Where and how should marketers be looking for these potential customers? The key to finding and acquiring customers is to use as many tools as possible. Often companies fail to implement a wide variety of acquisition strategies, capping success—and revenues. A survey by JupiterResearch in 2004 found a wide variety of channels for acquiring customer e-mail addresses—that key first step in building a relationship with a new customer.
What was surprising about the results of this survey was how many companies do not take relatively simple steps to capture customer data. Only one in three companies e-mail contact information from client e-mails to customer service—indicating that two-thirds are letting this valuable information slip away.
Another survey conducted by Forrester Research shows similar results. Interestingly, co-registration—a simple and inexpensive way to gather prospects from third-party sites—is used by only 17% of B2C marketers.
The basic idea that we are trying to impart here is to reach out to consumers in a wide variety of channels, not limiting yourself merely to a link on your Web site or creating a newsletter.
Statistics have also revealed how customers don’t usually like to give their personal details online for various reasons. If anything, they are most likely to have provided information in situations where there is no choice – for instance, when closing a transaction.
However, the statistics below, from Quris, show that many have provided information voluntarily, in order to receive information from the company, or to participate in raffles. Perhaps, the most interesting fact of all is that nearly one-fifth agreed to provide the information because it was asked for. This implies how important permission is to the process of acquiring customers.
The value of customer data erodes over time if it is not kept up to date. Similarly, the value of a customer erodes without regular contact. Once you acquire new customers, don’t neglect them.
Remember to:
- Recognize the challenge before creating your online forms.
- Get permission from your clients to gather their data. Customers always love knowing they are in control.
- Use forms on your own sites as well as on third-party sites to gather customer data.
- Design relevant forms to gather only the data that you need.
- Capture every single bit of information u need.
- Pay attention to privacy concerns.
- Convert prospects in to customers by keeping in touch with them through newsletters, promotional items and so forth.
- Track your surveys and campaigns to determine success rates.
Well said, thanks.
Comment by tboehm30 — March 5, 2009 @ 2:20 pm |