B-to-B Insights: Even More Summer Reading
Haven’t yet made $1 million in direct marketing? Keep reading.
August 2007 By Russell Kern
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It’s that time of year once again. It’s time to get out in the sun, have some fun and maybe do a little reading, too. Most of America, of course, will be poring over a John Grisham legal thriller or immersing themselves in Khaled Hosseini’s successor to “The Kite Runner.”
But you are not most of America. You’re a dedicated direct marketer looking to build your skill set and, ultimately, your bank balance. And I’m here to help with my third annual listing of what—along with the sunscreen—you should stuff into your beach bag.
Since I finished compiling last summer’s reading list, I’ve come across great new direct marketing texts crammed with invaluable information and insights—everything from tips on improving performance to the how-tos of niche channels.
Then there are those titles that are so essential, I’ve included them on this summer’s list even though they also were on last summer’s list.
I Can’t Put This Down …
• “Customer Winback: How to Recaptue Lost Customers—And Keep Them Loyal” by Jill Griffin and Michael W. Lowenstein. I read this book at least once each year, because it’s crammed with eye-opening insights into the relationships between acquisition, retention and win-back marketing efforts.
For example, if your growth goals are ambitious to the point where your direct-acquisition campaigns are driving marginal-quality customers to your call center, then sure enough, within six to 12 months you’re going to see spikes in churn. Conversely, if you look at the data on the lifetime value of your best customers and use market research to determine why they stay with you, this combination of data and insight can be used to attract and retain more quality customers.
As for customer win-back, Griffin and Lowenstein do an excellent job of exploring and explaining the five major categories of customer loss: intentionally pushed away, pulled away, unintentionally pushed way, moved away and bought away.
Then they go on to provide strategic insights into how to design your marketing models and strategies to identify lost customers who have high “second” lifetime value and reel them back in.
• “The Customer Pyramid” by Michael W. Lowenstein. This volume deals with the systems, business rules and internal infrastructure of customer retention. It’s a more technical approach, which makes it a good companion volume to “Customer Winback.”
But you are not most of America. You’re a dedicated direct marketer looking to build your skill set and, ultimately, your bank balance. And I’m here to help with my third annual listing of what—along with the sunscreen—you should stuff into your beach bag.
Since I finished compiling last summer’s reading list, I’ve come across great new direct marketing texts crammed with invaluable information and insights—everything from tips on improving performance to the how-tos of niche channels.
Then there are those titles that are so essential, I’ve included them on this summer’s list even though they also were on last summer’s list.
I Can’t Put This Down …
• “Customer Winback: How to Recaptue Lost Customers—And Keep Them Loyal” by Jill Griffin and Michael W. Lowenstein. I read this book at least once each year, because it’s crammed with eye-opening insights into the relationships between acquisition, retention and win-back marketing efforts.
For example, if your growth goals are ambitious to the point where your direct-acquisition campaigns are driving marginal-quality customers to your call center, then sure enough, within six to 12 months you’re going to see spikes in churn. Conversely, if you look at the data on the lifetime value of your best customers and use market research to determine why they stay with you, this combination of data and insight can be used to attract and retain more quality customers.
As for customer win-back, Griffin and Lowenstein do an excellent job of exploring and explaining the five major categories of customer loss: intentionally pushed away, pulled away, unintentionally pushed way, moved away and bought away.
Then they go on to provide strategic insights into how to design your marketing models and strategies to identify lost customers who have high “second” lifetime value and reel them back in.
• “The Customer Pyramid” by Michael W. Lowenstein. This volume deals with the systems, business rules and internal infrastructure of customer retention. It’s a more technical approach, which makes it a good companion volume to “Customer Winback.”
Companies Mentioned:
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Business-to-Business Lead Generation Strategies (2nd Edition)
Business to Business Marketing Research