Brands are going to spend more money saying ‘thank you’

In the world of experiential marketing, gaining attention and new customers are key benchmarks. As an industry, we’re constantly looking at ways to make our clients marketing spend work harder.
But there’s another critical factor to consider that sometimes gets overlooked: retention of acquired customers. It’s one thing to gain attention, to deliver new customers to a brand. But what keeps those customers then talking about your brand, and what ensures that they become long-term brand advocates?
A simple way to ensure increased and sustained customer loyalty is to spend more time and money saying ‘thank you’ to those people who have bought into your brand.
And when brands do this in clever, fun and creative ways, they can really stand out from the crowd.
After-sales are a key part of the experience. Marketing success isn’t just about attracting and engaging a customer to a point where they purchase. It’s also about giving them something they value, once they have bought into the brand and then continue buying.
A few years ago, brand agency Fitch identified the emergence of a new breed of “generous brands” – brands that were starting to show a new generosity of spirit, attitude and personality. Since then, the power of saying ‘thank you’ in novel ways has been utilised by Apple, Starbucks, Orange and many more globally-recognised brands – and with massive, global buy-in.
Today, the value of giving something fresh and engaging back to customers - beyond simply the product or service they are buying - has never been greater.
There are numerous ways to do this, from educational roadshows to free lifestyle services at events; from trials at ‘time of need’ to complete exclusive events for customers. Vodafone VIP is a great example – offering exclusive VIP access and advance ticket options on a range of top fashion, festival and Formula 1 events.
And don’t forget the huge role that a warm ‘thank you’ in the real world now plays on social media networks. Brands that go out of their way to acknowledge and value individual consumers are richly rewarded with online recommendations and comments.
Experiential marketing connects people with a brand. Brands that take it to the next level and continue to say ‘thank you’ will be making wise marketing decisions in 2010.

Article Source: http://www.largedirectory.info

An independent monthly round-up of brand news from the world of Brand experience marketing. Every month we gather information about which brands are connecting with their consumers through investing in experiential marketing.

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