Not all customers are created equal. You’ve probably had your fair share of one-time customers, who engage on social media or make a purchase once, never to return. And while there are tactics you can use to encourage them to come back, why not focus your efforts on the customers that are most valuable to you instead?
Who are your most valuable customers?
The definition of a “valuable customer” may vary from industry to industry and from business to business. A valuable customer might be someone who:
- Makes repeated purchases of your product
- Shares your content frequently on social media
- Advocates for your brand publicly
- Recommends your product to their friends, family and colleagues
- Contacts your customer service department with suggestions for improvement
- Attends your events
- Subscribes to your email newsletter and engages with the content
- Visits your website regularly
Measuring the value of a customer can be difficult, but as you can see from the list above, it shouldn’t necessarily be measured only in dollars. If you are regularly tweeting back-and-forth with a handful of curious, engaged customers, they should be included in the “valuable” category alongside the big purchasers.
How can you identify your most valuable customers?
Now that you have some idea of who you’re looking for, it’s time to dig into data to pinpoint them.
Social data can provide an in-depth understanding of your audience as a whole, as well as individuals within it. And it’s these individuals that we want to identify.
For starters, you can use social data to determine which of your customers is in the right stage of the buyer’s journey. Those who are expressing buying intent might be more valuable, because they will be most receptive to your messages and ready to make a purchase.
You can also use social data to identify the customers that most frequently engage with your brand on social channels. These are the individuals who retweet, Like, share and comment on your content, and they have the potential to become brand advocates.
Social data is also useful when identifying the customers who are in the right demographic, psychographic and lifestyle group for your brand. These individuals will be more willing to purchase your product and recommend it to their peers.
Once identified, it’s a matter of creating the right content that will resonate with your audience, and rewarding your most valuable customers with deals, discounts, exclusive content and more.
The actions that individuals take on social media, and the content they share, can be gathered, analyzed and used to assess how valuable they are to your brand. Do you know who your most valuable customers are? Share your own ideas for identifying them in the comments below.
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