In a highly competitive business world, it is essential to understand the potential lifetime (LTV) value a customer is likely to generate to evaluate risks and opportunities.
Today’s customers utilize a wide range of engagement channels – website, email, social media, text messaging, phone, CTV, mobile apps, and in-person. People who engage in multiple channels have higher LTV than single channel customers not only because they usually purchase more (up to 8-14 times) – but they spend more (up to 5-10% per transaction).
It stands to reason that a key factor for positively impacting a customer’s LTV is the number of channels a business leverages to engage. More channels mean more ways to interact with customers, deliver consistent messaging, and share relevant content to reinforce the brand.
Major benefits realized by employing a multi-channel contact communication strategy include:
- Increased Loyalty
Customers that are engaged across multiple channels are more likely to remain faithful and continue purchasing a company’s products or services. Multiple forms of communication allow buyers to feel more connected to the brand and have a better sense of what the business has to offer.
- Better Personalization
Customers gravitate to brands that feel like they listen to them, understand them, and pay attention to their individual wants and needs. Customers want to feel. More channels mean more opportunities to deliver personalized engagements – from messaging to offers to experiences – that resonate with your target audience. By gathering and analyzing data across multiple channels, businesses can build a comprehensive profile of customers and create more personalized campaigns, tailored content, and unique offers.
- Improved Customer Service
Multiple channels are not just about increased sales – they can also improve the quality of customer service. Customers want choices. Companies need to be able to have conversations how the customer wants. If a customer has a question or concern, they may prefer to reach out via social media rather than phone or email. Being available through a variety of channels, businesses provide more convenient and efficient customer service, leading to higher levels of satisfaction.
So how can companies begin or increase the rate of capture of additional customer contact channels? Consider incentivizing customers. For a loyalty app, run a special promotion if a customer downloads and registers. Or create channel specific promotions like “online only” or “in-store only” and ask customers to provide pertinent contact details for each channel to receive the incentive/reward. Or offer an “email exclusive” newsletter or promotion to entice a customer to provide their email address and opt-in to receiving future emails. Customers are much more likely to provide additional contact and preference details if they receive a tangible benefit in exchange.
Businesses and brands that gather details about a customer’s preferences, behavior, and interactions across multiple channels can offer a more personalized experience, stay top of mind, and provide better customer service and support. This leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and increased revenue and lifetime value.
