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[1]http://www.marketingtechblog.com/infographic-the-ecosystem-of-lifecycle-marketing/marketing-lifecycling-mod3-2/[2]http://www.yeslifecyclemarketing.com/company/news/52-percent-retailers-still-struggle-identify-and-engage-their-most-valuable-customers

Saavy marketers are realizing that sending batch-and-blast emails to all customers is not an effective form of email marketing. Customers want tailored suggestions that connect them to your brand.Each customer is at a different point in their relationship with your brand, so we suggested you envision each step of the customer journey, and develop the appropriate messaging for every point of the cycle.

Lifecycle marketing refers to marketing campaigns that address different customer needs as theyprogress in their relationship with a brand and their number of purchases. This type of targeted messaging helps foster the relationship between a brand and its customers, ultimately increasing retention.

Lifecycle marketing also has an impact on Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), which is defined as the total dollars flowing from a customer over their entire relationship with a business. CLV is one of the biggest predictors of retail success.Growing a sustainable eCommerce business requires a shift from a singular focus on acquisition to a broader focus on growing customer lifetime value, retaining more customers, and personalizing the customer experience at every stage of the lifecycle.

In fact, lifecycle marketing has demonstrated a 55% improvement in campaign performance, 67% increase in subscriber engagement, and 54% raise life in customer satisfaction. [1] The lifecycle marketing approach is essential to customer retention success. However, many retailers have challenges putting this strategy into action. In fact, a recent survey found that 52% of retail respondents report having difficulty identifying and engaging their most valuable customers. [2] Lifecycle marketing helps solve this problem. Many retailers already have access to data that can be used to trigger automated, lifecycle campaigns, making it simple for them to get to know their customers, continuously engage with them and build brand loyalty.

This guide will explain the different stages of the customer lifecycle, as well as offer examples and best practices for implementing these types of campaigns. We’ll introduce you to several common customer personas and provide deeper insights on how to market to them. Ready to get started?

About Lifecycle Marketing

RIGHT MESSAGE, RIGHT TIME

WHAT IS LIFECYCLE MARKETING?

CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE. DEFINED.

LIFECYCLE MARKETING JUST WORKS

Boo, it’s the ghost of future buyers! Most customers begin as a Ghost Gabby, who has floated in and out of your site but has never made a purchase, put an item in a cart or even filled out a form. Since you don’t have an email for Ghost Gabby, the first step is to create a unique customer profile based on browsing behavior. Essentially, you want to track and collect Gabby’s browsing behavior and where he came from so you’re ready to send tailored messaging and promotions once you can tie Gabby’s cookied IP address to an email.

BROWSING BILL

He’s watching you! Browsing Bill is Ghost Gabby un-vieled. He just signed up for your newsletter, which means you now know who he is, and his onsite interests. Send Browsing Bill either a browse abandonment email or a welcome series to familiarize him with your brand and get that first purchase in the bag.

GHOST GABBY

Can’t Take Our Eyes Off You

Many consumers extensively browse online stores before making a purchase, or without making a purchase at all. How do you motivate these potential customers to make the decision to order from you? A great way to get to know your potential

[1]www.experian.com/assets/marketing-services/reports/ccm-bestpractices-remarketing.pdf[2]www.experian.com/assets/marketing-services/reports/ccm-bestpractices-remarketing.pdf

customers is to track their browsing activity on your site. The point of tracking onsite behavior is not to be creepy, but to gather information that can help you, the retailer, connect with your site visitors and drive increased lifetime value. By understanding this behavior, you can figure out what appeals to them and develop targeted marketing to entice them to make a purchase. Specifically, browse abandonment emails are a viable solution for tackling this problem. In fact, in comparison to regular promotional messages, browse abandonment emails see a 4x lift in conversion rates and a 6x rise in revenue per email for browse emails. [1] To maximize the effectiveness of these messages, be sure to include an image of the browsed item or product category with a link to complete the purchase. According to a study by Experian, conversion rates are twice as high for browse abandonment emails that dynamically display products. [2] These emails are also a great place to include product recommendations to allow customers to learn more about related items, which can lead them to make a larger order than you anticipated.

REVENUE PER EMAIL

$0.37THAT’S

3.5xTHE INDUSTRY

AVERAGE

4xLIFT IN CONVERSION

RATES

6xRISE IN REVENUE

PER EMAIL

g,

BROWSE ABANDONMENT CAMPAIGNS

LIFT IN CONVERSION RATES

6xRISE IN REVENUE

PER EMAIL

Source: http://myemma.com/brainiac/welcome

Building brand loyalty and retaining customers begins with the initial interaction, which is often before the first purchase is even made. Sending a welcome email to newsletter subscribers can be a way to give them the best introduction to your brand as possible. This tactic can also be used to welcome first time purchasers. TeeTurtle makes a branded first impression by incorporating clever messaging in their welcome email, like “You’ve chosen wisely, grasshopper.” They offer an incentive for subscribers while also indicating that further rewards will be sent via the newsletter. The message sets an expiration date on the initial discount and includes a strong call-to-action “Browse Last Chance” to create a sense of urgency and encourage the first purchase. They also use visuals to feature a variety of products, which makes their emails striking, memorable and effective.

The welcome series should be triggered immediately after the subscriber signs up for the newsletter. At this stage in the lifecycle, messages should also include important background information like company history, social media profiles, and what sets your brand apart from the competition.

THAT’S

86%MORE EFFECTIVE

THAN NEWSLETTERS

4xTHE OPEN RATE

50%

5x

AVG. INDUSTRYOPEN RATE

THE CLICK RATE OF BATCH & BLAST

g,

Welcome To The Family

33%MORE LONG-TERM

ENGAGEMENT, ON AVERAGE

SUBSCRIBER WELCOME SERIES

Welcome to the team! Once a customer makes their first purchase they become a New Kid Nancy. After she receives her order, it’s important to follow up with her to ensure she’s happy with her purchase, and also let her know how much you valued her order with a post-purchase thank you email series. She chose your brand and your products, now it’s time to keep her coming back to you for future purchases.

Reel him back in! One-Time Tom has also only bought from your store once. Unlike New Kid Nancy, he didn’t engage with your post-purchase thank you series. There’s still a chance to keep him engaged with a product education email seres to make sure he’s using his purchased items properly and keeping your brand top of mind.

He’s always in fashion! Trendy Trey is a customer who knows all about the latest trends. Buyers like Trey are super loyal, as long as you meet, or better, exceed, their high standards. Keep buyers like Trey opening your promotions by offering segmented promotions that are relevant to his interests and past purchases.

NEW KID NANCY

ONE-TIME TOM

TRENDY TREY

Many retailers don’t know a critical metric, latency, which is the number of days between purchases. The latency between 1st and 2nd purchases is a measure of loyalty, and the effectiveness of your retention strategy. But it is also an important signal of the length of time you likely need to nurture your new customers. If the median latency is 200 days, for example, then you likely need to have an automated cadence of marketing that slowly escalates towards promotional messages after 100 days, but does not expect people to make their 2nd purchase right away.

Source: http://www.emailstat-center.com/AutomatedMessag-es.html

For retailers the key time to strengthen customer relationships is immediately after their first purchase, while the brand is at the forefront of their mind. Every communication with your customers is ultimately an extension of your brand, so your brand identity should be emphasized throughout each message. In this message, eCreamery expresses the spirit of their brand by showcasing the variety of products they offer, explaining what makes them unique, and even suggesting multiple occasions when their products would make appropriate gifts.

But the first thing you should do in a post-purchase message is thank the customer for their order. As an added token of gratitude, eCreamery offers a discount incentive in their post-purchase emails to encourage repeat shoppers. They also include a buyer testimonial in the email to show that customer feedback is valued and appreciated.

These messages should be sent several days after the purchase is made to ensure that the customer has received their items in the mail.

HIGHER CLICK RATEFROM TRIGGERED

MESSAGES

80%

152%

PERCENT OF BRANDS SENDING THIS TYPE OF

MESSAGE

Thank You, Come Again

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Browse Abando¥ Segm

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POST PURCHASE THANK YOU SERIES

Source: https://www.campaign-monitor.com/blog/email-market-ing/2016/01/70-email-marketing-stats-you-need-to-know/

Retailers can strengthen their relationships with customers by offering relevant information about their products post-purchase. Product education emails demonstrate the value of your offerings and showcase that you care about your customers’ experience and satisfaction with their purchases. In addition, post-purchase educational email campaigns foster retention by serving to build customer loyalty and brand awareness, ensure the customer is actually using the product, increase opportunities for a second purchase, and decrease the likelihood of a return from user error.

Artbeads.com is determined to make sure that their customers are satisfied with their purchases and are knowledgeable on how to best use these items. They accomplish this through triggering automated product education emails after customers purchase certain products.

For example, this message is sent to customers who recently bought Epoxy Clay and offers a comprehensive instructional video for a specific craft project that uses that item. By offering product use advice in an easy-to-watch video, Artbeads.com showcases their commitment to customer service, which strengthens the B2C relationship.

HIGHER TRANSACTION RATES

FROM PERSONALIZED EMAILS

39%

6x

PERCENT OF ONLINE RETAILERS SENDING

PERSONALIZEDPRODUCT

RECOMMENDATIONS

Droppin’ Some Knowledge¥ F

¥ Reco¥ Replen

Browse Abando¥ Segm

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10%HIGHER

CONVERSIONSFROM

PERSONALIZEDEMAIL MESSAGES

PRODUCT EDUCATION SERIES

Sources: - http://mailchimp.com/resources/research/effects-of-list-segmenta-tion-on-email-marketing-stats/- https://www.campaignmon-itor.com/blog/email-market-ing/2016/01/70-email-marketing-stats-you-need-to-know/

Simply put, segmentation is the act of is dividing your customer list into distinct groups based on common traits, like purchase history or demographics. Implementing segmentation in a retail email marketing strategy ensures that each specific audience will receive messages and offers tailored just for them.

By narrowing the focus of marketing campaigns, retailers can better engage customers, increase email open and click rates, and boost revenue. In fact, for segmented messages open rates are 13% higher and click rates increase 52% when compared to average engagement rates of non-segmented promotional emails.[1]

Sailrite is a family-owned business that is a source of instruction and materials for amateur sailmakers and DIY enthusiasts. Sailrite uses our Custom Segment Builder to create targeted groups of customers and deliver more personalized messages. For example, they segmented their most recent Black Friday promotion, offering two different incentives based on purchase history.

Customers who purchased a certain sewing machine (one of their most popular items) received an offer related to that product. All other customers were offered a sale on the sewing machine. The segmented version had a 35.1% open rate and a 9.4% click rate, which was a more than 100% higher open rate and a 500% higher click rate than the other email.

[1]http://mailchimp.com/resources/research/effects-of-list-segmentation-on-email-marketing-stats/

HIGHER OPEN RATES

52%

13%

HIGHER CLICKRATES

The Perfect Fit

¥ F¥ Reco

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Browse Abando¥ Segm

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706%INCREASE IN

REVENUE NOTED BY MARKETERS

FROM SEGMENTED CAMPAIGNS

SEGMENTED PROMOTIONS

Hello, are you still there? Disappearing Desmond bought from your store, but it’s been months since you’ve seen him. It’s hard to know why; he may have been disappointed with a purchase or gone over to a competitor. The important thing to know is that he is at risk for churning. Continue to engage him with win-back messages and he may come around.

She’s never met a deal she didn’t like! Coupon Christie is on a quest to find great deals. She never pays full price and she always compares prices across retailers. A cart recovery email may be the reminder she needs to remain loyal to your brand. However, she may try to game your system by abandoning her cart to see if she’ll receive a coupon. With anti-gaming technology in these emails, she will not receive an incentive each time she abandons her cart.

He’s going back to back! Repeat Pete loves consistency and convenience and you can rely on him to buy from you again and again. While he is a great customer, Pete makes the same medium-sized order every time and doesn’t readily try new products from you. Keep Pete well-stocked ahead of time with all his favorite products with automated replenishment emails.

DISAPPEARING DESMOND

COUPON CHRISTIE

REPEAT PETE

She’s the real MVP! Cheerleader Cheryl is a loyalist. A consistent purchaser from you, Cheryl loves testing your latest and greatest products. Reward Cheryl for being an awesome customer with personalized best customer messages, special promotions and exclusive offers.

CHEERLEADER CHERYL

Baby, Come Back

Keeping customers engaged can be a difficult task. At times, some customers’ buying patterns will be become lax. It costs 6 to 7 times more to gain a new customer than keep an existing one. [1]

[1]www.bain.com/Images/Value_online_customer_loyalty_you_capture.pdf

Because of this, developing email marketing campaigns to win back churning customers just makes sense. Win-Back emails are a great way to remind customers about your brand and the value you provide. In this example, CablesAndKits expresses that customers are a cherished asset to their business, and shows appreciation by including an incentive for the chance of winning them back. CablesAndKits also uses a clever image that suggests how puzzled they are by their customer’s absence, and a “Please Come Back” message. To further personalize these messages, CablesAndKits segments 45%

OF RECIPIENTSREAD SUBSEQUENT

MESSAGES

their win-back series based on purchase frequency: one message for 1-2x buyers and the other for 3+ time buyers. The 1-2x series is triggered based on the customer’s last order date, while the 3+ series is sent based on the individual customer’s predicted order date. Combined, both series have average 20.8% open and 1.7% click rates.

¥ Custom

¥ Reco¥ Replen

¥

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/re-turn_path/how-to-master-the-email-winback-campaign

12%AVERAGE OPEN

RATE

COST OF ACQUIRING A NEW CUSTOMER

IS 6x THE COST OF KEEPING

AN EXISTINGCUSTOMER

WIN-BACK SERIES

¥ Seg

Reckless Abandon

Shopping cart abandonment is an ever-growing issue for the eCommerce industry, with the average online retailer experiencing 65% shopping cart abandonment for a total of nearly $4 trillion worth of merchandise lost each year. [1]

Automated cart recovery emails are the most effective solution for alleviating shopping cart abandonment. In fact, with our three-part cart recovery campaigns, our clients experience average recovery rates up to 15%, more than seven times the industry norm.

pet n’GO, a Mexican-based online retailer of pet goods, was already using cart recovery emails before they joined Windsor Circle. However, their abandoned shopping cart campaigns became more effective once they also implemented an overall lifecycle marketing strategy. In fact, their first cart recovery message is their most profitable automated email, responsible for nearly 50% of their revenue from data-driven marketing. This email does not include an incentive, but rather simply asks if the customer needs help completing their order. Their cart recovery series as a whole has great engagement rates with an average 32% open rate and 6% click rate.

[1]www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-retailers-can-reduce-shopping-cart-aban-

donment-and-recoup-billions-of-dollars-in-lost-sales-2014-4

$4 TRILLIONWORTH OF LOST MERCHANDISE

¥ Custom

¥ Reco¥ Replen

¥

65%AVERAGE

SHOPPING CARTABANDONMENT

RATE

THAT’S

SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT CAMPAIGN

¥ Seg

Would You Like A Refill?

Another great way to continue an ongoing relationship with customers and your brand is to send replenishment messages for consumable goods. Replenishment

[1]www.bain.com/Images/Value_online_customer_loyalty_you_capture.pdf

is a powerful driver for repeat business, and can drive customer loyalty, retention, and consistent revenue. Using data to automate messages to their individual customers, retailers can know their customers’ needs before they do.

USCutter uses our Replenishment Automator to power their replenishment messages at just the right time in the product lifecycle. They send two replenishment messages: the first one week before the replenishment date, and the second on the day before the anticipated replenishment date. Replenishment has been a substantial revenue driver for 10%

LIFT IN ORDERS

¥ Custom

¥ Reco¥ Replen

¥

7%LIFT IN

CONVERSION RATE

$1.03REVENUE PER EMAIL

USCutter. With Replenishment Automator messages, their revenue per email is $.46. This is significantly higher than the industry average of only $0.11 per email, as well as the revenue per email for their weekly newsletter which is $0.36.

THAT’S

9.3xTHE INDUSTRY

AVERAGE

AUTOMATED PRODUCT REPLENISHMENT

¥ Seg

You’re So Very Special

Customer retention is about enhancing the buyer’s experience and strengthening their relationship with your brand. The goal is to make every buyer a retained customer, which we define as someone who has purchased from you three or more times. These customers are worth more to your brand in the long run based on CLV. Your best customers are the small group that are most valuable to you over time based on frequent purchases with large order values. Once your best customers reach this point, you should reward them. There are many ways to reward your best customers, such as special discounts, VIP experiences, and exclusive events. Retailers who are strategic in offering discounts will save higher markdowns and related promotions for only their best customers, yielding great results.

Using Windsor Circle, CoffeeForLess identifies their best customers and sends an email to all qualifying purchasers thanking them for their loyalty. As a form of appreciation, they offer this group an exclusive 7% discount. This email is sent twice, an initial email and then a re-email to customers two days after, if the original email has not been opened. Combined, these two emails have generated more than $1 million in revenue.

¥ Custom

¥ Reco¥ Replen

¥

67%MORE PER

TRANSACTION FROMRETURN CUSTOMERS

80%AVERAGE PERCENT

OF REVENUEDRIVEN BY BEST

CUSTOMERS

77%PERCENT OF CUSTOMERS

THAT ARE MORE LIKELY TO BUY APRODUCT WHEN

THEY HEAR ABOUT ITFROM FAMILY & FRIENDS

BEST CUSTOMER SERIES

Source : http://citygro.com/mind-blow-ing-loyalty-and-marketing-stats/

¥ Seg

The Customer Lifetime Value GameNow you know why lifecycle marketing is integral to building and maintaining customer relationships. Another facet of this approach that will give you an even better sense of who your customers are is persona marketing. This is the practice of creating fictional characters that represent your customers to help inform tone of voice, content, and messaging. Personalization is the key to emails that resonate with your audience and encourage them to continue their relationship with your brand.

Our Customer Lifetime Value game details some of the most common personas you’ll likely encounter in your customer base like One-Time Tom, Discount Dina or Repeat Pete. You can categorize different personas by their stage in the customer journey, and then develop targeted messaging to move them to the next phase of your relationship.

Through lifecycle marketing, retailers can move potential customers from non-purchasers, to two-time purchasers, to three-time purchasers, and down the line to loyal, brand evangelists.

READY TO CONVERT GUESTS INTO BEST CUSTOMERS?

PLAY THE GAME AT:

VISIT WWW.WINDSORCIRCLE.COM/CLV

g,¥ Custom

¥ F¥ Reco

¥ Replen

Browse Abando¥ Segm

¥ Custo¥ Reco¥ Seg

¥ Rep

¥ Seg

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¥¥ Recomm

¥ Recom

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