WHEN YOU WANT IT TO LAST A LIFETIME ...

You wouldn’t expect to build a long-term romantic relationship with someone you never called after the first date. The same principle applies to your customer relationships. Customers who never hear from you after the sale are much less likely to buy again. It takes ongoing communication at every stage of the customer lifecycle to show that you care. When you’re creating your annual marketing plan, it pays to consider your existing customers and to allocate resources for customer communication at each stage of the relationship.

Bonding: A warm welcome for new customers
You’ve heard it before: It costs as much as five times more to acquire a new customer than to sell to an existing customer. Without communication that creates a lasting bond, new customers may defect before you’ve recouped your acquisition investment. Why?

The majority of customers who don’t buy again cite “indifference from the company” as their primary reason. In other words, they think you just don’t care. Giving new customers a powerful welcome experience demonstrates how much you really do value their business and sets the stage for a relationship that will expand and grow.

Along with a welcome letter and welcome kit, editorial solutions such as print or electronic newsletters are ideal components of a welcome program because customers perceive these as value-added communications with a balance of informational and promotional content. You can also include special offers or gifts that give customers a sense of how much you value their business.

Product education materials are a vital part of a comprehensive welcome kit. Not only do they make it easy for customers to use your products or services, they also can anticipate customer questions and minimize traffic to your customer service call center.

A warm welcome goes a long way toward protecting your investment in new business acquisition. Remember: Though the statistics below are impressive, bonding with new customers is just the beginning of what you can achieve by including existing customers in your annual marketing strategy and allocating resources that help you keep in touch.

First Marketing has extensive experience producing welcome kits that can help you create a lasting bond with your new customers. For more information, contact us at marketing@firstmarketing.com or call 800.736.0145.

An independent research study showed that of customers who recalled receiving welcome kits: > 82 percent read the material > 63 percent said the kit helped them better understand the company’s offerings > 47 percent reported referring to the kit later when they had questions or needed information > 25 percent avoided calling customer service by finding information in the kit > 20 percent reported that the kit convinced them to try additional products and services