Imagine this
You probably invested ample time, money, and effort in acquiring customers. But you don’t seem to see an upward trend in your return on investment.
A customer retention funnel optimization is a necessary measure to ensure that your customers are still around even after their first purchase. Businesses must have a clear idea of what their visitors are browsing, and where they drop off and take necessary measures to bring them back to their website.
In this article, we will learn how we can optimize the customer retention funnel to improve conversion rates.
What is a Customer Retention Funnel?
A customer retention funnel is a marketing model that depicts the process of keeping customers and building loyalty over time. The model represents the various stages of a customer's journey with a brand, from initial awareness to repeat purchases and ongoing loyalty. Analyzing and understanding where customers are in the funnel can help businesses develop targeted strategies to improve retention rates and increase customer lifetime value.
A customer retention funnel is an important tool for businesses looking to develop long-term relationships with their customers and improve their bottom line. There are four key stages in the customer retention funnel:
1. Active new customer
2. Active repeat customer
3. Risk of churn customer
4. Dormant customer
Let's dig a little deep into each stage.
Active new customer
An active new customer is an individual who has recently initiated a business relationship with a company and is actively engaging with its products or services. This engagement can take many forms, such as making purchases, using a service, participating in an online platform, or any other form of interaction that demonstrates their active involvement with the business. The definition of 'recent' can vary between different businesses and industries, but it usually encompasses a set time period, like the past 30, 60, or 90 days.
Active repeat customer
An active repeat customer refers to an individual who, having previously purchased from or interacted with a business, continues to actively engage with its products or services over a sustained period of time. This active engagement might involve frequent or regular purchases, use of services, participation in brand-related activities, or any other forms of interaction that denote an ongoing relationship with the business. The defining characteristic of an active repeat customer is their consistent engagement and loyalty towards the brand, which makes them a valuable asset for any business.
Risk of churn customer
A "risk of churn" customer is an individual showing signs of disengagement or decreased activity with a business's products or services, indicating a potential future cessation of their business relationship. These signs could include a decrease in product usage, reduced transaction frequency, less frequent communication or interaction with the business, or negative feedback. These customers are at a higher risk of "churning," or leaving the business to either become inactive or switch to a competitor. Identifying and addressing the needs of these customers promptly can mitigate the risk of churn and improve customer retention.
Dormant customers
Dormant customers are individuals that have previously engaged with a business, such as by purchasing products or using services, but have not engaged in any activity or transactions over a significant period of time. The exact duration that defines a customer as dormant can vary depending on the business and the industry, but it generally indicates a prolonged period of inactivity.
These customers have not formally severed their relationship with the business or closed their account, but their lack of recent engagement suggests a decreased interest or a shift in preferences. They present an opportunity for re-engagement strategies, as they may be more receptive to reactivation initiatives than new customers due to their prior relationship with the business.
The goal of your customer retention funnel is to bring back dormant customers to the repeat customers stage using different customer retention strategies. A great way to do this is to use marketing automation tools to detect these customers and retarget them in order to revive these customers.
Why is it Important?
The customer retention funnel is an important tool for businesses for several reasons.
a) Understanding the customer journey: It helps businesses to understand where customers are in their journey, and how to target them with specific strategies at each stage.
b) Identifying the roadblocks: The customer retention funnel allows businesses to identify potential roadblocks or barriers to customer loyalty, such as poor customer service, a lack of product features, or a confusing buying process.
c) Strategizing marketing efforts: It helps businesses to prioritize their marketing efforts, by focusing on the stages of the funnel that have the most potential to drive revenue growth. For example, businesses may focus on improving their conversion rates by offering incentives or discounts to customers who are considering a purchase, or by providing personalized recommendations based on their previous purchases.
How do you Optimize the Customer Retention Funnel?
According to research, repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers. Hence, it is essential to optimize your funnel to reap the most out of your acquisition efforts.
Once a potential user has passed through the awareness, consideration, and conversion stage, you will have finally acquired a new customer. But how do you get this newly acquired customer to keep coming back to your store?
The loyalty stage is the most crucial stage in your customer retention funnel. The customer retention funnel delineates the customer's journey from their initial interaction with your brand to their decision to remain a loyal patron. This stage is not just about retaining customers but nurturing them into becoming loyal advocates for your brand.
In order to do this, your business must develop and implement a robust customer loyalty program. A well-structured loyalty program rewards repeat customers and incentivizes them to continue engaging with the brand. However, it's not just about selling more; it's about creating a community of loyal customers who will advocate for your brand.
Loyalty programs foster a sense of belonging and recognition in customers, making them feel valued for their continued patronage. Integrating a customer loyalty program into your retention strategy can help encourage customers to keep coming back and enhance the overall customer experience. This, in turn, leads to increased customer satisfaction, which is a pivotal factor in driving loyalty.
At the loyalty stage of the customer retention funnel, customers have moved beyond mere repeated transactions. They have developed a bond with the brand that goes beyond the functional benefits of the product or service. They become brand ambassadors, recommending the brand to their network and contributing to new customer acquisition indirectly.
The best way to boost your customer loyalty efforts is personalization. It can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your loyalty program. Brands now can easily achieve this by leveraging AI-driven marketing automation tools that allow them to have one view of how customers engage across their digital touchpoints. At Vizury, we enable brands with data-driven customer insights by analyzing more than 50 parameters that capture user engagement and behavioral data. This data is then used to identify segments of customers that show a higher propensity to convert. This helps brands to create hyper-targeted campaigns that deliver maximum results. Offering personalized recommendations based on individual customer's preferences and behaviors makes them feel more valued and understood and ultimately incentivizes them to keep coming back for more.
The Road to Success
Businesses can better engage with customers, provide exceptional experiences, and build lasting relationships by optimizing each stage of the funnel. Adopting a customer-centric approach to retention can help achieve long-term success and build a loyal customer base that will continue to support and advocate for your brand. Are you ready to boost your customer retention rates? Book a demo with Vizury today
