Page 34 - index
P. 34
BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES
Targeting customers along the
‘Customer Lifecycles’
Lifecycle email marketing addresses the customer at
every stage of the customer lifecycle with the respective
matching, individualized content that does not neces-
sarily have to be advertising, whereby the set-up of a
long-term dialogue relationship is more important than
generating short-term revenue.
The aim of lifecycle email marketing is to sustainably
increase customer value, as well as generating repeat
purchases, on a regular basis. The so-called “customer
lifetime value” is the core value that needs to be opti-
mized steadily, which can be divided into five phases:
potential, new, existing, inactive, or lost customer.
In order to classify customers into one of these stages,
and be able to display each of them always the most
suitable content, you need accurate information about
the customer. Transaction data from the online shop
reveal, for example, whether it is an existing customer,
buys regularly, or an inactive customer, or has not pur-
chased anything for a long time.
Response data from email marketing helps to optimize
the content communicated, on the basis of individual
customer preferences, and provides information on the visable to not only send a single welcome email, but
phase of the customer in the customer lifecycle. While a multi-level welcome route. The contents of the wel-
potential customers, for instance, might source and come emails should be as exclusive as possible,
open your newsletter, they do not necessarily buy the including e.g. special packages for new customers
advertised products. only, product samples, sweepstakes, unique ser-
vices, like free express delivery, etc. Design the wel-
Learn hereinafter, in which phases of the customer come route flexibly and prepare different mail con-
lifecycle you should use which kind if email marketing tent, depending on the reaction of potential custom-
measures to achieve high conversion rates: ers. A potential customer, who converts already after
the first mail, should be addressed with other content
1. Potential customer: Potential customers have regis- via the residual welcome route, instead of like a po-
tered for your newsletter, but didn’t make a purchase, tential customer that cannot be activated at first.
yet. At this stage, it is therefore necessary to convert
the potential customer into a new customer. Since the 2. New customer: Even a potential customer, who has
potential client has proactively registered for your been converted to a new customer immediately at
newsletter, it is very likely that he is also interested in the beginning, should be taken into account in the
your products, and because of the interest being par- further course of the welcome route with exclusive
ticularly high at the time of the newsletter registration, offers to keep his interest at a high level and to set
you should send the potential customer immediately a new purchase impulses regularly. The objective is to
welcoming email to activate him right at the beginning bind the new customer long-term and to make him
of the customer lifecycle. It is recommended to inte- an existing customer. As previously mentioned, ef-
grate a voucher in the welcome email, which is only fective lifecycle email marketing requires the broad-
valid for a short time and should be linked to a mini- est possible consent of the customer to use his per-
mum order to avoid that potential customers sign up sonal data. Consider, however, that most customers
for your newsletter just for the voucher. Thus, to make first of all just want to register for your newsletter.
sure that the voucher directly finds the proper use, Additional questions for a consent to collect or merge
you should provide the potential customers in the data, seem daunting for many customers at this time.
same mail with suitable offers. Furthermore, it is ad- Instead, you should use the welcome route to ask
34 Asian eMarketing - November 2015 eCommerce & Customer Lifetime
34
Targeting customers along the
‘Customer Lifecycles’
Lifecycle email marketing addresses the customer at
every stage of the customer lifecycle with the respective
matching, individualized content that does not neces-
sarily have to be advertising, whereby the set-up of a
long-term dialogue relationship is more important than
generating short-term revenue.
The aim of lifecycle email marketing is to sustainably
increase customer value, as well as generating repeat
purchases, on a regular basis. The so-called “customer
lifetime value” is the core value that needs to be opti-
mized steadily, which can be divided into five phases:
potential, new, existing, inactive, or lost customer.
In order to classify customers into one of these stages,
and be able to display each of them always the most
suitable content, you need accurate information about
the customer. Transaction data from the online shop
reveal, for example, whether it is an existing customer,
buys regularly, or an inactive customer, or has not pur-
chased anything for a long time.
Response data from email marketing helps to optimize
the content communicated, on the basis of individual
customer preferences, and provides information on the visable to not only send a single welcome email, but
phase of the customer in the customer lifecycle. While a multi-level welcome route. The contents of the wel-
potential customers, for instance, might source and come emails should be as exclusive as possible,
open your newsletter, they do not necessarily buy the including e.g. special packages for new customers
advertised products. only, product samples, sweepstakes, unique ser-
vices, like free express delivery, etc. Design the wel-
Learn hereinafter, in which phases of the customer come route flexibly and prepare different mail con-
lifecycle you should use which kind if email marketing tent, depending on the reaction of potential custom-
measures to achieve high conversion rates: ers. A potential customer, who converts already after
the first mail, should be addressed with other content
1. Potential customer: Potential customers have regis- via the residual welcome route, instead of like a po-
tered for your newsletter, but didn’t make a purchase, tential customer that cannot be activated at first.
yet. At this stage, it is therefore necessary to convert
the potential customer into a new customer. Since the 2. New customer: Even a potential customer, who has
potential client has proactively registered for your been converted to a new customer immediately at
newsletter, it is very likely that he is also interested in the beginning, should be taken into account in the
your products, and because of the interest being par- further course of the welcome route with exclusive
ticularly high at the time of the newsletter registration, offers to keep his interest at a high level and to set
you should send the potential customer immediately a new purchase impulses regularly. The objective is to
welcoming email to activate him right at the beginning bind the new customer long-term and to make him
of the customer lifecycle. It is recommended to inte- an existing customer. As previously mentioned, ef-
grate a voucher in the welcome email, which is only fective lifecycle email marketing requires the broad-
valid for a short time and should be linked to a mini- est possible consent of the customer to use his per-
mum order to avoid that potential customers sign up sonal data. Consider, however, that most customers
for your newsletter just for the voucher. Thus, to make first of all just want to register for your newsletter.
sure that the voucher directly finds the proper use, Additional questions for a consent to collect or merge
you should provide the potential customers in the data, seem daunting for many customers at this time.
same mail with suitable offers. Furthermore, it is ad- Instead, you should use the welcome route to ask
34 Asian eMarketing - November 2015 eCommerce & Customer Lifetime
34
