Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Customer Retention, Critical To Online Success

Online customer retention marketing is a tactically-driven process based on a user’s need, behavior or desire. The 365x24x7 marketing cycle means we need to approach customer retention in new ways. What are you doing to retain clients, online users and readers?

Using surveys and industry knowledge is the first line of action in this process.  You need to learn more. Create a ten question survey and offer a reward to those that complete the survey. Without this information you are dead in the water. Then, consider these retention projects for this year. Keep in mind, the perfect scenario would be a project that covers customer attainment and retainment in one project; basically, the old “killing two birds with one stone” concept.
Top 5 Projects to consider:
1. Unique promotional partnerships that offer your users more than a single buying proposition.
2. Perfect SEO.  Creating detailed article syndication deals that will give you more online exposure and this more unique backlinks than your nearest competition.
3. Premium user e-newsletters that drive retention through the creation of personalized marketing, like birthday promo offers or behavior offers like tax time offers.
4. Top of mind Facebook programs that use the humor to drive more views of your brand.
5. Detailed usability studies of your site to increase conversion and retention.  This piece alone can account for hundreds of new and retained users.
With data in hand, now look at your web analytics.  What are your current clients doing on your website and what can you learn from it?  Retention expert Jim Novo said, “Past and Current customer behavior is the best predictor of Future customer behavior.  Think about it.  In general, it is more often true than not true, and when it comes to action-oriented activities like making purchases and visiting web sites, the concept really shines through.”
With survey data, web use data and a project that you feel will give you the best results… execute.  Schedule some time to meet with your team and get rolling.  Half the battle is just showing up!
Feel like you are still lost in the process?  Get some advice and seek out some professional help.
Ryan
About this blogger:  Ryan Dohrn is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online.  www.BrainSwellMedia.com

Ryan R. Dohrn
President/Founder
Brain Swell Media LLC
www.BrainSwellMedia.com
803-867-3769
Follow him on Twitter.com/ryandohrn for daily tips and advice
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandohrn
Brain Swell Media, LLC is an interactive media consulting firm. We focus on five key business areas; online strategy consulting, website development, search engine optimization (SEO), video production and online sales training. We provide business owners and publishing companies with the tools and resources they need to optimize their presence on the Web and boost revenue.

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