How to Design an Inbound Campaign That Delights Customers

In my third and final post of “How to run an inbound marketing campaign for leads, prospects and customers” I would like to address how to best engage and delight clients post sale.

Your customers are more empowered today than they have ever been. They’re constantly connected to social media and email allowing them to quickly recommend your products and services to friends and colleagues.

Or conversely, they can leave a scathing remark about a flawed feature or bad customer service experience that lives perpetually online. This environment necessitates that B2B marketers continually nurture and deepen the relationship with existing clients by providing frequent product and service education and adding new features and functionality as industry conditions continue to change.

So the days of shutting off marketing communication once the sales department has closed the deal are over. Marketing teams in both mono-product companies and multi-product companies need to continue to market to their existing customer base just as frequently as before the deal was closed. Let’s look at how we can tweak some of the inbound marketing tactics to retain clients and make them even happier.

By using the right inbound marketing tactics, you can effectively engage existing clients on new products and services that your company has or will be rolling out in the near future. The best tactics for this are educational content, drip email marketing, events, and customer blogging. Let’s dive into each one.

• Great Content: Great educational content is just as valuable for customers as it is for prospects. However, there is a twist. Instead of developing thought leadership industry content like you do for prospects, you want to develop deep product content for customers. You can do this through step-by-step product guides, how-to manuals, and customer-only webinars.
• Customer event marketing: Veteran customers are often a great source of knowledge for new clients. Savvy B2B marketers are constantly scheduling both virtual and offline local user groups to connect the customer base and to leverage the wisdom of more seasoned clients. Think of ways that you can connect your customers, whether it be a Google+ Hangout or a roundtable event once a month at a local facility.
• Customer Only Blog: Set up a blog that is dedicated solely to your customers. This is a place where you can talk about new features, best practices for the product, and tips and tricks to make your customers more efficient.
• Customer Email Newsletter: Finally, set up an email newsletter track that is sent only to your customers. Deliver them product news, company announcements, and other industry information that will make them more productive. This tactic will help keep customers in the know and will create a sense of closeness between your company and your customer long after the sale has taken place.

Customer Example: Wistia

One company that exemplifies customer marketing is video-hosting brand Wistia. Wistia does a great job of continuing the communication with customers after the purchase. They provide excellent content and resources for new customers with their video learning center.

Additionally, they are constantly giving both customers and prospects alike new tips, tricks, and best practices through their blog. Finally, the marketing team from Wistia is proactively reaching out every month to customers via email to pass along video tips about how to optimize your videos for search, how to increase engagement with your videos, and best practices for embedding video content into your website.

Conclusion:

Inbound marketing is just as powerful when utilized to nurture and deepen relationships with customers. Think through your product and service offering and start developing content to make your clients more successful. Additionally, create ways for your clients to connect to each other whether it be through online or offline environments. By facilitating these interactions and continually communicating with clients you will develop customer evangelists and build an engaged community around your brand.