Many businesses fail to understand the importance of value nurturing: the power of marketing after the sale. Writer, Anne Janzer, shares her top tips on how to continue the marketing beyond the sale to keep clients for life.
Anne Janzer is a professional writer who has worked with more than 100 technology companies over the course of her career – ranging from industry giants to small startups. She’s the author of the book Subscription Marketing: Strategies for Nurturing Customers in a World of Churn. And she has a new book out called The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear, focused on the inner game of writing.
My new book, The Writer’s Process, will be published this week, so it will be out by the time this is published.
Anne Janzer is author of the book Subscription Marketing: Strategies for Nurturing Customer in a World of Churn, and the upcoming book The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear. As a writer and content marketing consultant, she has worked with more than a hundred technology companies. Her clients include serial entrepreneurs, industry thought leaders, and technology pioneers.
Icebreaker
I grew up in an opera theater (kind of). My mother launched a small, regional opera theater when I was in grade school–and much of it was run from our home. Tenors stayed in the attic, the conductor borrowed (and dented) the family car, and one year I managed the auditions.
Perhaps focusing on opera subscribers is one reason why I’m attuned to maintaining subscriptions!
Think Like A Journalist Quote
“It is not your customer’s job to remember you. It is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.” –Patricia Fripp
Success Quote
This one comes from Ann Handley’s book Everybody Writes:
“Quality content means content that is packed with clear utility and is brimming with inspiration, and it has relentless empathy for the audience.”
Career Highlight
I wrote the book Subscription Marketing because I saw a growing disconnect in companies that depended on recurring revenues between where marketing spent its time (new lead gen) and where revenue was trending (existing subscribers).
I’m an unlikely evangelist for this, because people generally only hire me for thought leadership or lead generation content. And I couldn’t manage to get work or attention from potential clients about this after-the-sale marketing.
So I wrote the book, defined “value nurturing” activities that I think marketing should be doing, and I’m out there shouting about it.
When It Didn’t Work!
What didn’t work: Suggesting to companies that they look beyond the sale at ongoing communications with customers. For example, I made extensive recommendations on a report that a startup sent to subscribers that was part of the solution delivery, hoping to get approval to fix it. I never heard anything back. Silence.
Top Tips: Value Nurturing: The Power of Marketing After the Sale
In businesses that rely on long-term customer relationships, marketing’s job doesn’t end at the point of sale. Marketing needs to continue to nurture the customer’s experience of value, so customers remain, renew, and refer your business.
- Nurturing customers is like saving for retirement success compounds over time. New customers you acquire represent growth, rather than replacing customers who churn. And loyal customers help your business become better.
- Journalists have the advantage of understanding and thinking about their audience. You can put that understanding to use in these five value nurturing strategies:
- Design a great welcome experience for new customers–emails, videos, or an online guide. If you have a welcome experience already, see if you can make it better.
- Make friends with people on your Customer Success teams, as they are close to your customers and know what they value and where they struggle. Take them out to lunch or sit in on their meetings so you can create content to help customers succeed.
- Find creative ways to add value outside your solution through content–content so good that customers value it for its own sake.
- Use content to build community with your customers. Invite customers to contribute. GoPro does this with great success.
- Tell your own story and live your values; align with your customers’ values if it makes sense. Share your employee’s stories.
Multimedia Resource
One book, documentary, or Internet Channel to watch?
Contact
Mentioned In This Episode
TBJA 257 All Speaking Is Public Speaking, Patricia Fripp
TBJA 021 Joe Pulizzi: On How To NOT Be Ignored by Consumers
A blog post about the Adobe “Joy of Painting
Info about the subscription marketing book
The writing book (The Writer’s Process)–which will be released before the podcast
Thanks For Listening
I know that you have many choices when it comes to listening to podcasts. So, I want to say THANK YOU for choosing The Brand Journalism Advantage.
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the top and bottom of this page.
Also, I would love a review…it just takes a minute to share your opinion and rating for the The Brand Journalism Advantage podcast on iTunes. Your review means a lot to me and helps others find my show. The reviews also help with ranking of this show and they reviews are always read by me.
Please remember to subscribe to The Brand Journalism Advantage on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!
