Acquiring new customers is essential for any company wanting to grow, but it’s only half the battle. Retaining customers and keeping them on your mailing list is a different challenge entirely. That’s why I’ve put together five tips for B2B companies looking to build a new customer base and retain an existing one using simple and cost effective tricks.
1. Popovers
Adding a popover (a sign-up box that appears when a client first visits the website) is one way to increase your list. If you’re able to entice potential customers with an offer, such as a discount code, it’s much more likely that they will hand over their details. Popovers aren’t generally used to retain customers, but when used well, they can be very successful in gaining a lot of new business.
2. Welcome customers
Welcome emails can help you to collect information on the type of content customers are interested in receiving. Within these emails it’s possible to have a survey – often called a preference centre – with different options containing the type and frequencies of communication they’d like to receive. These are not just effective for B2C companies. Dollar Hobbyz, a company operating in the B2B sector, that sells parts for radio-controlled cars, must ensure it adjusts its email communication seasonally since much of RC activity takes place outside. This has been a huge success, within eight months of automating its email marketing, the company doubled its web traffic, with some emails driving an additional 60 per cent on top of that in a given day helping the company grow 140 per cent within a year. Adapting communications to customers’ needs will pique their interest and make them feel like you understand their needs.
3. Stay relevant
Segmentation is an important part of a B2B marketer’s toolkit; nothing can turn a customer off quicker than receiving something that isn’t relevant to them. This allows you to target different consumers with specific content based on things like interests and location, making it particularly useful for businesses targeting different verticals. If used strategically, it will increase the odds of customers opening and acting on a call to action, helping to boost retention. Alexandra, a UK-based B2B workwear provider, has used segmentation to its advantage. It increased their open rates by 90 per cent through segmenting emails to a wide variety of sectors, such as healthcare, hospitality, leisure, construction and education.
4. Surveys
Surveys can enrich the data of those businesses who are already on your list. Questionnaires are not only for B2C customers; sending them to B2B clients on anniversaries are a great way to get feedback on how you’re doing and find out what improvements they want to see, while also giving you an opportunity to enrich the existing data you have on your customers.
5. Social media sweepstakes and competitions
Hosting contests and competitions that collect email addresses on social networks is a great way to grow your list. What’s more, you can increase brand reach and the opportunity to gather more contacts by introducing a mechanism that shares the competition with customers’ contacts and followers.
A simple sweepstake via a promoted, targeted post can help get likes, follows and email addresses of potential businesses. An alternative could be a photo competition to drive engagement and collect user-generated content, as well as prospect data, to maximise your marketing. When it comes to competitions, it’s a good idea to keep it fresh. Rewarding businesses who have been with your company for longer will ensure they keep coming back.
While acquiring new business is a positive start, it will mean nothing unless you manage to retain it. Customers’ needs and preferences are always changing, and unless you’re able to keep up, you run the risk of losing a client. That’s why the power and influence of email marketing on both the acquisition and retention of customers cannot be taken too lightly. If the above tactics are employed effectively, you’re likely to see real development and growth within your organisation.
