New customer acquisition marketing is important, but after company launch (say 6 months to a year into the life of the business) it should take a back seat to retention marketing. To get the most out of a retention marketing strategy, it’s best to create specific campaigns for the numerous audiences your company gathers based on their stage of product involvement.
Acquisition: Allocate approximately 30% of your resources here
- People you want to use your product/service but who do not know it exists
- People you want to use your product/service but who are using a competitor or similar product
Retention: Allocate approximately 70% of your resources here
- People waiting on the beta list, pre-order, etc.
- Early adopters who help by providing feedback on your product/service (you should quickly identify these people and reward them!)
- People who are inviting other people to your business (quickly identify these and REALLY reward them!)
- Developers, partners, collaborators (the people who rely on your business in any way or build something new upon it)
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