What’s a Conversion or Growth Loop?
It’s a new way to think about marketing funnels pioneered by the conversion experts over at Reforge. Traditional funnels have an “end” point – the form fill, purchase, download, etc. – without a strategy designed to activate (or re-activate) the customers you fought so hard to get in the first place.
It is 5x more cost-effective to get a repeat or upsell purchase than it is to get a new customer.
Over 50% of consumers will only use a new service or product when recommended by a friend or peer.
Whether you are selling a product or service, giving your customers something worthwhile to share and talk about is critical to achieving significant growth.
We break it down into 3 parts. Engage, Convert, Delight.
Engage – Creating meaningful content that educates people about your product or service is the only way to leave a lasting impression in today’s noisy marketplace. The more your audience understands, relates, and connects with your company; the easier (and cheaper!) it will be to convert them. Think of this layer as the introduction to your brand… what information should they have before speaking with sales? What specific features or benefits will we be solving for? Hook them in with empathetic messaging that relates to their pain points and promote the” feeling” you want customers to have after using your product or service.
Convert – This is the layer that most companies and marketers are very familiar with. Whenever we do an audit, 80-100% of the Ads are in this bucket. These are your conversion and direct response campaigns that are designed to get results in the here and now. Sounds exciting? Right up until all the “low-hanging” fruit dries up and you go month-to-month with inconsistent results wondering what happened. Don’t get me wrong, this tactic is essential to your complete digital strategy, but it must be supported by successful Engage and Delight tactics. Asking people to buy after they see your content will be better for customer lifetime value and is a more efficient use of advertising dollars.
Delight – Finally, my favorite piece, strategies that excite and delight your customers. Once a sale or lead is made, many advertisers go back to either “Engage” or “Convert” strategies. This is a HUGE missed opportunity. Activating your customers with content and giving them opportunities to share their experiences is a way of re-investing the money you spent attaining them. Over 50% of consumers will only use a new service or product when recommended by a friend or peer. Additionally, increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%. Prioritize repeat sales and arm your customers with the information they need to become true brand advocates.
Prioritize Content & Creative!
As a closing note, keep in mind that content and creative must be prioritized and used appropriately for this strategy to be truly effective. Using static images that don’t tell a story in the “Engage” layer and blog articles that are obviously sales-oriented in the “Delight” layer won’t get the kind of response you are looking for. Take the time to vet creative partners that genuinely care about the message you are advertising and plan to dedicate about 20% of your total marketing budget to content.
How long does this strategy take to start showing significant results?
With proper content and creative, it will take 3-6 months to start seeing a significant revenue improvement. Working with an experienced team that understands how to methodically “test and learn” is essential to maintaining costs during this period. Once the foundational blocks are built, you will have more consistent marketing results and much better control over your revenue.