Hi guys! This is Alison, the Brand Strategist at AFF and The Creative Library. I’m giving Lauren a little break and taking over today’s post! I wanted to make sure you knew that in case you hate it (don’t blame Lauren) or really love it (don’t give Lauren allll the credit). As you probably know by now, one of our 2019 goals here at AFF was to listen to a podcast each month and share our thoughts about it with you, hence The Podcast Club. I am a podcast FANATIC so when we came up with this plan I was super excited. To keep it real, I exclusively listen to true crime (favorites being Crime Junkie and True Crime All The Time) but in the spirit of expanding my horizons I’ve started listening to business podcasts as well. The podcast I chose for this month’s club is ‘The Forgotten Funnel: Increase Customer Value Without Selling More’, by Amy Porterfield.

This podcast episode focused on ways to improve the customer experience through added value and emphasized how important existing customers are compared to potential customers. There was this one statistic that stood out to me: it takes five times as much money to attract a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. Whoa! That blows my mind. A statistic like that made me realize ok, we really need to appreciate our current customers and do everything we can to ensure they become returning customers. It’s always nice to get new followers, new likes, new comments but what does that all really matter if those people don’t purchase anything from you? Maybe just an ego boost. After recapping the podcast as a team we came up with 4 ways that we can show our customers more value and appreciation. Since I focus the majority of my time here at AFF on The Creative Library, I’m going to use it as an example in most of my points below.

1. Ask and you shall receive: We need to ask our audience, especially our Creative Library members, what they like/don’t like/need/don’t need, etc. Instagram stories is the perfect place to conduct easy polls or ask open ended questions. We recently asked our audience what type of imagery do they have the most trouble creating. Asking this will enable us to produce more valuable imagery for them. Also, especially when you’re a small business, don’t be afraid to slide in people’s DMs. Ask people individually what they think, need, etc. Talking to customers one-on-one leads to a stronger relationship.

2. Show the world BTS: Personally I am obsessed with behind-the-scenes content from most brands. I think it’s so interesting to see how something comes together, how imperfect the process really is, and to see who the actual people are behind the camera or product. After seeing BTS, hopefully it makes you feel more connected to the brand and appreciate the effort put into creating whatever it is the brand creates. At the beginning of the year we actually emailed a survey to our members asking if they’d like to see more BTS, so it’s time we deliver! We’re aiming for 2-3 “moments” per week, completely unstaged.

3. Everyone loves a gift: You know how every single magazine subscription comes with a tote bag to “thank you” for subscribing? Well, there’s a reason they do it, it works. Now, don’t quote me, but rather I’m guessing it works because since the beginning of time magazines have done this (I have a few of these totes). We think our Creative Library members deserve something in the mail when they sign up. Sending something in the mail, even a hand written thank you card (although we think they deserve more), expresses sincere appreciation for spending your hard earned money on something we create.

4. Show love to existing customers: Like I said earlier, the statistic shared in this podcast, The Forgotten Funnel: Increase Customer Value Without Selling More’, by Amy Porterfield, about how it’s waaaaay less expensive to keep an existing customer than to find a new one shocked me. So why then are we spending so much trying to attract new clients? In the work we do at AFF, our customer retention strategy should look something like this: create a wedding suite for a couple, create bridesmaid/MOH cards for the couple, create thank you cards for after the wedding, create personal stationery for the couple, create baby shower invites…and so on and so forth. Basically we should aim to retain our existing customers and have what they need for all stages of their lives.

So what are your thoughts on retaining existing customers? Do you have a secret potion or tips you’d like to share?

Image from our Creative Library, a membership that brings you monthly stock photos!