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6. Divide and conquer.
Score your customers as you would prospects and leads. You can do this in many ways—everything from the old standard RFM (recency, frequency, monetary value) to share of wallet and potential based on relationships with other direct marketers. Once your customer files are scored, break up customers into distinct groups, and build mini-marketing plans based on the segments' unique needs, previous behaviors, established predispositions and potential to grow. Be sure to establish control groups within each segment so you can see the incremental value of your new marketing efforts.
7. Personalize and customize.
Think about how good it feels when the waiter at your favorite restaurant greets you by name and knows exactly where you want to sit. You return again and again and always tip more than usual. The same thing works even with, say, hardened enterprise IT buyers. Give them advice, counsel and content specific to their needs. There's no question that direct marketers have the technology to do this.
8. Market to the lifecycle stage and to the customer's schedule.
New customers have different needs and expectations than those you've had for years. What's even trickier is that new customers acquired today probably have different needs than the customers you acquired three, five or 10 years ago. Do the research to understand and respond to these differences.
Track triggers to certain behaviors, and use those triggers to time your messages. When is a customer most likely to buy again? Immediately? A month later? A year later?
9. Ask them what they want.
Most people want their opinions heard. And they like being asked for them. The act of surveying your customers makes them think you care. When you report the results of the survey back to them, that's a double confirmation of your concern. While you don't want to do format surveys too often, you can get feedback after particular transactions.
10. Turn customers into stakeholders.
Build a customer panel and/or an advisory board, and invite customers to join. You'll be surprised by how many will join, share, refer and buy more as a result of their participation. If you listen and act on what they have to say, that not only builds their loyalty, but makes them more willing to reach out to prospects.
11. Use the power of referral programs.
No customer is going to make referrals and then defect. Most customers feel even better about the value of your product or service when they refer you to people like themselves who have stronger retention value.
Lee Marc Stein is proprietor of direct marketing consultancy, Lee Marc Stein Ltd. This article originally appeared in his e-newsletter, Increasing Return on Marketing Dollars. He can be reached via his Web site, www.leemarcstein.com.
Score your customers as you would prospects and leads. You can do this in many ways—everything from the old standard RFM (recency, frequency, monetary value) to share of wallet and potential based on relationships with other direct marketers. Once your customer files are scored, break up customers into distinct groups, and build mini-marketing plans based on the segments' unique needs, previous behaviors, established predispositions and potential to grow. Be sure to establish control groups within each segment so you can see the incremental value of your new marketing efforts.
7. Personalize and customize.
Think about how good it feels when the waiter at your favorite restaurant greets you by name and knows exactly where you want to sit. You return again and again and always tip more than usual. The same thing works even with, say, hardened enterprise IT buyers. Give them advice, counsel and content specific to their needs. There's no question that direct marketers have the technology to do this.
8. Market to the lifecycle stage and to the customer's schedule.
New customers have different needs and expectations than those you've had for years. What's even trickier is that new customers acquired today probably have different needs than the customers you acquired three, five or 10 years ago. Do the research to understand and respond to these differences.
Track triggers to certain behaviors, and use those triggers to time your messages. When is a customer most likely to buy again? Immediately? A month later? A year later?
9. Ask them what they want.
Most people want their opinions heard. And they like being asked for them. The act of surveying your customers makes them think you care. When you report the results of the survey back to them, that's a double confirmation of your concern. While you don't want to do format surveys too often, you can get feedback after particular transactions.
10. Turn customers into stakeholders.
Build a customer panel and/or an advisory board, and invite customers to join. You'll be surprised by how many will join, share, refer and buy more as a result of their participation. If you listen and act on what they have to say, that not only builds their loyalty, but makes them more willing to reach out to prospects.
11. Use the power of referral programs.
No customer is going to make referrals and then defect. Most customers feel even better about the value of your product or service when they refer you to people like themselves who have stronger retention value.
Lee Marc Stein is proprietor of direct marketing consultancy, Lee Marc Stein Ltd. This article originally appeared in his e-newsletter, Increasing Return on Marketing Dollars. He can be reached via his Web site, www.leemarcstein.com.
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The Business of Database Marketing