Marketers must become true customer advocates, using retention marketing programs to prove your brand's loyalty to the customer, not the other way around.
This approach delivers unexpected value to customers who reward you with increased revenue, profits and ROI.
This is a business and mind-set shift.
According to Forrester Research, true customer advocacy is achieved only when customers perceive a company will always do what's best for the customer, not what's best for its bottom line.
How does this play out in the real world where customers are targets at which marketers take aim? Make Understanding Customer Reality Your Mission Achieving customer advocacy means fully understanding your customers' reality with your brand.
The emotional component needs to be recognized and addressed.
Since a customer's impression is always tied directly to her last encounter with your brand, both positive and negative experiences are relevant.
To make a personal and emotional connection, consumers: "Must have confidence they will be heard and matter.
"Must trust the company from which they buy.
"Seek a human face, or personification, of the brand.
"Ultimately, want you (the brand) to make a positive contribution to their life.
Now take this information and turn it on its head, building touch points that demonstrate your loyalty to consumers by addressing their wants and needs.
Do this by: "Creating unexpected customer experiences.
"Demonstrating that you put customers first.
"Offering transparency in dealing with customers.
How? First, stop thinking of your customers as numbers and targets.
Put a human, friendly face on your customer just as your customers want to put a human face on your brand.
Then, nurture relationships over time and provide numerous opportunities for valued interactions.
Finally, admit mistakes and know that with trust comes forgiveness.
Be personal if you haven't been in touch, thank them for past business that has not been unacknowledged, or ask them to please come back and try your brand again.
Doing so makes your brand a real friend and not an abstract concept.
You are building the value of the relationship and, ultimately, profitability.
Behaving personally increases the strength of brand association, helps you outpace customer satisfaction expectations and produces the highest predictive power for cross-sell potential.
Talk to me Customer dialogue is key to any relationship, especially if it is in play.
Customers who are included in retention programs do demonstrate higher loyalty.
But don't be fooled by higher satisfaction ratings.
Customer satisfaction does not equal loyalty and it is loyalty and customer retention that we are after.
So what you say and how you say it has to come from the same friendly, customer advocacy point of view.
Speak to customers in a relevant, motivating manner which reinforces their brand choice.
In the new inverted world of customer retention, only the actions of customers define success.
Provide the encouragement for them to remain active with your brand.
Do this through a variety of unexpected communications and always use the "like a friend" analogy.
Like a friend, you might "Let her know you can help her with her finances "Give her a gift now and then to remind her she is special "Throw her a party or special event "Always, always say "thank you" "Welcome her home if she's been away "Share good new and good deals with her first "Help her get what she's always wanted "Miss her when she's gone and write to stay in touch.
Database Enhancements Because you want customers who engage in profitable behavior, you need the data they create through their interactions to help define best customers, customer trends, cross-sell and up-sell opportunities and marketing program ROI.
All marketers of size should do quantitative data collection, data mining and qualitative research that results in a scoring system to apply model rules to their customer universe.
The resulting data drives strategic insights to develop new products, services and marketing programs.
Your database should also have the following six enhanced capabilities to fully explore what you know about your customers and give you the data you need to modify existing retention programs or create new ones.
Predictive modeling and analysis Identifies who is most likely to respond, purchase, churn.
Customer profiling and segmentation Understand who your prospects and customers are.
Customer surveys and qualitative research Find out from customers how satisfied they are, how they perceive your product or service or what their needs and attitudes are.
Geographic analysis and mapping Map your prospects and customers and analyze their locations relative to yours.
Marketing program development Design data-driven strategies to reach targeted segments, then validate and execute marketing programs.
Marketing database analysis Discover the best, most effective ways to leverage the data contained in your marketing database.
Customer Matrix Data collection and analysis will allow you to construct a relationship matrix ROI, which assigns every customer to a spot on the grid predicting spending based on the longevity and strength of their relationship.
Your actions as a brand and a customer advocate can move those prospects and customers across the grid to the top tier of highest frequency, highest volume consumer-those delivering the highest ROI.
These are the customers whom you want to monitor continuously.
Delivering Unexpected Value Achieving customer advocacy can help your brand deliver the unexpected value that drives consumer sales, profitability and improved marketing ROI.
Be sure your retention programs are based on: "Meeting your customer's emotional needs "Delivering on relevant promises "Capturing customer insights "Monitoring best customers continuously "Managing expectations then over-delivering.
This shift in thinking will result in programs that more fully engage your best customers, who happen to be the very best friends your brand has.