This must-have strategy aims to attract and convert new customers while focusing on retaining existing ones. The end result? Higher revenue and a more valuable customer base.
Here’s what’s even better: customer lifecycle marketing is actually pretty easy to do once you understand the basics and have the right tools.
So you’ll find a rundown of everything eCommerce brands need to know in this guide, including why it’s worth your time and the five most effective customer lifecycle activities to add to your gameplan.
Let’s start at the top and dive in from there.
What is Customer Lifecycle Marketing?
Customer lifecycle marketing is a strategy to deliver the most valuable information and incentives to prospects and customers at every stage during their journey with your brand.
So first things first: does your eCommerce team have your buyer’s journey mapped out?
A buyer’s journey is like a roadmap your target audience follows, from first learning about your brand to becoming a customer to deciding whether to buy from your business again. Each of these destinations on your roadmap is considered a separate stage in your customer lifecycle.
To get your customer to progress to the next stage in their lifecycle, your brand has to engage at the right time with the right messages. You have to not only know what your customer is looking for at each stage, but what it will take to nudge them in the right direction.
Here’s a Quick Customer Lifecycle Marketing Example
Sometimes it helps to use an example to put marketing concepts in perspective. So let’s say:
Molly first heard about your brand on her favorite podcast. She reaches your website and finds a 25% discount code for first-time customers, which encourages her to try your product with less risk.
Henry made his first purchase from your brand two months ago. You’re not sure if he’s going to repurchase, so you email him a buy one, get one 50% off coupon to lure him back in.
Since Molly and Henry are in two different stages of your customer lifecycle, it wouldn’t be smart to use the same incentives on them.
Molly has no idea if she’ll like your product; having two of them with a BOGO coupon doesn’t entice her. But Henry may already like your product and love the chance to score another at half-off.
These incentives are personalized for where Molly and Henry are in your customer lifecycle. They prove that your brand understands what they need as individuals.
That’s customer lifecycle marketing in a nutshell.
3 Top Benefits of a Customer Lifecycle Marketing Strategy
Creating a customer lifecycle marketing (CLM) strategy allows your eCommerce brand to reach your target audience with precisely the right message, discount code, or incentive to get them to become first-time and loyal customers.
CLM is essential for eCommerce businesses because it helps:
Boost Marketing ROI
When you tailor communication based on where a customer is in their lifecycle, your messages have a higher likelihood of landing and converting. So your brand can potentially earn more revenue while decreasing ad spend simultaneously.
By reducing the chances of bombarding your target audience with irrelevant messages and giving them exactly what they need, you also start to provide real, personalized value.
This extra attention then creates a more enjoyable customer experience across every touchpoint on your website, social media channels, email outreach, and more.
Reduce Lapsed or Churned Customer Rates
A lapsed customer is someone who hasn’t repurchased in a while; a churned customer may never buy from your brand again. Both of these carry negative consequences for eCommerce brands and can be avoided with customer lifecycle marketing.
Research shows that [*]:
- 54% of customers will stop shopping with a brand if it doesn't provide engaging content or relevant coupons.
- 50% of customers have left a company for a competitor who was able to stay more relevant and better satisfy their needs.
A CLM strategy not only helps you provide value at every stage, but it can also help reengage lapsed customers and turn them into active buyers again.
Increase Customer Lifetime Value
Customer lifetime value is a core metric that measures how much a single customer spends over the course of their relationship with your brand. The more often and longer they continue to buy, the more valuable they become.
According to recent data [*][*]:
- 60% of loyal customers will purchase more frequently from their preferred companies.
- Emotionally-connected customers will spend an annual sum of about $699 with a company, versus regular, satisfied customers who will spend just $275 per year.
- Customers with an emotional relationship with a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value and will recommend the company at a rate of 71%, rather than the average rate of 45%.
A customer lifecycle marketing plan helps you establish deeper relationships with your customers and builds brand loyalty. It increases engagement and the chances of repeat buying, creating more valuable customers in the long run.
So now that you know why CLM is worth your time and effort, let’s go over:
The 5 Most Common Customer Lifecycle Stages for an Online Business
Each eCommerce brand is different, but there are a few general stages every customer goes through before they become a loyal brand advocate preaching your awesomeness to everyone they meet. They include:
1. Brand Awareness and Reach
The first stage of your customer lifecycle starts with someone first learning about your brand. Maybe they saw one of your ads on social media, found a blog post through organic search, or heard about one of your products from a friend.
Your brand voice is the guiding light for how you present your brand to the world.
Your goal at this stage: To show prospects what makes your brand unique and get them interested for more.
People are usually aware that brands exist long before they ever check out their website or explore their product/service. So “reach” out and show them you have what they’re looking for.
2. Engagement and Evaluation
At this stage, your prospect is actively visiting your website and browsing your content, FAQ, pricing page, and product reviews. They want to see whether your brand is the best fit for their needs.
Your goal at this stage: To make the first connection and begin to engage.
These anonymous site visitors have shown some interest, but they’re not ready to make a purchase yet. So try to collect their data and get to know them.
Give them a first-purchase discount code or special bonus offer to connect on social media or sign up for your email newsletters. Produce gated content that requires them to create an account or trade their email address for exclusive freebies.
Once you know these visitors, you’ll be able to nurture them with information that helps them make a purchase decision.
3. Conversion to First-Time Customer
Your engagement efforts paid off and you scored the conversion, kudos! You now have a new customer. But that’s not the end of the road for your marketing team; it’s just the midpoint in your customer lifecycle.
Your goal at this stage: To show your customer the value of entering this relationship with your brand and create an emotional bond.
You’ll want to send a personalized “welcome series” of emails to show your new customer how much you value them and want to help. You can also consider sending a complimentary gift if they repurchase within a set timeframe or recommend your brand to others.
4. Customer Retention
Every marketer and business owner knows it’s more difficult and expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep an existing one. So capturing secondary sales should be even more important than snagging new customers.
- The probability of selling to an existing customer is between 60% and 70%; the probability of selling to a new customer is only between 5% to 20%.
- Current customers are also 31% more likely to spend more on their average order than new customers.
- The average customer spends 67% more in their third year than their first year with a business.
- 77% of customers have maintained loyal relationships with their preferred companies for 10 or more years.
Your goal at this stage: To leverage what you know about your customers’ buying habits, visited product pages, app usage, etc. to engage frequently with relevant, exclusive offers that keep them on the hook.
Here’s where your content marketing, loyalty perks, customer-exclusive discounts, and referral bonuses come into play.
5. Brand Advocates
Your most valuable customers are those who make repeat purchases more frequently than your average customers. These gems are so loyal it’s incredibly difficult for your competitors to steal them away. And they may turn into your brand’s ultimate secret weapon: a brand advocate.
A brand advocate is someone who actively recommends your brand to others in their network, expanding your reach and encouraging others to follow their (free!) word-of-mouth advertising. They’ll write glowing product reviews, create user generated content, and post about your product on their social media channels.
Your goal at this stage: To reward these customers with exceptional loyalty programs, customized rewards, and other exclusive perks.
It’s worth going the extra mile for these customers because [*]:
- 60% of customers say unexpected rewards are the biggest reason they’ll stay loyal to a brand.
- 81% of customers trust recommendations from family and friends over those from companies.
So let’s finish up by discussing the best ways to engage with your prospects and customers throughout their lifecycle.
5 Most Effective Customer Lifecycle Activities for eCommerce Brands
To maximize engagement and optimize customer retention, your brand should:
1. Crush Your Content Marketing Strategy
Every time you share a new blog post on your website, case study via email, or video on social media, you raise brand awareness and provide value to your audience. This can kick off relationships with new customers and influence the emotions and buying behavior of existing ones.
Affiliate marketing and influencer outreach can multiply your efforts here. Find out which social accounts or blogs your tribe listens to or frequents most, and get your product/service in their hands to vouch for it. People trust recommendations from those they already like and listen to.
2. Establish Trust with Customer Reviews
No matter which lifecycle stage someone’s in, they’re always going to look for customer reviews and positive testimonials. These build credibility for people unfamiliar with your brand and encourage purchasing for those on the fence. So a superior ratings and review management tool works on all fronts.
3. Let Customers Find Answers for Themselves
Experts say 83% of customers need some form of support while making a purchase, and more than 50% will abandon a purchase if they can’t find answers on their own. To help these customers help themselves (and reduce drain on your support team):
Create a standalone FAQ page or add FAQ sections on each product page. Let customers read answers to the most commonly asked questions (which theirs most likely are), and they’ll have everything they need to start the checkout process.
Implement AI-powered chatbots on your website to field customer questions in real-time and provide on-demand assistance.
4. Create a Personalized Loyalty Program
Customer Loyalty Software can help you acquire new customers, boost retention and engagement, and maximize customer lifetime value. This type of AI-powered rewards system incentivizes your customers to make purchases, leave reviews, and share your brand on social media to earn points.
Customers will be motivated to rack up points they can redeem for rewards -- such as exclusive discounts, free gifts, first-access, free shipping, etc. They’ll increase their repeat purchases and soon become brand advocates.
And research shows [*]:
- 58% of customers belonging to a brand’s loyalty program buy from that brand at least monthly.
- 50% of customers change their habits just to get to a higher tier of a loyalty program they participate in.
- 46% of customers agree to spend more after they join a loyalty program.
- 83% of people say joining a loyalty program keeps them purchasing from that business.
A VIP program lets you recognize and reward your best customers with exciting VIP tiers and perks to increase retention and brand loyalty.
When customers see the potential wins they could score with each purchase, they won’t abandon ship for one of your competitors.
5. Establish a Referral Program
A referral program is a cost-effective solution to acquire new customers by incentivizing your best customers to refer their friends and family to your brand. These brand advocates can earn a variety of rewards for referring your brand via SMS, WhatsApp, social media, email, and more.
All these strategies make it easier to capture new customers and give your most loyal customers reasons to keep coming back for more.
Final Thoughts on Customer Lifecycle Marketing
Now that you know more about the benefits customer lifecycle marketing brings, it’s time to organize a game plan to put today’s effective strategies into action.
Start by mapping out your customer lifecycle and identifying what customers in each stage need to progress to the next. Then, start taking advantage of customer loyalty software. Do these, and your brand will be golden.
