Marketing to Existing Customers with Mark Erwich

In this episode of the Health Tech Marketing Show, Adam is joined by Mark Erwich, a super-experienced healthcare technology marketer, to discuss the importance of customer marketing and how to implement customer marketing strategies in your organization effectively.

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Given how hard it is to win new customers, keeping and growing your current customers is even more important. Retaining and growing current relationships is much easier and more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.

As Mark points out, more businesses have shifted towards subscription-based models, putting more emphasis on increasing Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).

Mark reviews several customer marketing strategies for creating customer advocates. This includes celebrating customer success through case studies, testimonials, and references.

The next level in customer marketing is to implement customer champion programs where customers are involved in press stories, webinars, and events. Social media is used to amplify this.

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Mark also stressed that thought leadership content is key to keeping top of mind with champion customers.

In more advanced customer marketing strategies, customers are involved in product development through Customer Advisory Boards.

We discussed how to manage negative feedback and churn risk. Close collaboration between marketing and customer success teams is critical in addressing concerns promptly and effectively.

Lastly, we discussed measuring the impact of customer marketing strategies by tracking retention rates, customer participation, and the influence of advocacy on new business acquisition.

Key takeaways from this episode include:

• The growing importance of customer marketing strategies in the subscription-based economy
• Customer marketing strategies for creating customer advocates through celebration, education, and engagement
• The need for collaboration between marketing and customer success teams to manage churn risk
• The significance of measuring the impact of customer marketing efforts on retention and growth
• Best practices for implementing a successful customer marketing program aligned with business objectives

You can learn more about how to implement customer marketing in this post.

Actions You Can Take

Here are ten customer marketing strategies you can implement coming out of this episode:

1. Conduct an audit of your current customer marketing efforts to identify areas for improvement.
2. Set up a social media listening program to monitor customer feedback and sentiment.
3. Develop a customer champion program to celebrate and showcase your most successful and engaged customers.
4. Create a series of case studies highlighting the impact of your product or service on your customers’ businesses.
5. Establish a Customer Advisory Board to gather insights and feedback on your product development roadmap.
6. Collaborate with your customer success team to identify at-risk customers and develop targeted retention strategies.
7. Implement a customer referral program to incentivize and track customer advocacy.
8. Host a virtual or in-person customer event to foster community, share best practices, and showcase customer success stories.
9. Develop a content marketing strategy that educates customers and positions your company as a thought leader in your industry.
10. Set up a dashboard to track key customer marketing metrics, such as retention rates, customer participation in marketing activities, and the impact of advocacy on new business acquisitions.