Fitting “Doing Unto Others” Into Your Overall Marketing Strategy
B2B marketers have trained themselves to delve into the minds and lives of their audience, even going so far as to analyze their family and personal lives. While all of this is done for the benefit of the organization, marketing is also designed to help. It convinces the target prospect that their life would not be complete without your services and products, and therefore marketing serves a valuable purpose. It makes lives better.
But marketers can go one step further.
In honor of Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17th, B2Bs can set themselves apart by making their campaigns truly client-centric.
Most of the following ideas hardly cost a thing and yet they will pay off dividends in customer loyalty and repeat business, not to mention the boost to your reputation as an organization that’s always giving back. Brands have long known that being generous with customers results in an increase in brand loyalty and customer retention. According to the Harvard Business School, increasing your customer retention rates by just five percent can increase profits up to 95%!
When you factor in that nearly 70% of people will abandon a brand they feel does not care about them, you realize that a little bit of ‘surprise and delight’ can go a long way, so here is how to show you care while simultaneously helping your business grow.
Make Someone’s Day
Little customer or client shout-outs will go a long way on social media because it shows your audience that you value your followers. Even a tweet back to acknowledge one of your customers or a personal email will do. These acts of kindness show that your company pays attention to the minute details of a person’s life, including celebrating the day they were born.
MailChimp did just that by announcing the birthday of the owner of an Atlanta-based frozen treats company. What a way to get noticed, endear, and celebrate a valued client all at the same time.
Just Because
It doesn’t have to be a birthday, anniversary or holiday for you to reach out and positively touch someone’s life. Choose a customer that has a positive and interesting experience recently and ask if you can showcase that narrative in your blog or on social media. Marketing audiences today love a good story, especially if it’s personal and intimate, and these spotlights on customers just because can give you plenty of material to craft a series of riveting brand tales.
Soda brand Fizzy made this fan’s day by showcasing him in a post on their Facebook page and on their blog.
Random Customer Day
Of course, you could choose a customer completely at random. March 2, 2018 is Customer Appreciation Day. Highlight one of your social followers, blog commenters, or clients, and gift them with sports team tickets, dinner out at a local restaurant, a preferred pricing strategy, or any other prize that makes them the envy of your social sphere.
Ideally, you will want to target a client that is as close to your buyer persona as possible. That way, you’ll attract more of the same, and your audience will begin to look forward to your posts in the hopes that they might be the next winner of this awesome, somewhat random, customer appreciation prize.
Merit-Based Shout-Outs
If one of your customers has learned to use your products in an efficient and innovative way, celebrate that person and make them the highlight of your campaign. This will make the person feel special, they’ll get their due accolades, and you’ll get your chance to “give back,” in one of the best possible ways – with adoration and abundant thanks.
GoPro chose a skilled photographer and highlighted her accomplishments while also drawing attention to the brand, a giving back moment that will certainly produce returns.
Swag
Design Pickle asks for your T-shirt size and address when you first sign up for their graphic design services, as they want to know where to send your bag of swag. While it can be expensive to send swag bags to every new customer, this little bit of extra effort and expense can go a long way to set you apart. A swag bag sure beats the normal form letter most clients get when onboarding with a new company and that T-shirt is free advertising whenever it’s worn.
Discounts and Free Offers
If you’re stuck on how or who to celebrate among your audience, why not invite everyone to the party? A mass-offered discount or free offer, such as Buy One Get One Free, will make your audience feel adored and you’ll likely get a spike in new and repeat business to boot, completely offsetting any money lost on the discount offers’ terms. Free offers can also consist of intentional content marketing, which will move prospects further along in the buyer’s journey, ensuring your good deeds always get rewarded.
Even an infographic, like the one by Wordstream below, can go a long way towards building loyalty amongst your best clients. As long as the information is useful and relevant, the information you share can help keep you in the minds and hearts of those who matter most.
Conclusion
While you should never do for others with the intention of receiving something in return, we are in business after all. You can still be generous with your audience while keeping a close eye on lead generation, customer retention, and return business. Luckily, Random Acts of Kindness Day is the ideal day to use any of the above to put your brand center-of-mind, and if you get a ton of business in return, that’s just icing on the cake.
