1 - This is probably the most misunderstood Principle out here on Twitter. Most marketing/analytics folks think opposite of this. 
2 - There's been decades of training, frequently via trade journals paid for by vendors ... teaching most people out here that it is much more expensive to acquire a customer than to retain a customer.
3 - You've been taught this theory for a good reason ... so many of the products and services you are sold cater to existing customers.
If you focus less on existing customers, vendors get paid less. And that's not going to happen.
If you focus less on existing customers, vendors get paid less. And that's not going to happen.
4 - And yet, for 90% of the companies I analyze, annual repurchase rates are under 50% ... 75% of them have annual repurchase rates under 40%.
For 90% of businesses, customer acquisition is the most important (and least understood) strategy.
For 90% of businesses, customer acquisition is the most important (and least understood) strategy.
5 - That goes for those of you out in the vendor community as well ... notice how so many vendors tell my clients to tear down silos ... and then they launch a sales team independent of the rest of the brand upon my clients, trying to get my clients to buy for the first time.
6 - Ever notice how hard vendors work to "win" a client?
That's customer acquisition!
The vendor works terribly hard to acquire clients by telling the client to use the product/service offered by the vendor to retain customers to avoid expensive acquisition strategies.
That's customer acquisition!
The vendor works terribly hard to acquire clients by telling the client to use the product/service offered by the vendor to retain customers to avoid expensive acquisition strategies.
7 - That's the irony of all this ... those who scream at you to retain customers work their fingers to the bone to find new customers ... they offer you $50,000 discounts on the $100,000 products you are about to buy. They PAY to speak at conferences to acquire customers.
8 - Think about what Facebook did to acquire customers.
They gave away their product for free for years, then once they acquired every customer out there, they forced y'all to pay them to access your own customer.
They gave away their product for free for years, then once they acquired every customer out there, they forced y'all to pay them to access your own customer.
9 - Think about what Google did to hook you ... they gave you access to analytics about every search term and gave you a free analytics package to analyze your business (the way Google wants you to analyze your business). Then they took the easy analytics about search terms away.
10 - In other words, vendors know full-well just how important customer acquisition is.
And they sell "customer retention" to you as a way for them to acquire you as a customer.
And you believe them.
Don't believe them.
Acquire customers your way, with your own programs.
KH
And they sell "customer retention" to you as a way for them to acquire you as a customer.
And you believe them.
Don't believe them.
Acquire customers your way, with your own programs.
KH
