Most people like shiny new things. That includes Marketers, and the Digital era has presented a never-ending buffet of shiny new things to capture our attention (and marketing dollars). They come in many forms, like fresh advertising options within social media channels and brand new platforms to explore, like Periscope.
Each shiny new thing theoretically offers untapped potential, yet as we’ve all learned the hard way, if it’s new, then it’s also unproven and if it works for others, that doesn’t mean it will work for you.
Given the unpredictability of any particular effort, it’s worthwhile to consider if you are maxing out on marketing initiatives that may have the highest likelihood of success, even if they aren’t shiny and new. An underutilized and under-appreciated opportunity for most companies is their database of current customers, past customers and prospects.
There are lots of reasons why businesses gain or lose clients. Similarly, there are endless reasons why people remain prospects for long periods of time without becoming customers. The bottom line, though, is that past customers, prospects and current customers, where you have their contact information collectively, represent a business’s best source for future revenue, particularly from a cost per acquisition standpoint.
Are you staying in touch with your house list and presenting them with knowledge, timely insights and value driven paths to grow the relationship or become clients once again? Ways to engage include the obvious such as email and Facebook, but can also include more old school tactics like picking up the telephone or actually sending something in the mail. Investing additional time and resources into your house list can provide the ongoing foundational revenue to grow your business and confidently and prudently test out those shiny new marketing tactics as well.
