In Parts I and II of our customer lifecycle series, we covered the impact of multichannel communications and how the ‘Awareness‘ stage is your first chance to make a lasting impression with your brand and build a strong relationship with customers.
We’re now moving on to the next stage of the customer lifecycle – the ‘Evaluation’ stage. Here we can communicate to the prospective customer at the height of their interest and fine-tune our marketing messages exactly according to their particular actions.
Let’s walk through the step-by-step process of the ‘evaluation’ stage. We’ll use the example of a fictitious coffee machine company called Pressocup.
The Pressocup campaign is initiated as soon as a prospective client fills out a form on the Pressocup website to obtain more information about a coffee machine. During the course of a month, the lead will receive several emails depending on their reaction to previous emails that have been sent.
First comes the “Thank You” email, which is sent immediately upon receipt of a request for information, with an image based on which machine the lead had initially inquired about.
Next comes the “Benefits” email, which includes a personalized banner of the recipient’s first and last name and an image of the machine the lead was interested in. The « Benefits » email also provides more information regarding the specific machine.
As we try to keep the lead engaged, he/she will continue to receive relevant information about the machine. This is the “Features” email, which is sent to recipients who opened the previous “Benefits” email. This email banner includes a uImage with the machine they are interested in decorated with the lead’s first name.
If no interest is shown, the lead will receive a “Tired of Bad Coffee” email, sent to recipients who did not open the previous “Benefits” email. Thus a different tactic is used to appeal to their sense of taste for good coffee.
At the end of the ‘evaluation’ part of the lifecycle campaign, the recipient will receive a machine discount offer email, which is sent to everyone who expressed interest in a Pressocup coffee machine. A 10% discount coupon is included for the specific machine that the potential customer showed interest in. The coupon links to a PDF-On-Demand coupon, which sends a triggered email to the Pressocup sales team.
And what about those who didn’t show interest? A “Coffee Discount Offer” email is sent to those customers who did not show interest in the machine, but showed interest in flavorful coffee. This discount offers 30 coffee capsules when a machine is purchased. The coupon links to a PDF-On-Demand coupon, which sends a triggered email to the Pressocup sales team.
The ‘Evaluation’ step is key, but coming up with the right marketing strategy is no less important. Being able to deliver on the strategy so that the campaign will resonate with each individual according to their preferences and interests will make all the difference.
This ‘evaluation’ demo makes use of the XMPie Circle SaaS solution and uImage.
Continue on in the customer life cycle with Part IV, the ‘Purchase’ stage.