Attract, convert, close and delight. If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that these are the core pillars of Hubspot’s inbound marketing methodology. It’s easy to get caught up in the attract process, creating content for lead generation; attempting to reach the convert and close stages and see those leads turn into customers- but are you remembering the importance of the delight stage in your marketing strategy? It’s not just about customer satisfaction, but about creating a powerful emotional reaction that results in happy customers who want to continue using your company, eventually becoming your best promoters.
The inbound marketing approach turns the traditional selling on its head. You need to stop focusing on selling to potential customers. It's time to listen to them and attempt to help them. In order to determine how to delight your customers, you need to figure out what your customers' needs are. Customer expectations have changed, in fact the whole interaction has changed! Customers are no longer finding your business exclusively through traditional marketing means. Potential customers are looking online to find an answer to their questions. The new customer approach boils down to “I want to find what I’m looking for” and “I want to find it quickly”. You need to make sure that you are answering these questions by speaking their language and creating an individual experience for every customer. These individual experiences can create a lasting relationship between your customers and your business.
When developing content, either for your website, your blog, or through social media networks, you need to be listening to the customer’s needs. Design this content with the customer in mind. Social media and blog content comprise the attract stage of your marketing strategy, leading to the ability to convert leads. Delight should be present in each stage, beginning when they are still visitors through the customer stage, never actually ending. Social media networks and blogs allow you to interact with your visitors, delighting them through multiple channels, entrusting that visitors view you as a trusted advisor.
Customer delight is not customer satisfaction. Satisfaction involves expectations being met. Those customers are happy customers. If they filled out a survey, they may be straddling that “somewhat” to “totally” satisfied line. A delighted customer? That is a customer who has had his or her expectations exceeded. A delighted customer would circle that “totally” satisfied option. Did you know that “totally” satisfied customers have a repurchase rate 3-10 times higher than a “somewhat” satisfied customer? A delighted customer will be happy to reuse your business and to recommend it to their family and friends. Referral leads convert roughly 30% better than leads generated from other marketing channels. Focusing on delighting your customers in your marketing strategy can increase your revenue and improve your relationship with your customers, leading to referrals and social sharing, as well as an increase in customer retention and loyalty.
Ready to delight your customers to create long lasting relationships? Our marketing team has years of experienced implementing the inbound marketing methods to our clients in a variety of industries. Let's talk about how inbound can lead to income for your company.