When it comes to retention marketing, the world is your oyster. From email to in-product messaging to chat, you have an abundance of options to consider.

And while there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to lifecycle marketing and the customer retention funnel, there are tried-and-true strategies for where video should and shouldn’t be used throughout the customer journey. But before we get to it, what the heck is it? What is a customer lifecycle.

I think of the customer retention lifecycle as the journey that someone takes when they interact with your product. This includes everything from the first welcome email they receive, to their in-app experience as they explore the product, to the friendly note they get from their customer success rep congratulating them on another awesome video.

The marketing funnel vs. the customer lifecycle

Whereas a traditional marketing funnel extends far beyond typical brand interactions, the customer lifecycle is focused on what happens once someone is in the door, plus everything that comes after that. You should feel like you are welcoming someone in your world, so you want they have the most amazing experience without feeling overwhealmed by your sales pitch/technique. You should sound passionate but not too pushy, but hey i am not here to tell you this things, i want to show you how you could use video and retain your clients.

Here’s a not-so cheesy example that might make the difference clearer. Even though every business is different, there’s a shared language and way to model your customer lifecycle that anyone can apply. Whether you work for a financial institution or a vegan grilled cheese truck, your customers and your business still have certain core needs:

Customer needs:

• Understanding your service (What is a vegan grilled cheese? Do you use dairy-free cheese in your sandwiches?)
• Knowing how your product helps them reach their goals (As a vegan, you want something delicious that won’t upset your stomach.)

Company goals:

• Educating your consumers
• Retaining your customers, and keep them coming back

Translating needs into program goals

Every campaign that your business runs has always falls into a specific strategy, regardless of the channel, because when it comes to marketing the more specific you are, the more people you will attract,  In fact, more often than not we’re utilizing a few channels simultaneously, like in-app notifications and email, to promote a campaign and get the most out of it.

Some examples of the types of campaigns that fall into each category include:

Activation: Onboarding emails that tell customers all about your product and how to use it.

Engagement: A modal on your site that uses an algorithm to recommend blog posts on topics your users care about (like the one you’re reading now!).

Optimization: Outreach from a sales rep after someone has completed a free trial.

Pre-Winback/Retention: A proactive, pre-renewal email series that reminds customers of the benefits of their paid subscription.

Winback: An email sent 30 days after someone cancels their account to remind them of the benefits of your product, with the end goal of getting them to sign up again.

Where does video fit in?

This is a question that you should ask every time we create a new campaign. Although video can work wonders for your brand, it’s not always the right medium for every initiative. Yes, this idea may sound shocking coming from a video marketing production company, but it’s why you won’t always see video in every part of our lifecycle marketing.

When thinking about the customer journey, it’s important to remember humans have extremely short attention spans. I’m talking less than that of a goldfish. According to an article published by Time, the average human attention span is under 8 seconds. That’s less time than it takes most people to text their mom!

 

 

If you have a specific conversion goal that you need to meet in a short period of time, video may not be the solution. An example of a place where video may not make sense is in your activation content. Although video can be a great way to introduce your brand and get someone in the door, it can be a distraction if you need your customer to take an action (like creating their first video or entering their credit card information). Instead, drop users directly onto the page you need them to visit, and try using a video post-transaction to create a delightful moment that lingers in their minds.

If you still want to spice up your activation content, GIFs cant be a great way to bring movement and life to an otherwise straightforward interaction. We are updating the website in this right moment and didn’t want to detract from the message with a lengthy video, we instead added subtle movement into our services to make the content more appealing and hold people’s attention, while still staying true to our brand identity.