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How to Convert Social Media Contacts into Customers

Step 5 – Opportunity

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Step 6 - WON

In this last stage, I highlight how, once you have won the customer, you should retain existing customers and identify new opportunities. By using the PRM approach, you can ensure that the prospects you secure are suited for your company—and will keep coming back for more.

Future Plans

So you’ve secured a sale and won yourself a customer. Congratulations! That’s something to celebrate. But the work doesn’t stop now. The next steps you take are crucial to keeping them around.

The Facts and Figures

Of course, a successful conversion from a prospect into a customer doesn’t mean the end of the road for that person. There are real benefits to dedicating time and effort to keep the customers already under your wing.

44% of companies prioritise getting new business from new customers. However, it costs five times as much to do this compared to customer retention costs. In fact, you are far more likely to sell successfully to existing customers than to new customers—a rate of 60-70% compared to 5-20% for new customers. That’s a lot of money, time and effort dedicated for getting new customers that aren’t likely to bite. (Source)

Therefore, companies that prioritise getting new customers over retaining their existing customers are at risk of leaving them behind. Existing customers can feel neglected, which is only worsened if they see promotion and offers for new customers whilst there are no ‘loyalty rewards’ for those you’ve already won over. A particularly key moment for existing customers is when something has gone wrong with the service/product, but you haven’t provided support.

Consequently, they will believe you have nothing to offer—even if you do upgrades! This is when customers turn rapidly from advocates into adversaries, and their disgruntled reviews will harm your reputation.

Megaphone Missions

The idea, then, is to turn your customers into advocates. That way they do some of the legwork for you. Obviously, leads are going to trust another everyday person over a company clearly trying to sell.

So far on your journey through PRM NOW, you’ve already won them over enough to trust you. A prospect that comes to you through this avenue has already skipped the Post and React stages. Therefore they need to Managed and Nurtured to get you that sale again.

Feedback For Your Future

But turning customers into advocates isn’t a done deal. It’s not a hurdle to overcome and forget about—you have to keep up your efforts to make sure their opinion of you doesn’t sour. So your continued presence is key: you have to keep them interested in you, and tell them that you’re still interested in them. Continuing to send content that will catch their attention is a fundamental aspect of this.

As mentioned above, great customer service is another major way you can create advocates: everyone has had a terrible customer service experience, so making yours excellent will help you stand out that much more for it. The quicker, simpler and more helpful you are, the more likely customers are going to sing your praises.

Another way is to offer rewards and upgrades, as this helps to keep you in contact with your customers. But it also singles out your customers and rewards their loyalty. Making customers feel valued is a top priority in turning your customers into advocates.

Alternatively, you will make them feel valued by asking for feedback. The more importance you put on this, the more your customers are likely to participate. Not only does this help improve your business and practices, it also allows the customer to feel as if they have contributed to the business. Plus, offering a reward at the end of the feedback will make the effort even more appealing.

Using Your CRM

Your CRM has all the information you need about your customers. You know them, their interests, and you know what pages and emails they’ve clicked on.

So use that information! The ultimate goal is to nurture your customers into buying again, and then advocating for your company. You can set up your CRM to find, follow and then nurture their progress after they’ve made the initial purchase.

Are they visiting customer support pages? Drop them an email or give them a call. A sense of concern and collaboration will reassure your customer that you have their experience at heart.

What about that contact information—do you know when their birthday is? Send them a ‘happy birthday’ email. See them as the individual they are, and show them you see them this way.

What sort of plan is attached to the product/service they’ve brought? Are there other plans they might be interested in, or is theirs almost running out? Your CRM can send them reminders; all you need to set up the rule.

Your CRM software is a powerful tool that can transform your business’ customer retention rate. If you want to find out more, you can read our page on CARTS—how to use PRM for customer retention.

Individuals, Not Numbers

In conclusion, you need to appreciate your existing customers for their custom and reward their loyalty. Most importantly, listen to what they’re saying, however they’re talking to you. Treat them like prospects—use prospect scoring just like you would on a new customer—and keep them in the loop. If they’re a hot prospect again and ready to buy, or whether they’re in danger of leaving, make sure they know you’re there to talk to them.

This PRM approach works with the features that popcorn offer. By making the most of popcorn’s CRM, sales pipelines, automations and reminders, you can visualise your sales process and segment your contacts to focus on the prospects that really matter.

If it all goes well, you could increase your conversion rate by up to 200%, and achieve a typical ROI of £185 for every pound spent. It requires a behaviour change, but the results really do pay off!

Step 1 – POST (4 mins) 

‘NURTURE’ is about cultivating your leads, so that the opportunities stand out. 

Step 2 – REACT (5 mins) 

‘REACT’ discusses how to drive more ‘POST’ engagement and how to identify time wasters and real prospects.

Step 1 – MANAGE (3 mins) 

‘MANAGE’ is a vital part of converting your Social Media Contacts whilst ensuring that leads are not missed.

Step 4 – NURTURE (4 mins) 

‘NURTURE’ is about cultivating your leads, so that the opportunities stand out. 

Step 5 – OPPORTUNITY (5 mins) 

‘OPPORTUNITY’ goes though how to turn all the opportunities and successfully spot the HOT prospects.

 

Step 6 – WON (6 mins) 

Now you’ve “WON” the customer, what should you do to turn them into advocates?

 

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