George is the magazine for St.George Bank’s corporate customers. Aimed at executive-level readers, it features customer case studies, news, articles on emerging business and management trends, product information, lifestyle features and more.
Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/48224
also schedules regular meetings and calls with our install base to ensure they have the most up-to-date tools to maximise their software usage." The company's annual customer conference also allows customers to showcase what they have been working on, enabling them to network and share ideas and best practices with peers and other customers. "We know that our customers can demonstrate a greater return on their investment [ROI] through increased user adoption," says Andrew. "We ensure each and every contact with the customer is aimed at identifying these areas of incremental ROI." Andrew says the next step is to investigate using social media such as LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter to engage further with customers. Diversification 101 Protecting your core customer base as the company grows and diversifies means you can't treat all customers the same, says Anton. "It's okay to diversify. It's just understanding how that product or service that you're diversifying could be relevant to the customers. Sometimes it won't, sometimes it will. And even if it's not [relevant to them], they might be able to recommend you to someone they know." "It's all about remaining true to the core or the DNA of who you are and then people will give you a lot of leeway to extend and to move within that brand," says Michele Havas, a partner at marketing strategy consultancy, tripod. "It's important to stay true to your brand values and be really consistent in the way you communicate, regardless of the extensions to your brand or your product line." And if you are pushing the boundaries and trying to diversify, Michele says if you continue to listen to customers and their feedback, respond as appropriate and make them feel as much brand owners as you are, "then they will go on the journey with you to diversify. They will embrace the diversification instead of seeing it as a threat or critiquing it." An obvious yet perfect example of this is Apple. "It doesn't matter what they do, people believe in the core values of the company, which [are] about innovation, about being a challenger, At a glance • To identify core customers, businesses must look at engagement and advocacy. • Generating goodwill among customers is a highly effective way to promote your business. • To keep high-value customers loyal, give them preferential treatment. Make them feel special and don't treat them as a number. Don't be too focused on the next sell. • Know your customers and know what's relevant to them and involve them in your journey. • Use high-value customers to help spread the word in media and social networks. • It can cost six times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. Communication is essential ... follow-up is the single most valuable sales tool there is. [being] entrepreneurial. It doesn't matter how far they push it or how far they extend, people are willing them on." Communication is essential, says Erik, and "follow-up is the single most valuable sales tool there is. Every time that you had contact with one of your clients, make a note of it and then send some form of follow- up to them." This can be communicated by email, text, a call or post. "I have seen businesses gain more turnover simply by making their follow-up religiously prompt and reliable." And don't fall into the trap of underestimating the network of your core customers, says Anton. "Don't be afraid to get to know your best customers and involve them in your journey. Use them to help spread the word in media and social networks. Don't think about it as just, 'I found the high-value customer'. Companies should be talking about 'my customer social network'." Anton says many brands spend time and money on acquisition campaigns, trying to increase their database. "Why pay six times as much to keep trying to find people [for] my database when I've got them there?" he says. "I should probably focus on making them feel better, getting to know them, building better experiences and not just talking about them but trying to find out about them, their partner, their kids, their influenced friends that they can also bring into the brand." Though taking this more organic, grassroots approach isn't something new, digital and social media have brought it back into the limelight. After all, the best way to generate goodwill is for satisfied customers to spread the good word for you. "We've been social beasts since day dot. But it's being able to harness the speed and what we can actually do with that now to make it so much better. Harness that with your current customers and they'll go out and find those people for you." www.stgeorge.com.au/george George 9