The Marketing Leaders - Loyalty and Retention in B2B Marketing

How many times have we heard versions of this ‘’Now that we’re married you don’t seem to make an effort any more’’? Surely we need to keep courting our wives, partners and customers but…?

The charm offensive we lay on when we are courting somehow vanishes once the vows and rings have been exchanged and memories of the honeymoon fade into the distance.

What rings true in our personal lives seems also to have resonance in the business world whether we are talking consumer or B2B.

Don’t lose ‘The loyalty effect’

Frederick Reichheld’s book ‘’The Loyalty Effect’’, states that the average business loses 50% of its customers every 5 years.

But the focus even these days is on the pipeline of prospects we are trying to convert into customers. But what of those who have bought the vision we have sold them, of better products and services and of a long lasting fulfilling relationship between 2 partners? Is this really ‘until death do us part’ or just until they get a better offer?

Well at least if they get a better offer but stick by you, they can be described as a loyal partner/customer. But why should they not be tempted away by a better improved deal of the week?

Well hopefully this is because the courtship never ended. Similar to a new bride or groom, with a new customer, in particular in B2B, you now have a captive audience: someone who you spent a lot of time getting to know, in particular in the world of often complex B2B sales, and indeed they got to know you too. And you probably wowed them with a whole variety of messages using the most appropriate channels available to you: email, post, telemarketing, webinars, breakfast meetings, nurturing the lead until they chose you above all others.

So continue the courtship with, in my experience, the same channels as previously but possibly with a slightly different mix and with a change of emphasis. After all, it was these efforts that won you their hand to start with.

Hopefully you used the lead nurturing phase as an opportunity to stamp your thought leadership credentials with your prospects possibly by using email as a means of inviting them to seminars or more likely in this age of time poor executives a webinar to be viewed either live or at leisure. Well, surely this doesn’t stop now? You’re still setting yourself apart from all those lusting competitors by demonstrating what your new customer has bought into, in terms of your understanding of the environment in which they operate and not limiting yourself to that one small piece of your portfolio they currently utilise.

Of course email still plays an important role in keeping the relationship going from a distance as long as the content follows the cardinal rules of Expected, Relevant and Personal. The added bonus being that you can continue to learn more and more about the reader by looking at opens, clicks and by giving them the ability to respond to customer satisfaction surveys you get the chance to gain some valuable insight into their needs.

…is able to play a much more fundamental role in retention. Whereas it can be viewed negatively in acquisition by both the end recipient of the call and the tele-agent who feels the life blood draining away as they get the short ( and often rude) rejection, as a relationship builder, it can be a vital part of your retention toolkit.

The ad hoc call from say the original business development manager just to see how things are going can pay enormous dividends in terms of retention. And of course the added bonus of ‘I’m glad you called as I was meaning to call you about another project’ on the other end of the phone every now and again can be very rewarding

Although often seen as purely a consumer communication medium, SMS can be employed effectively in B2B as well. A particular example springs to mind where fleet car users are reminded of their service appointment via SMS.

If we go with the original definition of Web 2.0 that gives ordinary site visitors an ability to create and share content then this offers an opportunity to create a dialogue with customers even within the B2B arena.

Forums, sharing of successes and problems would allow customers to share their experiences and give you an honest view on the relationship. Trying to imagine what customers want is a no longer an option in the modern market where hard data, not guesswork, is what makes the difference between a strategy that succeeds and one that falls flat on its face.

Although I wouldn’t advocate planning your retention activities in your personal life it would seem appropriate in the business world to map out the way you want to communicate with your customer but most importantly, how the customer wants to be communicated to. Remember it is they that dictate the when, the what and the how. And in the same way that as an individual has a character and personality, your organisation’s brand should have these traits clearly identifiable in the various communications the customer sees.

The use of Lights Out Marketing (automated communications triggered by pre-determined business rules) can strip out the vagaries of retention communications and allows a much more certain degree of measurability. And if your client only wants to be communicated with once a quarter there’s no chance of you forgetting! Remembering that continued trust matters

But of course the most important aspect of retention is not the technology or the channel you employ. It’s the listening and understanding when there is a problem. Don’t let familiarity breed contempt or a loss of passion. It’s all about the relationship, and making it to the Golden Anniversary.

And as with any relationship – Personal or Business – there may be ups and downs and moments when you have to say sorry. I find that a bunch of flowers often does the trick.



		B2B Retention: the Never Ending Courtship
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