• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

How to spice things up with your oldest customers

The Prosumer as a new market force

I utilize relationship metaphors a lot while training clients or their staff because it is truly the most relatable way to describe the relationship between a buyer and a seller. Regardless of the scale of either party, there is a song and dance that takes place in the beginning of any such relationship. There’s the attraction stage which would normally happen on the side of the buyer. She sees something she likes but she doesn’t want to say anything, especially with the number of options staring at her from the marketplace. Wouldn’t be wise to go for the very first one she sees now, would it?

He (seller) senses her interest via a magnitude of means. He got the report that she engaged with his advertising content. He might have also planted promoters in the store and saw that she passed the aisle twice and looked at it a little longer or even picked it up. Next thing you know he’s everywhere. She notices him everywhere she goes. TV ads and billboards. The algorithm on her phone has picked up that she spent 5 extra seconds on his ad and somehow decides that this means she is interested.

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The avalanche of content continues until she finally gives in. She starts to snoop around on her own. She wants to see if he is for real. She looks him up, sees what other people are saying about him on social media. She even looks at his exes (previous buyers) to see what they have to say about him. Finally, she gives in. She brings out her card/cash and she buys. He is excited for this new customer, and thus commences the honeymoon stage.

He has gotten her money and she has gotten her product. She loves her purchase! She takes pictures with it, and of it, and makes their relationship Instagram official. Then the relationship begins. She chooses him every time she goes to the supermarket, tells everyone about him. But as relationships evolve, and as individuals and products do same, things start to change. All his attention is focused on getting new customers; the novelty starts to wear off for her. There are better products on the shelf, newer and shinier features catch her eye. There are also newer customers. He is reinventing himself and his approach, trying to appeal to a new audience. The relationship becomes strained. She tries other brands and she loves them. He has newer customers and loves it too. But the connection that brought them together is still there, powered strongly by nostalgia.

This dynamic is common and it is not hard to understand as statistics have shown that customer acquisition costs 5 times as much as customer retention. But companies spend that much money because they’re interested in a continual flow of customers. No company will decide that, oh, I think we have enough now, let’s stop marketing. But it is also important that the already existent lovers and adorers of the brand are retained. This means throwing some TLC their way. Festive seasons and holidays are a preferred time to reach out and celebrate your oldest customers.
Loyalty schemes and promos are always a great idea. Feedback sessions and customer forums (where applicable) are incredibly useful as they are the definition of killing two birds with one stone; extending gratitude for patronage and collecting feedback to aid your improvements.

Your oldest customers might have fallen in love with you in the past and you might have maintained a great relationship since then, but like the pidgin proverb says, Na see finish dey turn good morning to how-far. Don’t wait for that to happen. Invest in retention exercises that keep the fire burning between you, and your oldest customers.

Oluchi Okafor is a customer experience consultant and has trained and consulted for over 100 SMEs on how to improve their processes, retain happier customers and deliver great experiences every time. She is also the Managing Director at Multimix Academy, Nigeria’s foremost supply chain management institute.