How to Keep Customers In Your Orbit: A Tale of Two Journeys

Oct 28

You’ve probably heard: Keeping customers is waaaaay less expensive than acquiring new customers.

In marketing terms: $ Customer Retention Cost (CRC) < $ Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

But unless you have a service that naturally lends itself to an auto-renewing contract, your customers are probably leaving your ecosystem after they buy the offer they came for.

At first glance, you may think there’s nothing you can do about that. But I want to challenge you to get creative. No matter what your offer (aka product or service), I bet you can build an offer ladder and email sequence that keeps your customers coming back for more and increases your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

To illustrate, let’s consider two different customer journeys.

The Revolving Door

Jasper sees your offer - large luxury candles - in an Instagram ad. They’ve never heard of you or your company before, but Jasper needs a nice gift for a friend’s house-warming party, and this seems like the perfect solution. The price point is low enough to make the first-time purchase low risk, but high enough to not feel cheap. Jasper buys the candle and it’s delivered relatively quickly. The process was easy but nothing special. They wrap up the candle and give it to their friend. Jasper has no reason to follow you or your company on social media because your presence is cold and saturated with ads. They end up buying one more candle for their own home, because they did like the way it smelled, but they don’t burn it often, and you drop off of their radar. Their friend enjoys the candle but has no connection to you or your company and so doesn’t search for your or purchase again. 6 months later, Jasper gets an email from your company asking him to buy again and ignores it.

In Orbit

Lucy follows you on Instagram. You have a luxury scents company, but your engaging content ranges from beautiful, curated pictures of your products being used in homes to behind the scenes stories about the team and how the products are made. You provide tips for using products, showcase local pop-ups, and donate 1% of every sale to help feed hungry families. Lucy appreciates your local presence and commitment to serving those in need. She’s wanted to try your products for a while, but they seem like a splurge so she waited for your flash sale to try one of the smaller candles. When she purchases, she finds an offer to add on other sizes of candles for a discounted price, which is perfect because she also needs a gift for a friend’s house-warming party. She adds on a large candle. On the check-out page, Lucy has the option of choosing gift-wrap for one or all of the items for a small fee, which makes the gift for her friend truly crossed off the list. The confirmation email welcomes her into your email community, provides an option to sign up for text alerts and special discounts, and includes a quick guide to pairing your scents with holidays and special events. She gets a helpful text when the candles have shipped, when they are expected to arrive, and when they are delivered. Lucy’s excited to have your products delivered and can’t wait to start using them. When she opens the box, the luxury vibe is confirmed with gorgeous wrappings and your company name etched simply but elegantly on the side of the candle containers. And she’s pleasantly surprised to get a bonus in her delivery: since the winter holidays are in less than a month, there’s a seasonal mini diffuser set included. Every 2 weeks, Lucy gets brief updates in email and text about your offers and helpful tips to use them. In between, she sees your content on Instagram, and is inspired to use the products she purchased to make her home more beautiful and inviting. During the holidays, there are seasonal scents and bundles available at a discounted price and she buys a set. A month after her initial purchase, she gets a text with a coupon for 15% off her next purchase, plus an extra coupon she can forward to the friend she bought the gift candle for. She looks forward to seeing what new products and scents you come out with next.

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Did you spot all the differences?

Brand awareness

The Revolving Door: Jasper didn’t know you existed until you spent a lot of money to buy ads that got in front of them.

In Orbit: Lucy was aware of your brand for a while before purchasing because of the consistent, engaging, and helpful content you post. She feels connected to your mission and values. Putting your company name on the candle container in a way that enhances the luxury of the product adds to its exclusivity and effortlessly reminds Lucy (and anyone who sees it in Lucy’s home) of your brand.

Customer experience

The Revolving Door: Jasper was buying a gift, but didn’t have the option to get it gift-wrapped. They had a decent buying experience with the usual confirmation email and relatively quick delivery, but nothing special.

In Orbit: Lucy was able to purchase gift-wrap for the candle she purchased for her friend, making her to-do list shorter with the click of a button. She was given options for receiving notifications, and receives communication at each step in the buying and delivery process, which builds her anticipation. She’s pleasantly surprised by the guide in her confirmation email and the bonus diffuser set in her delivery.

Strategic discounts

The Revolving Door: Jasper bought without a sale because the price for your only product (a large candle) was low enough to not seem risky. It seemed like a (potentially) good deal, but doesn’t represent anything to them. And the price is too low for you to be able to put it on sale or hand out discounts.

In Orbit: Lucy waited to buy until there was a flash sale because your prices are high. Your brand means something to her: luxury, an elevated lifestyle, and a mission to give back to the community. Because your prices are high, you can offer discounts to entice new customers, retain existing customers, or give your company an occasional profit boost.

Upsells & bundles

The Revolving Door: Jasper wasn’t offered any other offers during check-out, or after.

In Orbit: Lucy was offered an upsell comprising a bundle of different products (different size candles) for a discount at check-out. During the holidays, your bundled offers were enticing. Lucy is often pleasantly surprised by a good deal on an upsell or a free gift of a featured product when she buys from your company.

Nurture sequence

The Revolving Door: Jasper was offered minimal communication during the buying and delivery process. You didn’t provide any additional support or value after the purchase to remind Jasper of your existence, let alone create any connection with them.

In Orbit: Lucy felt connected and taken care of even before she purchased. And after the purchase, you made sure to reward her for her purchase with a discount. The extra discount for her friend was thoughtful, and brought in a new customer. You continue to send Lucy information, periodic discounts, and helpful tips to capture her interest. You also ask for feedback from Lucy occasionally so that you can improve your products and services.

Offer ladder

The Revolving Door: You made your company based on one product: large luxury candles. Jasper didn’t have any opportunities to buy other products, and large candles don’t fit a lot of places in their home. If you did come out with other offers, it wasn’t communicated.

In Orbit: Lucy saw that you had multiple sizes of candles when she purchased and was offered the bundle. She was then made aware of your diffuser sets when you included a mini set as a surprise bonus with her purchase. And you continue to educate her about new products and scents you’re creating through consistent social media, email, and text communication.

I think it’s obvious that Lucy will be purchasing from you again. You’ve put the effort into building your brand, valuing and pricing it appropriately, developing trust and loyalty, and creating multiple offers that build off one another. In this scenario, you’ll keep existing Lucy - and probably her friend - coming back for more, which is not only a less costly way for you to make sales, it also means you’ll have more referrals. Because of the connection and experience Lucy has had with your brand, she likely will continue to buy when she wants your products, even when they aren’t on sale. The momentum accelerates in your business when you focus on curating a value-based community in your social media and email, and providing an exceptional customer experience.