Authentic Connections, Loyal Consumers

When you make a slight adjustment to your workout, you see results. The same is true of your marketing strategy. Your consumers are craving connections and want brands to speak to them, not at them. Understanding the wants and needs of your member base on a more personal level will help you build loyalty that lasts.

By making people the center of your marketing efforts, you can utilize data and technology to help make your brand feel personal and purposeful. According to MarketingProfs, personalization is the key to success, leading to an average increase of 19% in sales. Each time you connect with customers, they have the power to listen, engage and share with friends, or to ignore, unfollow, or unsubscribe. It’s up to marketers to make these interactions matter.

Let’s say the majority of your members fall into the middle age demographic. However, within that age group, with a more thorough analysis, you can further divide your members based on income level, size of family, where they are located, and more. These characteristics inform how each subset buys, shops and acts.

Now, instead of one middle age demographic, you may discover you have three specific types of middle age members: those who fall into a low cost spending group, a mid-tier group and a high-end group. Each group has a different set of needs you can identify. Further, the way you connect with your middle age members will be different from the way you would connect with other members, like younger millennials.

Nevertheless, demographics are only one piece of the puzzle. Another important aspect to consider is sending these messages to your members or prospects when they are receptive to hearing it.

Don’t wait for customers to come to you. Go to where they are spending their time: on the radio while driving, on social media with their phone, while they are working out at your club, at their desktops reading news or watching videos, and at home, when they are opening their mail. You can connect with them by being in the places they are and speaking to them about the things that matter most.

By optimizing every interaction, every time, you will keep the members you have and attract new, loyal members you want. If you send out a one-size-fits-all message, you may end up being irrelevant, confusing or unwanted.

However, if you spend time knowing who your customers are and connecting with them on their terms, you will establish a relationship that will last. Moreover, you will love the results.

Cheryl Barnett is the vice president of client services at Epsilon. She can be reached at Cheryl.Barnett@Epsilon.com or 858.900.3628.