Personalization is key to retention in today’s business landscape. When a consumer visits a store, they want personalized attention from employees to pick the right product and gain an understanding of how to use it. Nordstrom is an example of a retailer doing a great job personalizing customer experiences for shoppers by providing free styling sessions both in stores and online.
As the retail world continues to move to more of an omnichannel shopping experience, companies must find a way to provide a seamless—and yet highly personalized-- shopping experience across channels, including in store, on mobile devices, and online.
Creating personalized customer journeys—before and after the sale-- is crucial for increasing customer retention, a key metric many companies are focusing on given soaring customer acquisition costs. In the last 5 years alone, the cost to acquire a customer has increased 222%. In contrast, retaining an incremental 5% of the customers you do acquire can boost a company’s revenue by 25%-95%.
Shifting the focus to personalizing each customer’s unique journey after the initial sale of your products is key to creating lifelong, loyal customers, ultimately driving retention. Creating personalization at scale is something that can only be done through the collection of zero-party data, including customer behaviors, usage, and skill level.
Creating unique experiences for consumers based on collected zero-party data builds trust. For example, imagine you purchase a new musical instrument. This instrument requires regular tune ups, string changes, and additional maintenance and care. For someone new to owning an instrument, there are aspects of care and maintenance they might be unfamiliar with. By tailoring the customer experience to their level of experience and how they use the instrument, they can be guided through every stage of product ownership. This includes informing them precisely when it's time to replace strings and helping them accomplish this task successfully.
Through Product Ownership AI, consumer behaviors and trends can easily be tracked and help the music retailer know the best steps to retaining each individual customer. For example, think of Billy, a student that was initially playing his guitar 3 hours a week, but by the end of the school year he was only playing 25 minutes a week. With that knowledge, Product Ownership AI knows he needs to be reminded of summer lessons or camps or he won’t be back the following year, and this could result in a churned customer and end of a music journey. Harnessing the power of Product Ownership AI enables music retailers to stay attuned to changes in consumer behaviors and preferences, allowing for personalized strategies that enhance customer retention and sustain musical journeys.
Creating ongoing and automated after-sale journeys that are personalized to the consumer and their product requires unique technology. With Blustream’s Product Ownership AI platform, companies are able to create meaningful lifetime connections with their customers that will lead to improvements in retention and revenue. Through zero-party data collection powered by AI and SMS, businesses can automate personalized customer journeys for every unique consumer.
Traditional marketing methods such as promotional emails are no longer the answer for retaining customers, which is why more businesses are turning to Blustream for retention efforts. Blustream has been able to drive community retention rates of 90%+ for their customers. When automated messages are sent to product owners at key moments within the product’s lifecycle, customers can maximize the full potential of any product, assuring success, enjoyment, and retention.
Creating a lifetime of personalization around the products you provide not only benefits the buyer but creates retention. Further, when businesses focus on the retention of customers in addition to acquiring customers, they can see drastic improvements in revenue and LTV, the loyalty of customers that feel valued, and that their customers are worth more.
1. Revenue and LTV SoarRetention and revenue go hand in hand. A mere 5% increase in retention can lead to an increase in revenue between 25%-95%. As more customers are retained, revenue increases and the lifetime value of each customer increases as well.
2. Customers Feel ValuedA customer that feels valued by a company is more likely to stay. When the buyer can sense that they are more than just a number, brand loyalty and trust increases. Customers that trust a brand are 86% more likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family. Feeling valued by a company can be the difference between someone choosing one product versus another. When the consumer knows they have constant support for their products, the chances of them repurchasing increase.
3. Your Consumers are Worth MoreThe value of a returning customer is much more than that of a one-time purchaser. Returning consumers are worth 10x their first purchase, and taking the necessary steps to retain them, such as creating a personalized journey, is well worth it.
The current business landscape needs a shift toward personalized after-sale product experiences as the backbone of customer retention. Blustream’s Product Ownership AI has harnessed the power of AI and SMS to power automated, personalized after-sale customer journeys. By leveraging zero-party data and providing insightful guidance for each individual consumer’s needs at scale, Blustream has found a way to increase retention rates to 90%+, drive revenue by 20%+, and create 3x lifetime value for any business.
Learn more about how Blustream can create personalized journeys for your buyers today.