Attract, Convert, Close, Delight and Then What?

Attract, Convert, Close, Delight and Then What?

Attract, Convert, Close, Delight. If you are an inbound marketer this is your mantra. Tell me truthfully, do you spend an equal amount of time nurturing customers in each stage? Most of the marketers I talk to tell me that they spend less and less time as they move through the stages of the inbound methodology.

Marketers spend most of their attention thinking about the 'Attract,' 'Convert,' and 'Close' stages of the inbound marketing cycle. Even the marketers that make delighting their customers a priority do so with the hopes of an upsell. I get it, we're marketers, we like to focus on what we can measure. Plus, it's the product team's responsibility to improve the product.

The truth is, measuring delight is really easy. Here are 3 ways to measure 'delight' and leverage delighted customers to generate revenue.

How to Measure 'Delight'

Our SaaS customers know the importance of achieving product/market fit. Let's face it, it's way easier to market a product that flies off the shelves.

Measuring delight doesn't have to be difficult. The simplest way to figure out how happy your customers are with your product is to ask them 1 question; "Would you refer our product to a friend or colleague?"

This question is so important that it is considered The Ultimate Question, and is used to calculate your businesses's Net Promoter Score®. The question is answered on a scale of 1-10. If the customer answers a 9 or higher, they are considered a 'promoter.' If the customer answers between a 7-8 they are considered 'passive.' Anybody that answers below a 7 is a 'detractor.'

The Net Promoter Score® is then calculated by subtracting the percentage of promoters by the percentage of detractors to arrive at a number between -100 & 100. Voila! You now have a tangible metric to take to your product team. 'Close the loop' by working with them to develop an appropriate process for following up with any 'detractors.'

Delight for Reviews

The primary reason marketers try to delight their users is to upsell existing customers. This is only one way to use happy customers to increase revenue. You can leverage a happy customer for new business as well.

Our ecommerce customers know how important reviews are for driving business. According to a 2013 Nielsen study, 68% of consumers trust fellow consumer opinions posted online. The number of consumers that trust online opinions has increased 7% since 2007. According to Nielsen, consumer opinions posted online are the 3rd most trustworthy form of advertising.

A simple way to increase your positive reviews online is to ask! The secret is to ask the right users. After administering your NPS® survey you should have successfully segmented your users into 'detractors,' 'passives' and 'promoters.' Use Boolean logic (many survey services provide this) to display a request to leave a public review of your product. If Boolean logic is too complicated, a simple reminder email will work just fine.

By proactively presenting your users with the NPS® question first, you are able to maintain transparency and solicit reviews in a positive way.

Delight for Revenue

As we learned above, the 3rd most trusted form of online advertising is consumer opinions. Guess what form of advertising holds the top spot? Recommendations from people the shopper knows! Since long before the internet, word-of-mouth marketing has been king when it comes to new business. Following the inbound marketing process will help you generate more word-of-mouth referrals.

If you are following the inbound marketing mantra, your customer has already proceeded through all 4 stages of the inbound methodology. You have taken the time to educate your customer about the value of your product before purchase. You have successfully trained your customer after purchase to the point of mastery. You have created something much more valuable than a sale. You have trained a new brand ambassador!

Time to put your ambassador to work! By implementing a referral marketing program you are able to turbo-charge a customer that is already promoting your brand through word-of-mouth marketing. For more information on implementing a successful referral campaign I recommend the following 3 whitepapers:

• Building an Effective Referral Program
• Choose the Right Incentive Structure for Your Ambassador Program
• Turning Customers Into Brand Ambassadors

Summary

• Measuring customer sentiment isn't hard. Use the Net Promoter Score® to see how delighted your customers are.
• Work with the right internal teams to build a process around implementing detractor feedback.
• Solicit reviews from customers that are considered promoters.
• Don't waste your customer's education (that you paid for). Implement a referral program and put them to work!

Congratulations! You are able to now measure the effect that delighting your customers has on your bottom line.

Net Promoter, Net Promoter System, NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks and registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld and are being used under license.