What do you say to your valuable customers?

If you are an Amazon customer (& who isn't) you will undoubtedly have received regular emails from them saying something like 'We've noticed that customers who have purchased book X have also bought book Y. You can order yours for just £15......'

As someone who has been focused on helping companies to increase customer lifetime value for over 20 years, the linking of personalised emails with dynamic content based on an individuals buying / browsing behaviour is a great development. 

When done well it can also be very profitable. Firstly, you are talking to an existing customer. You are reminding them about a past purchase and suggesting something relevant that they might be interested in. You can monitor the results to see what worked and what didn't and incorporate the learning into future marketing activity.

It's not just for big companies

These Customer Lifetime Value strategies used to be something that only a relatively small number of big successful businesses could do because of cost & complexity. This is no longer the case. Many of the strategies can be applied to smaller businesses, especially those online. Email broadcasting solutions have also become much more affordable.

Not everyone gets it

A Mac is a great tool for designers but just because you have a Mac doesn't make you a designer. (I can vouch for this as I use a Mac but I am no designer.) 

My wife Julie, received a letter from a director of a company called The Shoe Tailor. Like Amazon it was personally addressed to her but it made a general offer (10% discount against any purchase in the latest catalogue) rather than a specific offer based on a past purchase. 

Their copy left a lot to be desired. It referred to '...Mrs Hawtin is one of our most valued customers.' Given Julie has only made one purchase from the company of less than £50 around 2 years ago, it lacks credibility to position her as 'one of our most valued customers.' She might be a valued customer, but most valued?

The letter also included an email purporting to be from the Customer Service Manager to the Director. Apart from highlighting Julie hadn't purchased for a while it says '...it seems a shame that Mrs Hawtin missed out on the recent offer of the free travel bag with the matching trolley bag for just £10. Did you see them? See attached image as a reminder.) Are we really supposed to believe that this was a genuine internal communication between Customer Service and the director?

The Amazon email is an example of a communication designed to be helpful, relevant and encourage a sale. For me, the crass copy in the Shoe Tailor example misses the mark.

What do you think?

Web marketing tips that any business (large or small) could apply to attract and retain new customers

• Capture customer behaviour data (visits / purchases) as part of your web marketing strategy to increase customer lifetime value
• Analyse the data to identify who to talk to, when to talk to them & what to say
• Automate the process and use letters or ideally emails to send an appropriate message based on your data analysis
• You have to do more than just say "Hello Peter" - Offer appropriate content based on their previous online behaviour
  
• Make sure the copy is appropriate for your brand but do not try to con or patronise your customers - they are not stupid
• If you are unsure how to do this, get a web marketing expert to help

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency (based in Wiltshire & Bristol) which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.