It's common knowledge that customers are the most crucial component of every business, regardless of size. However, business is more than just closing a single deal or sale. Companies that put a high priority on customer lifecycle management CLM have the potential to attract first-time prospects and turn them into loyal customers a lot more successfully. Businesses use CLM as a complete strategy to build meaningful and lasting relationships with their customers.
In this blog post we will cover what customer lifecycle management is, what are the stages of CLM, why it is important and how to manage it:
The journey that potential customers take to become your customers and engage with your brand is known as the customer lifecycle. Customer lifecycle management, or CLM, is the process of monitoring and evaluating each phase of the customer's lifetime, giving each stage a statistic, and evaluating your company's performance using those metrics.
The five stages of the customer lifetime include awareness, consideration, conversion, retention, and loyalty. So, creating plans and strategies to handle the particular opportunities and difficulties that each stage presents is crucial to effective CLM.
Customers generally take identical actions, regardless of the products or services offered by your brand. It might help you understand how your company is performing at every point of the customer lifecycle to take the time to carefully examine these processes.
Companies that want to build strong, long-lasting relationships with their customers need to use customer lifecycle management CLM effectively. Live platform can help you bulild unify and centralize communication with your customers from all channels in a simple-to-use way.
Businesses use customer lifecycle management to understand every step of a customer's relationship with a brand, from the initial purchase through advocacy. Thus, by addressing these needs and issues, businesses can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, which increases customer retention and profitability.
The customer lifecycle offers an in-depth analysis of a company's activities as well, enabling decision-makers to keep making astute choices regarding customer service and corporate development. Additionally, it helps companies identify areas for development and improve the customer experience. The useful insights gained enhance the overall customer experience and allow companies to maintain their competitive edge.
Higher customer retention, advocacy, and loyalty are the ultimate results of effective CLM. Companies that place a high priority on building strong relationships with customers can cultivate a loyal customer base that promotes the brand, brings in recurring revenue, and offers opportunities for growth.
The customer lifecycle describes the journey a customer takes from the time of their initial contact with your business until long after they have established a strong loyalty. Nevertheless, there are five stages in the customer lifecycle:
Every new customer's journey starts at the awareness stage, which is the time when they first become aware of your business and show interest in your products or services. Here, the presence and exposure of your brand through SEO, social media marketing, digital marketing initiatives, and other inbound and outbound techniques can direct the potential customer to get in contact with you for more information.
You may increase your online visibility and make it easier for prospective customers to find you by using seamless automated solutions to run campaigns and improve social media interaction.
At this point, potential customers are considering your service and comparing their options with competitors. This stage goal is to give new customers the knowledge and tools they need to make informed choices. Product demos, reviews, testimonials, and comparison guides are some of the strategies companies use at this stage. However, the potential lead will become a customer if they have a positive experience at this stage.
A prospect turns into a paying customer during the conversion stage, but your effort is not yet done. After a customer completes the purchase, you should start building a basis for future customer loyalty and retention. Additionally, the goal of this stage is to simplify and expedite the purchasing process. Businesses may employ several payment alternatives, provide free trials, and guarantee prompt and effective delivery as strategies throughout this stage.
Retention, one of the most crucial phases in your customer's lifecycle, involves turning an initial purchase into a relationship. You may be sure that your customer will continue with your brand for their next transaction and any next ones if you give the retention stage enough attention. According to the statistics, 65% of the average company's revenue comes from existing customers
Though, it involves constant value delivery, personalized involvement, and continuing contact. Businesses may lower attrition and raise lifetime value by nurturing customer loyalty.
Long-term advocacy and loyalty are the main goals of the loyalty stage. Loyal and satisfied customers spread the word about the company by recommending it to others and writing positive testimonials. Besides, businesses can gain from enhanced customer retention, organic growth, and a great brand reputation by building strong relationships with customers. According to the Forbes, current customers are 50% more likely to try out new products
Furthermore, businesses may use strategies like loyalty programs, special deals, and personalized experiences at this stage to reward and keep their most loyal customers.
Customer lifecycle management implementation requires an in-depth strategy and constant effort. To get you going, consider these useful steps:
Identifying who your target audience is the first step in managing the awareness stage of your customer lifetime. Firstly, determine who your target market is and develop buyer personas to learn about their preferences, pain issues, and demographics. You can more effectively adjust your CLM activities with this knowledge.
Establish how your hypothetical ideal customer finds out about your company, then create a focused advertising strategy to entice them.
Providing relevant content with customers on your website, blog, and social media networks is another component of managing your reach stage. Infographics, templates, industry-specific data, and even online courses can all be considered content. Track how users interact with various website pages to get information on what elements of your communication are effective. Moreover, this helps establish the credibility of your brand and presents your company as a reliable resource.
Self-service resources are a great way to encourage a customer to stay engaged with your brand during the acquisition stage of the customer lifecycle. Further, provide self-help resources on your website, such as tutorials, knowledge bases, and FAQs. Encouraging customers to solve problems on their own improves their experience and lowers support expenses.
Make an investment in outstanding customer service. Building relationships with potential customers and establishing them with your products can be managed by providing self-service tools and comprehensive customer support options even before a purchase.
In addition, answer questions quickly, offer tailored support, and guarantee customer satisfaction at every stage of the process. Positive relationships with customer care agents have a big influence on customer loyalty.
Simplify the purchasing procedure to reduce friction and eliminate conversion barriers. In addition, offers a variety of payment methods, streamlines checkout processes, and gives customers clear product information to help with decisions.
At the conversion stage, offering significant assistance options both during and right after a purchase decision is crucial. Offer live chat, phone support, or email assistance to potential customers in order to resolve their questions or concerns during the acquisition phase. Being easily accessible can contribute to increasing confidence and trust in your brand.
After a customer makes a purchase, remember to stay in touch with them. Making your customers feel important is crucial for managing the retention stage of your customer lifecycle.
Send personalized thank-you notes, offer special discounts, and make relevant product suggestions. Personalization encourages repeat purchase and strengthens the relationship with customers.
Related article: How to create a personalized customer experience
Another crucial component of the retention stage is automating the management and communication with your customers.
Use technology and automation tools to maximize the efficiency and scope of your CLM initiatives. Track customer interactions, automate personalized communications, and effectively manage customer data by utilizing customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.
Ensuring brand loyalty is the last step of customer lifetime management. Engage in proactive customer feedback gathering, and motivate satisfied customers to write reviews and recommend your company to others. Also, positive feedback and recommendations create social proof, bringing in potential customers and improving confidence in your company.
In the current competitive environment, when customer expectations are higher than ever, CLM is a powerful differentiation. Develop support plans for each stage of the customer lifecycle to help your team provide better customer experiences.
Building long-term relationships with customers and promoting corporate success need effective customer lifecycle management CLM. Take this journey, invest in customer-centricity, and watch as your company expands to new heights.
Learn more about how the Live product family can help you support and improve your customer experience strategy.
