Creating a Customer Communications Plan

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Creating a Customer Communications Plan

• On Target Group Coaching

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The most overlooked and under-used marketing
opportunity for small businesses
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The Gold in Your Database

• Steps to developing and implementing a CRM
  strategy
• Creating a communications plan for staying in
  touch with your customers, prospects and referral
  partners

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What is CRM?

• CRM Customer Relationship Management
• Its about
• Knowing your customers, and
• Using that knowledge to form profitable
  relationships
• Systems Technology help us do that
• CRM software applications
• Customer Communications Plans using multi-media

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CRM Is A Strategy

• Systems
• Collect information and segment customers to know
  their needs
• Collaborate with them to plan and create new
  value,
• Technology
• Integrate the customer's various touch points
  with the business
• Develop a single, real-time view of each customer
• Know what to offer customers/customer groups and
  when they will be ready to buy it
• People
• Train for customer-centric service

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Keeping Customers Can be Challenging

• Customer behavior can shift rapidly as markets
  create new purchase opportunities and alternative
  means of obtaining satisfaction
• Value propositions have changed significantly as
  competition across all markets has increased
• Customer loyalty relationships are vulnerable
  when a competitor offers a better solution

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Customer Driven CRM

• What will this customer/customer group buy?
• When do they buy it?
• What will encourage them to buy it?
• How much will they pay for it?
• What creates value for them, and if we create
  this value will this increase their loyalty to
  us?

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Getting The Answers

• Not all your customers have the same needs but to
  be able to establish the different sorts you need
  information
• It makes sense to build up a profile of your
  customers and group them according to their
  different requirements because this will give you
  a good idea of how likely they are to purchase
  what you are offering

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And The Benefits Are....

• The benefits of CRM can be substantial and
  include
• Increased sales to new and existing customers
  through better timing, identifying needs more
  effectively and cross selling of other products
• More effective marketing communications using a
  more personal approach
• The development of new/improved products/services
• All of which result in the payoff of
• Enhanced customer satisfaction and retention
• Increased value from your existing customers -
  and reduced cost-to-serve them

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Creating Your Own CRM System

• Collecting information about your customers
• Creating a customer information database
• Providing a way to access the information
• Analyzing the customer data, and
• Using the information to meet customer needs
  market more effectively and enhance the customer
  experience

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Collecting Information About Customers

• Look at your entire business to establish what
  customer data already resides where
• Dont leave any source out of consideration. They
  all contain customer information, often on the
  same customer for different aspects of their
  dealings with you that might later be useful to
  profile their value to you and determine their
  needs.

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What Information Do You Need?

• To segment customers and build a picture of what
  might appeal to them you need more than just
  contact details
• Responses to campaigns
• Sales and purchase data
• Account information
• Complaints record
• Web registration data
• Service and support records
• Demographic data age, occupation etc.

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Selling B2B?

• Selling B2B requires collecting information about
  your business customers firmographics
• What industry sector they are in
• Public or private
• Size of company
• How they buy from you and the size and frequency
  of their purchase
• Also rate how valuable they are to your business
• All this information gives an idea of who are
  your best and worst customers, and what they buy
  from you

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Create A Customer Information Database

• Centralize your information by bringing it
  together in a database of some sort
• Standardize your information by making sure you
  have a consistent way of recording it
• Keep it centralized as a database so other team
  members can access it and be up to date on that
  customer

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What Sort Of Database Do I Need?

• Consider
• Number of customers and amount/types of data you
  want to collect and the possibility of scaling
  up in the future
• Your budget
• Your in house expertise
• The need or the benefit of integration with
  other business systems

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Analyzing Customer Data

• Data mining can now start to give some really
  useful information about your customers to
• Develop targeted marketing campaigns
• Sales offers
• Identify trends in product likes and dislikes
• Develop new services for the customer
• Result - increased customer loyalty

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Using The Information

• Its five to seven times more expensive to
  acquire a new customer than to retain an old one
• Do more business with your your current customer
• Use customer data productively to
• meeting your current customers needs,
• marketing more effectively to them,
• identifying cross selling and upselling
  opportunities to them
• enhancing their experience in dealing with you

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Improving Your Marketing

• Typically, 80 of profits will come from just 20
  of your customer base.
• If you could identify that 20 and gain an
  understanding of what it is they like about your
  product or service, you can develop personalized
  marketing for them
• With this knowledge of customers you can
• Develop targeted marketing campaigns aimed at
  your most profitable customers
• Cross sell and upsell to them
• Identify what marketing channels are most
  successful

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Enhancing The Level Of Service

• Offer special services to specific segments
• Offer improved service level
• Offer new services

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Marketing to your Customers

• Most under-utilized marketing
• Largest source of business
• For many small businesses, 65-70 of business
  comes from
• Existing or Past Customers
• Referrals from Customers
• Referrals from quality Referral Partners
• Referrals from Business Networking

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Your Customer Communications Plan
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Start with Your Database

• Customer List
• Prospects
• Referral Partners

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Tools to Manage Your Contact Data

• CRM Software
• ACT!
• Goldmine
• Salesforce
• Microsoft Outlook
• Google Apps
• Zoho
• Custom Software
• Others

• Other Tools
• QuickBooks
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Access

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Key to Success Commitment!!!

• Keep Your Master Database Up to Date
• EVERYONE who handles customer information must be
  committed to maintaining the database
• Auxiliary Lists in other software must be updated
  from the Master Database
• Email Newsletter Software (Constant Contact,
  etc.)
• QuickBooks
• Maintain Segmented Lists so you can reach out to
  a subset

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Database Segments

• Define Groups
• Customers
• Individual Customers
• Business Customers
• Your defined segments
• Prospects
• Did a proposal
• Inquired about your services
• Referral Partners
• Related businesses who have the best opportunity
  to refer
• BNI Power Team
• Business Contacts

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Classify Your Customers

• Classifying Your Customers
• Characteristics
• Buying Patterns
• Interests
• Types of Services purchased
• When services were performed

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Rate Your Customers

• Rating Your Customers
• A - Best (Ideal) Customers
• B Pretty Good/Average Customers
• C Substandard (Upgradable?)
• D There shouldnt be any (Fire them)

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Develop a Communications Plan 1

• Who
• Customers
• Prospects (Prior Proposals)
• Referral Partners
• How Often
• Depends on the Who
• At least 4 times per year, probably no more
  frequently than monthly
• When
• Peak interest periods
• Slow business cycles
• Natural touch points (holidays, at the end of a
  job, at X period following a job)

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Develop a Communications Plan 2

• Media Whats best for your who lists?
• Direct Mail (Postcards, brochures, flyers)
• Letters
• Newsletters (Print or Electronic)
• E-blasts (Specific Purpose Special Offer)
• Greeting Cards
• Telephone Calls
• In Person Meetings (lunch, coffee)
• Social Media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)
• Variety Mix up media
• Reach more people where or how they like to
  participate
• Manage costs with less expensive media

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Develop a Communications Plan 3

• Cost
• Review Annual Budget
• If needed, time larger expenditures to projected
  cash flow
• Choose marketing media that fits your budget
• Refine Monthly Budgets to reflect marketing plan
  costs
• Action Steps
• Set Action Plan so you can deploy communications
  on schedule
• Keep Marketing and Keep Your Brand Alive!

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Develop a Communications Plan 4

• What do I say?
• Relevant information to customers needs/wants
• Highlight timely services
• Provide value (Educate, Inform, Inspire,
  Entertain)
• Offer specials
• Ask for referrals
• Call to Action
• How do I say it?
• Be customer centric make it about them
• Be yourself, use your own voice

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Email Marketing

• Use a Email Marketing Service
• Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, Chamber Zoom,
  Aweber, Get Response, I Contact etc.
• Share Value Dont just sell
• Be Consistent Monthly, Twice a month, Weekly
• Use Great Headlines
• Remember WIIFM
• Build your list

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Conclusion

• CRM really comes down to this its a way to
  store the sort of information that adds value for
  your customers when they do business with you
• It needs to be supported by a team trained in a
  customer-centric approach
• You must be committed to the process
• With a solid CRM system, you can create a
  customer communications plan thats easy to
  implement
• When you communicate with your customers you get
  more business!

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Implementation steps

• Create or refine your client list
• Write out a simple plan for when you will
  communicate with your customers and what message
  you plan to convey
• Test drive an email marketing system
• I suggest free trial for Constant Contact, Mail
  Chimp or try Chamber Zoom if you are a Chamber
  member
• Upload your list to email marketing system
• Create an email get feedback from Linnea and
  group members
• Send your first customer communication email
• Review Tools on Group Coaching website