Dear CRM Agony Uncle,
Given that it’s Valentine’s Day – I have to ask – how can you tell when someone you’ve been close to has lost interest?
I’m thinking here of a particularly special relationship we used to have. There was a time when there was a really strong connection between us. I wrote to them a lot and they read everything I sent them – we even met up when they came to our events. We interacted practically every day. Those times were good.
Then I think I just got a bit complacent. I took their loyalty for granted. I feel bad looking back, but I think I just forgot how I’d built that relationship in the first place.
So my communications became infrequent, I reached out less and less. Those special little gestures – a bulletin on tax opinion liability; our interpretation of the difference between data controllers and processors under the soon to be introduced General Data Protection Regulation – those started to fall away.
And yes, I did start to focus on other prospects. There was someone new on the scene. They caught my eye. There were some phone calls. We had some laughs. But I swear that nothing serious came of it.
But it made me restless. I played the field a bit then. I looked around at what’s out there. I’m not proud of it now, but I did some advertising. I lost focus on what matters, for which I’m truly sorry.
At that point, I tried to rebuild what we once had. I did email campaigns, social media, blogs, I was personalising like crazy. But it got no response. They didn’t ‘like’ my posts; no one called. I got nothing back.
Now I’m left wondering if it’s too late. If our special connection is over. Do I not say the right things anymore? Am I not targeting in the right way? Can I no longer come up with the offers that used to have them shouting ‘Yes’ with pure joy? If I’m honest, a small voice inside me is wondering if they’ve simply moved on and are never coming back.
I think above all I need an end to this horrible uncertainty. I’m desperate for some insights, some clues, some tiny sign that someday they might want to re-engage.
I don’t want to lose hope and hate to think the relationship we once had is completely dead. If only there was some way to know if I’m investing in the right relationship or if it’s all a waste.
A DESPAIRING MARKETING MANAGER
Dear Despairing,
First of all, I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling this way. But in my experience it’s all too common for marketing managers to spend money without a great deal of visibility on how their communications are landing. Certainly the temptations are there to indulge in behaviours that leave us in the dark. We’ve all flirted with sponsorships, toyed with PR and been seduced by a cold caller selling ad space at a crazy discount. Who among us has truly never flown blind?
Meanwhile, you were weak, you got distracted. It’s not a crime. The question is not can I forgive you, or can your client. The real question is – can you forgive yourself?
But let’s not wallow in the past. The truly good news is that there’s a better way forward. It’s called Introhive from Tikit. Introhive is an automated contact and activity data entry system which also has the capacity to conduct analytics and reporting based on the data in your CRM system.
As a marketing manager, you need to know if you’re talking to the right organisations and to the right people within those organisations. You need to know if your messaging and communications are having an impact. Introhive can tell you if they are.
It gives you insights by allowing you to measure the strength of the relationship between your two organisations. This way you can quantify marketing ROI as, fundamentally, a campaign successful will increase the overall strength of the relationship. Individual campaigns can be compared with each other and you can build clear evidence about what’s working and what isn’t. You will know which approaches light the heavens and which are damp squibs.
And how can Introhive know if the relationship between a target organisation and your firm is flourishing or withering; deepening or drifting? Well, this is ‘scored’ by Introhive’s algorithms. These analyse the diversity and frequency of communication, the speed with which things are opened and the speed with which clients reply.
These key indicators track the warmth of your relationship over time. They alert you to the relationships that are beginning to cool in plenty of time for you to do something about it. It gives you the opportunity to have a real impact on all important client retention.
Introhive also offers the additional bonus of providing incontrovertible data with which to demonstrate the contribution made by the marketing department to the success of the firm, which is useful to have.
‘Despairing’, I know that things look bleak right now. You’re in a dark place. But let’s face it, it’s kind of your own fault. Let me assure you, though, that with Introhive you can start on a new path. One where you never need to fly blind again.
All the best,
YOUR CRM AGONY UNCLE
Tikit’s CRM ‘Agony Uncle’ is Simon Elven (otherwise known as Tikit’s Commercial and Marketing Director as well as Product Manager for Tikit eMarketing).
To find out more about how Tikit and Introhive can help you to put CRM (and growing and understanding your firms relationship), at the heart of Business Development and Marketing:
Join us for a webinar on the 28 Feb, 2018 (2-3pm) – Marketing ROI is not all about the money!
Or click here for more information
