service development
Your existing customers likely love your products and services already. But when they get a chance to have a personal stake in the development of a new product or service, they’ll love it even more. Ask your regular customers for their feedback on how to improve your outdoor brand’s offerings — their invaluable user input could help you make your products and services even better. Or to really crank up the customer engagement, consider running, for example, a contest seeking ideas for new products and/or services, or creating a poll enabling customers to vote on names for a new offering or to choose their favorite new product color. The more you can get your customers involved with the development of a product or service, the more connected to it (and your brand) they’re likely to feel.
7. Thank them for their business … personally
There’s nothing quite as ingratiating from a brand as a personal touch. Especially for your most devoted customers, consider making a phone call or sending a handwritten note to thank them for their business. Your business wouldn’t be successful without customers like them, and personally letting them know how much you appreciate them and their business can go a long way toward keeping them coming back and even turning them into devoted brand advocates. Sometimes, it’s the simple things that can move the needle for your brand.
Could your outdoor brand use expert help to increase its existing-customer revenues? The marketing pros at TBA Outdoors are experts in doing just that — and lots more. Whether you’re seeking assistance in areas ranging from analytics and creative to social media, e-commerce, public relations and more, our fully integrated marketing firm can deliver it — all in one place.
To explore how we can help your outdoor brand amplify the effectiveness of its customer-retentions efforts and all of its marketing campaigns, reach out to our team of marketing professionals today.
