Don't Confuse Customer Retention with Customer Conquest

There has been much ballyhoo recently about the success of email marketing, the death of direct mail, and the rise of Do It Yourself (DIY) marketing. Most DIY Marketers are small business people hoping to ride the wave of technology to brighter future... at a seemingly lower cost and with less risk.

Being a small business owner myself, I would agree with that approach. We are finally getting access to some really cool marketing tools at unbelievably low cost. Thanks to the Internet, we have access to potential markets, prospects, and strategies that we couldn't have possibly been able to afford in the past.

However, new technology does not trump basic fundamentals of business strategy, sales or marketing.  In other words, you can't always beat Mother Nature. What I've seen in recent discussions with our own clients is a rush to embrace all the trappings of social marketing, email newsletters and customer blogs as the holy grail of successful marketing strategies.

The problem is they have collapsed two distinct marketing fundamentals, Customer Retention and Customer Conquest, into an all or nothing approach. This is a major mistake.

Simply said... don't confuse Customer Retention with Customer Conquest!

In my opinion, Customer Retention is a maintenance issue while Customer Conquest requires a dedicated, purpose driven campaign. The approaches are inherently different and have very different results.

Recently,  I've seen businesses that are so cautious and so risk averse that they've talked themselves into thinking Customer Retention is the same or even better than Customer Conquest. While all the Social Media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. can be extremely effective in a Customer Retention role, they can literally suck up your time and resources by making nice with people you are already in relationship with.

Customer Conquest requires a military "take territory" kind of attitude. That's risky...  both with your capital and the personal risk to face success or failure. No one wants to admit that they've wasted, their time, their money  their best conceived ideas, and ultimately have nothing to show for it.

Honestly, I don't know how you can fail on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter! They only require concentrated effort, perhaps a little too much, and have very little downside risk. The difference is that the results aren't measurable and therefore have questionable value when it comes to Customer Conquest.

Don't get me wrong... they are great tools, and with prudent use, can build your creditability in the marketplace and... possibly... maybe... hopefully... generate some referred business.

So what are the aspects of a Customer Conquest Campaign that make it distinct from Customer Retention Strategies? Any Customer Conquest Campaign should have the following ingredients:

Compelling & Relevant Offers - What does my prospect want by the way of information, discount, or product?

Clear & Concise Calls-To-Action - What do I need to do in order to take advantage of this opportunity? Click? Call? Enroll?

Measurable Results - This is no time for fudging the numbers... can you measure your results with confidence?

My final advice is don't get enamored by the low cost and false confidence that you are actually doing something that brings in business or new clients. If doesn't pass the above scratch and sniff test...it's not truly Customer Conquest.