Let’s Talk Relationships
A C O N T I N U I T Y R E LAT I O N S H I P S U C C E S S S TO RY
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Let’s Talk Relationships
We’ve all heard it ad infinitum (and some
would say, ad nauseum):
The key to success is to develop a
relationship with your customer.
Which certainly sounds like a nice thing to do.
But does it really work?
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Is There Value In Creating A Relationship?
You need to know. Because if you’re completely honest, there’s only one reason you’re in this relationship with your
customer.
A successful customer relationship is proven by one thing: repeat business. A customer will demonstrate their
commitment to the relationship with their wallet.
“WANNA HANG OUT?”
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YOU’RE SMOTHERING ME WITH CONTINUITY!
Many businesses equate an auto-ship program with a relationship-building strategy. Typically these programs take
the form of a series of timed refills, or negative option reloads. Pull back the curtain, and you reveal a strategy
designed to repeatedly hit the customer’s credit card until they finally yell “Uncle!”
That kind of thinking most often results in a short-term interaction, or worse, a cancellation and refund request.
Either way, you’ve got a customer who is not likely to ever return. That “relationship” is over.
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LET’S TRY AGAIN,
WITH A NEW ATTITUDE
Why not create a thoughtful, customer-focused continuity program instead?
One that continually markets to your customers with the same pain-point
empathy and benefit-driven solutions you used to land the customer in the
first place?
Let’s think of Continuity not so much as re-marketing, but re-connecting. An
ongoing opportunity to further cement a mutually beneficial relationship.
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A Continuity Relationship Success Story
To show how effective this can be, what follows are some guidelines based on a model we built for one of our
clients, Tracy Anderson’s Metamorphosis. We’ve successfully managed this program for five years, and it’s a good
example of how a customer-oriented program enhances long-term value.
Think of it as Customer Relationship Therapy.
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How You Say
It
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Change is Fun
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Giving
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FREE!
Enticing
Engagement
Add Value
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It’s How You Say It
How your offer is presented can make all the difference. Ideally, the op8on to buy into the Con8nuity offer is posi8oned as the obvious choice. Example: “I’d like NEW Workouts exclusively for club members only!” vs “I am not interested in furthering my health and fitness.” In this way we present Tracy’s offer as a desirable opportunity, a convenient and smart way to take advantage of lots of great things to come.
Change Keeps Things Fun
In Tracy’s program, we decided to change the workout content every 10 days. This gives the customer the feeling that the rela8onship is constantly evolving. It helps maintain the ini8al level of excitement that triggered the ini8al purchase. The longer you can keep things interes8ng via change and value-­‐added offers, the more your customer values the rela8onship and stays involved. www.scrip(oscreen.com © 2015 Script to Screen Produc8ons. All Rights Reserved. 7
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Keep on Giving
We believe a strong rela8onship is based on exceeding the customer’s expecta8ons. So, with each shipment of Metamorphosis a free Dance Cardio video is included. While this freebie is not an integrated part of the regimen, it’s an inexpensive way to over-­‐deliver value, something every customer appreciates and remembers.
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FREE!
Never Stop Enticing
Every Con8nuity program is ul8mately judged by ROI. That number, in turn, is usually a func8on of reten8on, how long the customer rela8onship lasts, and how that ul8mately impacts the life8me value of the rela8onship. With every monthly (or bi-­‐monthly, or whatever frequency) shipment, there’s a “pain point.” Your customer sees another payment hit their card. It’s up to you to do everything you can to alleviate that pain. One tac8c we employ for Metamorphosis is to offer free shipping each 8me. Nobody likes to pay for shipping, so when you remove that obstacle you foster personal goodwill. And that goodwill increases your reten8on. Talk With Them, Not At Them
In Metamorphosis, customers are kept engaged with frequent newsle(ers, a blog and social media interac8on. All are presented by Tracy, the person customers associate with the program. This adds a personal touch ensures the customer that there’s a real connec8on, a rela8onship that goes beyond product/consumer.
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Many a tradi8onal con8nuity program has succumbed to the tempta8on to partner with others and offer a variety of unrelated upsells to their con8nuity base. At best this is annoying, and certainly changes the tone of your “rela8onship.” At worst, it’s infuria8ng, and results in cancella8ons. We have structured Tracy’s program to include free bonus workouts. These, in turn, trigger offers for integral workout equipment. For example, a trampoline workout video is given as a free bonus item, with the trampoline available as an addi8onal purchase. 9
In Summary
For your Continuity relationship with
your customer to be successful—i.e.,
profitable in the long run—there needs
to be ongoing two-way communication;
empathetic, friendly and helpful
tonality; and frequent overt action that
fosters reciprocal loyalty.
You know—just like ANY relationship.
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GET IN TOUCH
C O N T A C T U S
200 N. Tus8n Avenue #200, Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-­‐558-­‐3971
alexd@scrip(oscreen.com