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INTRODUCTION:
1:1 Marketing has been a successful concept for many years but rarely practiced by many businesses for various reasons. When implemented correctly, it will increase loyalty, cross-selling, satisfaction and reduce transactional costs. To achieve business growth through the growth equation, applying such a concept can pay handsome dividends particularly with revenue, cash flow and profitability. As a small business accountant we have used this technique successfully as should many other small business accountants who advise their clients.
The theory has also been described as creating a learning relationship with your customers through conspicuous interaction.
So what are the four steps?
Figure 1: Tailoring products and services that your clients want will reap big dividends and loyalty.
1. Identify Customers
The first thing you need to do is be in a position to identify your customers. Most customer relationship management tools such as your cloud based accounting software will give you information such as name, address and amounts they spend with you, when and what areas.
1:1 Marketing will usually involve dealing with your more valuable customers so you will need to be able to get this type of information.
2. Differentiate
Next you need to differentiate your valuable customers into groups based on what needs they have. The Lawrence Group was an architecture and interior design firm that used 1:1 Marketing to differentiate their customers between one off types and those that had projects that kept reoccurring which required more assistance and technical skills from their engineers who needed to liaise more with the firm's architects. From this analysis, they decided to give each of these clients their own website page that they could log into with the project. This page could only be accessed through the Lawrence Group's home page.
Figure 2: What customisation is required by certain clients? Photo courtesy Lara Scolari Gallery Balmain
3. Interact
Once you know what your client's needs are, you need to find a way to keep interacting with them. Each conversation you have should be from where you left off. Interactions should be recorded so that they can be automated and have less need for more conversations about their requirements. The Lawrence Group updated their clients designated web pages daily with content. The client would then log in and show it to their team and then interact with the architects accordingly. This was groundbreaking at the time.
4. Customise
If you can then mass customise a solution for your client's needs, they will be less likely to go to the competition. This is because they don't want to have to re-explain everything which is peculiar to their situation.
CONCLUSION:
When was the last time you sat down and analysed your customer base? Did you segment them or even grade them as an A, B, C or D? Could you apply the concept of 1:1 Marketing?
The 80:20 rule still applies so look after your good customers and they will look after you.
