Everything You Need to Know about Customer Lifecycle
Inci Vardar
If you’ve ever taken care of a plant, you might have experienced a process quite similar to the customer lifecycle in a matter of months. Think of your entire relationship with it, from the moment you buried seeds into the soil to all its growth stages. Think of your expectation of the first scrawny leaves, the way you watered them every day. The joy in seeing the first flowers, the determination against pests, the surprise when you see the new roots and branches. And the period of withering away, wondering anxiously if it will come to life again. Trying to decide if it is gone for good or if you should invest in vitamins to keep it alive. This is the whole process of the customer lifecycle in a flower pot.
From its seed stage through its growth and maturation, a business must understand and manage the customer lifecycle to build a trustworthy brand, secure customer loyalty, and guarantee long-term success. This involves planting seeds of awareness, nurturing growth through engagement, and finally reaping the rewards of customer loyalty.
But what exactly transpires in a customer’s mind that makes them decide to buy after seeing your ad multiple times? In fact, did you know that a customer typically needs to see your ads seven times before they decide to make a purchase? How can you map and manage your customer lifecycle effectively, and what strategies can you utilize to foster customer engagement? In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the entire process of the customer lifecycle and the best strategies to keep your customers engaged, akin to a gardener tending to their garden.
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What Is Customer Lifecycle?
Customer lifecycle is the sum of all your interactions with the customer. It may be long and prosperous, or it may end with churn at some stage for some reason. It consists of five stages that involve pre-sale, sale, and after-sale interactions. All the stages are measurable, and the result gives you “customer lifetime value”; in other words, how valuable a customer has been to your business in the course of your entire relationship.
With a detailed customer lifecycle mapped out, you can highlight the steps in your customers’ journey that require adjustment to enable you to provide customers with more personalized customer experiences that keep them happy.
Why Is Customer Lifecycle Management Important?
Customer lifecycle management tells you two things: Whether the customer is worth going the extra mile or not and how you can improve your customer interactions and sales.
A regular customer is usually more profitable than closing a one-time deal because customer retention is less costly than acquisition, and it provides various upsell opportunities. Customer lifecycle management also helps you take better care of your existing customers, who create more value than others and may even be more beneficial with some special treatment.
The second important benefit of customer lifecycle management is that it provides you with information on the areas of improvement. If you’re stuck on any stage of the customer lifecycle, you can make targeted investigations, find better solutions to specific problems, and set smarter goals.
What Are the Differences Between Customer Lifecycle and Customer Journey?
The difference between customer lifecycle and customer journey depends on the perspective.
The customer lifecycle is usually misconstrued to be the same as the customer journey. While both terms are similar in the sense that they interact with customers at different stages of the buying process, they each have their differences.
The most fundamental difference between the customer lifecycle and the customer journey depends on whose point of view you’re looking at it from — customer, brand/buyer, or seller. We’ll explain.
The customer lifecycle involves the steps and procedures the marketers/sellers/brand takes to get customers to buy from them and become loyal to them. On the other hand, the customer journey includes the steps and procedures the customers take before choosing a brand to buy from.
The customer lifecycle provides an outline for marketers to understand the sequential progression of a customer. In contrast, the customer journey is a complete detailing of the experiences a customer has from when they encounter your brand till when they make a purchase and even afterward.
What Are Customer Lifecycle Stages?
Customer lifecycle stages consist of people becoming aware of your product, the period of consideration or customer onboarding, the first purchase, the next purchases, and finally, customer loyalty or recommendations.
Reach
The first stage of the customer lifecycle is “reach”, where you plant your marketing materials into the right soil and wait for the first leads to sprout. The best practices are knowing your target audience well, reaching them wherever they are, and delivering your message effectively so that they want to know more about what you offer.
If you are stuck in this stage, this means you’re not visible enough. You might be addressing the wrong audience, your marketing messages may not be relevant, or you may need to invest in SEO and social media marketing. Measurable success of the awareness stage leads to customers reaching out to you for more information, like product features or price reviews.
Acquisition
When the prospect reaches out to you, he or she becomes a lead. A simple visit to your website makes the customer a target for relevant ads, following on social media means being open to brand messages, and contacting customer service can lead to an offer the customer can’t refuse. Knowing the customer’s needs and being prepared to answer them or utilizing an effective customer onboarding strategy will help you move on to the next stage and make the actual sale smoother.
Being stuck in this stage means that you’re not convincing enough. You might need to be more accessible, agile, or informative to convince the customer that your product or service is worth giving a try to satisfy his or her specific need. Here are some methods to improve your customer service practices and move on to the next stage confidently.
Conversion
The customer decided to purchase your product or service! Hooray! But don’t lose track of your customer while cheering up because it’s far from over yet. It is easy to get stuck on this stage if the customer experiences payment issues, receives a product that doesn’t meet his or her expectations, or can’t reach support when in need.
Even if you have converted the leads to actual customers effectively, you’ll still need to keep in contact with them to show that you care about their experience, offer them some relevant items that can meet their other needs, and remind yourself from time to time to successfully move on to the next stage.
Retention
As mentioned earlier, first-time customers are good, but repeat customers are better. Having the first-timers choose you again for the next time, and the time after that, means that you’re providing a positive customer experience and building trust.
Retained customers are bread and butter for any business. If you are stuck at this stage, you might be experiencing some satisfaction or trust issues, or maybe you just lost your customer to a competitor because you failed to be remembered.
Loyalty
Building customer loyalty has always been a challenge, but today, competition is more fierce, and customers are more demanding. However, having loyal customers and brand advocates should be the ultimate aim of businesses because those customers are the ones who create the greatest customer lifetime value. Loyal customers not only make purchases regularly and provide a steady income, but they also recommend your brand to others and help improve sales.
The best practices include improving key customer satisfaction metrics, making use of the loyal customers’ valuable feedback, and providing them with special perks and offer to build a sustainably evolving relationship.
How to Build an Effective Customer Lifecycle Strategy
Crafting a successful customer lifecycle strategy requires a deep understanding of your customers ’ needs, strategic planning, and continuous optimization. Here’s a detailed guide on how to build a customer lifecycle strategy that fosters engagement and encourages loyalty.
Understand Your Customer
To create a successful lifecycle strategy, the first step is to fully understand your customer. Use demographics, psychographics, and behavioral data to gain insights into your customers ‘ needs, preferences, and behaviors. Understanding these aspects will help you personalize your approach at each stage of the lifecycle.
Plan Each Stage Thoughtfully
For each stage in the lifecycle — Reach, Acquisition, Conversion, Retention, and Loyalty — develop targeted strategies that cater to the specific needs of the customer at that point in their journey. Remember that every stage is interconnected, and a flaw in one can impact the effectiveness of the others.
Use Metrics to Inform Strategy
Leverage key metrics such as cost per acquisition, ad impressions and conversions, transaction values and frequencies, engagement, NPS, and CSAT values to inform your strategies. Regularly analyze this data to identify trends, spot opportunities for improvement, and ensure your strategies are achieving the desired outcomes.
Focus on Exceptional Customer Service
Never underestimate the power of excellent customer service. A positive customer service experience can significantly enhance retention and encourage brand loyalty. Train your team to deliver outstanding service at every touchpoint, and consider implementing a customer service tool to manage and improve customer interactions.
Invest in Customer Management Tools
Utilize customer management tools to streamline and enhance customer interactions at all stages of the lifecycle. From CRM systems to automation tools, these technologies can help you deliver personalized experiences, manage customer relationships efficiently, and analyze data for insights.
Continuously Optimize
A customer lifecycle strategy is not a set-it-and-forget-it process. It requires ongoing optimization based on customer feedback, changes in consumer behavior, market trends, and the effectiveness of your current strategies. Regularly revisit your lifecycle strategy to ensure it remains relevant and effective.
Conclusion
The customer lifecycle is not just a marketing concept; it’s the lifeblood of any thriving business. Understanding and managing this lifecycle effectively is akin to a gardener planting a seed, nurturing it, and helping it grow into a flourishing plant. With each stage of the lifecycle—Reach, Acquisition, Conversion, Retention, and Loyalty—you have the opportunity to guide, engage, and foster stronger relationships with your customers.
Remember, it’s not always about quick wins or fleeting transactions; it’s about planting seeds of trust and loyalty, nurturing them with exceptional customer service, personalized experiences, and value, and watching them grow into fruitful, long-term relationships. So, take the time to comprehend your customer’s journey, apply the right strategies, and continually optimize your efforts to enjoy a thriving customer lifecycle that yields recurring rewards for your business.
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