What can web hosts do with a marketing automation solution? Can they increase customer loyalty and retention? How about upselling current customers to other services? And we can't forget about providing highly personalized service for each and every customer. I have created a sample automated marketing campaign that a web host could use to accomplish all of these goals. Read more about the strategy below, and click on the image to see a larger version. If you're in the hosting industry, check out HostingCon 2014, for which SimplyCast is a Gold Sponsor.
The sample campaign is based on the domain renewal process (which many hosts already use; some more successfully than others), and it shows how it can be tied in to a marketing campaign. In this example, the web host's customers are contacted on their selected mode of communication one month before the domain expires. Duplicates are filtered so that customers do not receive two versions of the same message. After a three week delay, a second message is sent if the customer has not renewed.
These delays can be customized to fit the host's preference. Most hosts prefer to send reminders more often than in this example. Customers can also be sent messages with increasing frequency the closer it gets to them needing to renew. Likewise, if the customer does renew, they are pulled out of this flow and not sent any more reminders.
Customers who do renew can instead be sent to a new marketing campaign designed to offer them more services and provide a personalized hosting package. Customers who have not renewed can then receive a final "Domain Expiry" notice. The entire process takes place automatically to save time, and messages are automatically personalized to each customers needs based on their actions and selections.
Reduce Customer Churn
Engaging current customers and getting them to renew can be challenging, especially with so much competition in the web host industry. Reducing churn, however, is one of the key elements that contributes to increasing recurring revenue and continuing to grow your business. By reaching customers on their preferred mode of communication with automatically personalized messages that cater to each customer's individual needs, you can create a true connection with your customers. Each message is sent out at the perfect time, based on the customer data in your records. This type of personalized customer care helps build customer loyalty and reduce churn.
Provide Personalized Upselling
When current customers renew, you can automatically offer them additional services that are sent to the customer based on their needs, history and usage. It is easier to upsell a customer when they are automatically contacted with specific services that are highly relevant to their business. Instead of having to manually review each customer's data, this happens automatically and messages are sent based on customers' own needs. Personalized upselling is effective, and is a key part of providing excellent personal customer service. Anticipate your customers' needs and provide them with the relevant information they require.
Connect Marketing with Customer Service
A process like renewing a domain is typically thought of as customer service, yet by using marketing automation you can make the process more efficient and also add the element of personalized marketing. Domain renewal and other similar processes are automated, saving time and keeping customer data seamlessly organized. Once a customer chooses to renew, they can receive additional service offers based on their needs, as we have discussed. They can also be automatically sent valuable and relevant resources (such as guides, articles, whitepapers and so on) that help them make decisions about their services and also show that their web host provider is an expert in the industry, which is important for building trust and loyalty.
White Labeling a Marketing Automation Solution
Another option is to white label a truly effective all-in-one marketing automation solution to your web host customers. SimplyCast has a white label plugin (cPanel and WHMCS integrated) that allows hosts to enter the multi-billion dollar marketing automation industry right away without spending time or money on developing their own tools.
