A Look Back at Lifecycle Marketing and How It Can Help Your Business

Lifecycle Marketing is a valuable approach to marketing that has replaced many of the traditional methods. It’s based around two very simple ideas. The first is that it’s often easier to generate more revenue from existing customers than from finding new ones. Secondly, taking care of existing customers costs less than searching for new prospects.

Over the course of our series on Lifecycle Marketing, we’ve taken a look at how it can help your business. The Lifecycle has 8 simple steps: 

• Attracting Traffic.  Customers won’t buy from you if they don’t know you’re there. You need to do more than just advertise. Give them a reason to come through your doors, real or virtual, by creating great content. 

• Generate Sales Leads.  Once you have them in the door, work to capture their information so you can follow-up with them. Over time, you’ll get an idea of the type of customer you’re looking for. The more information you can gain about your visitors, the more you’ll be able to tailor your message to suit them and their needs. It’s from these visitors that you gain your best sales leads.
• Nurture your prospects.Create a comprehensive campaign to nurture promising leads towards a sale. A personal touch works best, which is why it’s important to capture as much information when you’re generating leads. 
• Convert Sales.When the lead is ready to buy, you’ll want to be ready as well. Make it easy for them by having convenient links to your sales page and handy e-commerce tools. Make their visit to your website or store a pleasant experience by keeping your area organized and simple to navigate.
• Deliver and satisfy. Your work doesn’t end once you have a sale. At a minimum, you’ll want to deliver a quality product or service in a timely fashion.  But in order to ‘wow’your customer, you’ll want to go the extra mile. Follow-up with them to let them know that you’ll be with them for the long haul. Send them a thank-you and let them know you’ll be there to answer any questions they have.
• Upsell.  Once you’ve created a group of happy customers, you can leverage that satisfaction by upselling. They’re already familiar with you and your product or service. Why not take the opportunity to let them know about some of your other products that may help them? It’s not a way of nickel-and-diming your customers. It’s a way of adding value to your product.
• Get Testimonials.Marketing research has consistently shown that people are more likely to trust reviews and testimonials from other customer than they are company-sponsored advertising.
• Gain Referrals.  A satisfied customer is great. A satisfied customer who brings their friends back to you is even better. Referrals are an excellent way to expand your business. And as a new potential customer comes to you, the Lifecycle begins anew.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our series on Lifecycle Marketing. In a competitive marketplace, it can be an effective way of expanding your business, building trust and establishing a long-term relationship with your customers. If this all sounds daunting, consider using Infusionsoft to help you Attract - Sell - Wow your prospects and customers - it's like magically cloning yourself and your staff!