Leadership in a crisis

We think it’s fair to say that your customers have never been so important.

That’s why we have produced this guide on installed base marketing with some useful hints and tips with real examples from our CEO, Paul Stobart, on how to keep your customers happy.

Happy customers

What is installed base marketing?

Installed base marketing, put simply, is looking after your current customers to grow their loyalty to your business. Depending on the type of business, this could be that they would be more likely to make a repeat purchase, recommend your business to someone else or less likely to cancel their service or contract with you.

Why should you focus on your installed base?

In this video our CEO, Paul Stobart talks about the power of installed base marketing.

Who are your installed base customers?

The first step you should take when developing an installed base marketing plan is to get to know your customers. The way that you do this will depend on your business however here are 3 suggestions:

1. Listen to their needs. During 1-1 conversations really listen to what they are saying. Use the communication behaviours talked about in the previous Paul Talks webinar to really understand what their problems, challenges and needs are.

2. Collect and review as much data as possible. You need to get the balance right here, if you try to collect too much data and you could put customers off purchasing. Look for trends and patterns that will help you to understand your customers better. Try to really get to the bottom of why certain things are happening for added insight.

3. Conduct NPS (net promoter score) and CSAT (customer satisfaction) surveys and most importantly always follow up on any negative reviews. Paul talks about this in more detail in the video.

How should I talk to my installed base?

Communicating to your installed base is different to how you communicate to potential customers. You should adapt the way that you communicate to your installed base. Unlike acquisition where you have to convince someone of the benefits of your brand, your installed base has already bought in to the great things that you do. Paul recommends a “service, don’t sell” philosophy when speaking to your installed base.

The key to installed base marketing is not to sell. It’s to serve, to communicate, to inform, to ask questions and re-confirm your commitment to provide the very best of service. See where the conversation goes, more often than not it will lead to opportunities.
Paul Stobart (CEO, Zen)

Use the insights from the data that you collected to guide your communications. It may be that you find that different customers have different needs. You can segment your installed base and adapt the messages that you serve to each segment in order to be even more personalised and targeted.

What should I talk to them about?

Use the insights that you have gained to guide what, and how, you communicate with your base. Here are some ideas, but it really will depend on your customers and what they want:

Tell them about any new products or services that are coming up before you launch them to the wider market. This gives your current customers the feeling that they are valued more than potential new customers.
Develop new products or propositions. Adapt your current offering to suit your current customers. Try a good, better, best tiered approach if possible to give your customers flexibility to choose exactly what they need.
Create content that is valuable to your current customers and share it with them regularly. Talk to them to find out what they are interested in learning more about and share relevant stories with them.

When should I talk to them?

Again you should use your data to guide this. Think ahead and try to anticipate your customers’ needs just before they arise. This will prompt them to remember your brand and encourage them to repeat their purchase/renew their service with you, rather than someone else. Let them know if they can save money with you, it might mean taking a hit on your short-term revenue but longer term, it will pay off.

Be proactive with your communications but try to get the balance right. You don’t want to take it too far and put your customers off because you have over communicated with them. However, if the message is valuable and relevant to them, then you shouldn’t have a problem.

Ensure that you measure success.

And don’t forget that taking care of your current customers can lead to new business. Happy customers are more likely to recommend you to someone else. So looking after your installed base should be your main priority.

To put all this into context Paul talks about a real life example here.