Every business or public figure wants a constant flow of attention towards what they offer. A customer making a purchase is great, but if that customer buys two, three, four times—it’s even better! This indicates loyalty to the brand and alignment with its values. But how can you achieve this result?
The answer is (relatively) simple: with lifecycle marketing! After the initial conversion—such as a purchase or signing up for a mailing list—you must not abandon the customer. Instead, you should accompany them step-by-step to make them feel closely connected to the brand. Here’s how to build customer loyalty through lifecycle marketing!
The stages of lifecycle marketing
This marketing strategy is quite complex because it consists of several stages, each requiring a tailored approach across all channels, from SEO to social media to traditional marketing. Despite the complexity, it is absolutely worth it: a happy, engaged customer will not only keep buying from the same brand but will also become a free advocate for your values and products.
- Awareness: The first phase of lifecycle marketing and the initial point of contact with new customers. At this stage, your task is to attract new users through organic, paid, or traditional techniques. People will begin to recognise your logo and colors, and they might start to take an interest in what you have to offer.
- Engagement: If the customer is genuinely interested in what you offer, they will likely seek out your products or brand and begin to gather information and engage. This is the engagement phase, and it’s one of the most crucial! It’s here that the user decides whether to make a purchase or if it’s just a fleeting interest. Make sure to have a well-designed website, be active on social media, answer any questions, provide valuable content, and interact whenever possible.
- Conversion: If the second phase goes well, the user is likely convinced and decides to make a purchase, subscribe to your newsletter, or contact you, turning into a lead. Fantastic! This is what all entrepreneurs aim for. But it doesn’t end here: even if this is a good milestone, it doesn’t mean it’s the last conversion from this customer. Your goal now is to make them feel comfortable and continue guiding them towards further conversions.
- Loyalty: After the purchase, your goal is to make the customer feel at ease and ideally guide them toward another conversion. Utilise all the tools of lifecycle marketing: from an engaging newsletter to seasonal promotions, from excellent post-purchase support to a follow-up to get feedback on the purchase. This phase is crucial for keeping the customer connected to your brand and the values it represents. The aim is to turn them from a mere consumer into an enthusiast who shares the fantastic experience they had with your products. This final phase holds the most long-term value, so make sure to keep it as engaging and original as possible while considering your target audience!
How to develop a lifecycle strategy
To create an effective lifecycle marketing plan, you must start by understanding your target audience. If your company targets businesses by offering a service that simplifies inventory management, for example, a newsletter on the latest legislative updates and blog articles on the benefits of organised inventory are great content ideas. On the other hand, if you’re a supermarket, flyers, discounts, and promotions for loyal customers are the best way to encourage purchases.
In any case, content is king in lifecycle marketing. Only through a well-thought-out content marketing strategy can you truly add value to the user after their initial purchase, turning them into a loyal follower of your brand. Therefore, it’s necessary to create buyer personas and use them as a starting point to develop an effective editorial plan.
The ultimate goal is always to increase profit margins: the cost per conversion is usually higher when attracting new users who are not yet familiar with your brand. In contrast, those already in the funnel—who know and interact with your brand—are easier to persuade to make additional purchases. This leads to more efficient investments, higher profit margins, and happier customers. What could be better?
A concrete example of lifecycle marketing
Let’s look at a concrete example to better understand this type of marketing. “Lucia Viaggi” is a travel agency that wants to implement a lifecycle marketing strategy to increase repeat trips from customers. Lucia decided to go all out to offer a complete post-travel experience for those returning from summer vacations.
In addition to a newsletter with a promotion for Christmas holidays, she started offering weekend packages in cities hosting major fairs or food festivals, or coinciding with notable art events. Moreover, she sought partnerships for culinary trips with renowned restaurants, targeting all kinds of customers.
She created a newsletter and blog content to inform people about these events and showcase her all-inclusive offers. Additionally, she included these promotions on the blog to entice new users to subscribe to the newsletter. The combination of personalised packages for various targets and buyer personas certainly boosts brand awareness and conversions—hitting two birds with one stone!
As you can see, lifecycle marketing represents an alternative approach to customer loyalty. Instead of focusing solely on a single conversion, you can offer a series of personalised and valuable solutions that can convince the customer to remain loyal to the brand that once made them happy. Identify the stages and target, create custom content for each phase, and monitor performance to see if the strategy is working or needs adjustments.
