Customer Lifecycle and Automation: An Omnichannel Approach

Nestor Valverde Msc, Group Crm & Loyalty Manager, Spotlight Retail Group and Founder, Rubikey.AU

Nestor Valverde Msc, Group Crm & Loyalty Manager, Spotlight Retail Group and Founder, Rubikey.AU

In today's world, businesses need to connect with their customers in multiple ways to be successful. As consumers seek experiences that move seamlessly between the physical and digital worlds, they expect the right information at the right time to help them make the right choices. Leveraging this trend by personalizing relevant and engaging content to reach consumers will ensure you are ahead of the curve. Brands that champion a consistent experience throughout customers’ journeys on their preferred channels successfully win their trust and loyalty.

An omnichannel customer journey takes this to the next level by integrating all channels and touchpoints into a seamless, personalized experience. An omnichannel customer journey is about providing customers with seamless experiences across all channels, including mobile, email, social media, in-store, and even chatbots. It involves integrating all touchpoints into a single journey, enabling customers to switch between channels easily. Businesses can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by providing a consistent brand experience across all channels. This approach improves marketing and sales performance.

Before activating any omnichannel strategy, businesses need to map and understand their customer lifecycle/journey. The customer lifecycle refers to the stages a customer goes through when interacting with a business. These stages can vary depending on the type of business and the intended goals but generally consist of four stages - acquisition, conversion, growth/ retention, and reactivation. Understanding these stages is essential for businesses to develop effective strategies for reaching and retaining customers.

The first stage, ACQUISITION, is when a customer becomes first aware of a business or product. This can happen through various channels, including advertising, referrals, or word of mouth. At this stage, businesses need to build brand awareness and establish trust with potential customers. This can be achieved through targeted advertising campaigns, social media engagement, and positive reviews. Once customers become aware of a business or product, they move into the consideration stage. Still, within the acquisition, customers actively research and compare different options before joining a loyalty program, membership club, newsletter, or making a purchase, the ultimate goal. To effectively guide customers through this stage, businesses need to provide relevant and informative content, such as value propositions, benefits, product descriptions, reviews, and comparisons. This can be in blogs, videos, or social media content.

The second stage is the CONVERSION, where customers make a final decision and purchase a product or service. At this point, they might or might not be part of the business loyalty program/club/newsletter database.

Businesses need to make this process as smooth and straightforward as possible by optimizing their website and checkout process. This can also include offering discounts, promotions, or free shipping to encourage customers to complete their purchases.

If, for example, after 30 days of joining a loyalty program/club/newsletter database in the acquisition stage, the member hasn’t purchased at all (not converted), they are not considered customers yet. They are called Prospects, ZTP, or 0xP (Zero Time Purchasers), and their LTV (Lifetime Value) is Zero. The business should focus on converting this segment by creating campaigns from ZTP to FTP or 1xP (First Time Purchasers) within the following five months (usually called Nursery) and taking off their LTV curve.

The next stage is GROWTH/RETENTION, where businesses focus on building customer loyalty and encouraging repeat purchases. This can be achieved through various tactics, such as personalized follow- up emails, loyalty programs, and special promotions for existing customers. The goal is to create a positive customer experience that encourages them to come back for more. Some of the strategies to grow their LTV are focused on turning FTP/1xP into STP or 2xP (Second Time Purchasers) and these ones into Repeat Customers. When this happens for most customers, the LTV curve peaks, and customers become advocates for the business and actively promote it to others. This is the most valuable stage for businesses, as it can result in new customers, increased brand recognition, and LOYALTY. To encourage advocacy, businesses should cultivate positive relationships with existing customers, encourage them to leave reviews and refer friends, and provide exceptional customer service.

Brands That Champion A Consistent Experience Throughout Customers’ Journeys On Their Preferred Channels Successfully Win Their Trust And Loyalty

However, some customers will be inactive (12 months with no purchase) anyway. This is when the final stage, REACTIVATION, takes place. It could start in the early days, around 6-9 months of inactivity, by identifying these customers and creating preventive marketing campaigns to keep them active. But the main focus is on those already churned with periods of inactivity between 12-23 months or the lapsed ones with more than 24 months inactive. Campaigns, competitions, and special offers to win them back are part of this stage.

To finalise, let’s mention how the Mar-Tech Stack plays an important role in the execution of all the above described. Marketing automation tools have revolutionized the way businesses promote their products and services. One of the most significant benefits of marketing automation tools is their ability to enable omnichannel marketing throughout the customer lifecycle. As described at the beginning, omnichannel marketing creates a seamless customer experience across all available channels. These channels typically include social media platforms, email marketing, SMS messaging, web and mobile applications. By leveraging marketing automation technologies, businesses can deliver targeted and personalized content across these platforms to create a seamless and consistent customer journey.

On top of that, we also have the Customer Data Platforms (CDP) that, together with the Marketing Automation tools, serve as essential components in this digital marketing world. Their combination plays a crucial role in delivering personalized marketing experiences to customers. While CDPs are intended to collect, store, and analyse customer data in a unified database, marketing automation tools make use of this data to automate marketing campaigns and deliver a personalized experience. Using insights from the CDP, the tools can work together in orchestrating seamless customer messaging and experience.

In conclusion, understanding the concepts of omnichannel marketing, customer lifecycle, and marketing automation is crucial for businesses to develop effective strategies for reaching and retaining customers. By focusing on each customer lifecycle stage and providing a positive customer experience, businesses can build brand awareness, establish trust, and ultimately drive sales, LTV, and loyalty. It is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and adjustment, but the payoff can be significant in growth and success.