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Many marketing teams discuss acquiring leads and new customer acquisition, but what about full-circle marketing? In other words, marketing for not just potential customers but also current customers.
Full-circle marketing can work here. Some teams might also call the post-sale part of it customer marketing.
Wayne Mullins, author of “Full Circle Marketing,” discussed this topic with me on the marketing podcast “The Business Storytelling Show.”
Read next: Say it loud, say it clear: Making voice marketing part of your strategy
What is full-circle marketing?
This strategy considers the pre- and post-sale engagement part of the marketing funnel. Sometimes it’s called a bowtie funnel. In some organizations, marketing focuses on awareness and acquiring new potential customers. That’s a task in itself, but we also know it’s way cheaper to keep a current customer than to bring in new ones.
In this application of marketing strategy, it means the marketing team is also involved post-sale. That could include relevant email messages to customers that focus on the following:
- product updates
- tips and how-tos.
- current industry trends
- thought leadership conversations
- And so on…
Just like any part of the funnel, customers’ needs differ from those at the top of the funnel who have just heard of you for the first time.
Read next: Where should we answer customer questions? [Content Strategy]
How to start with full-circle marketing
It starts with the strategy and plan. Determine:
- What’s the goal, and what milestones and indicators can be measured?
- Do we have good content to engage with current customers already continuously?
- What needs to be created?
- How will the content be created?
- What are the best channels? Emails? A community Slack channel? Other?
- Who currently interacts with customers the most?
- How would marketing and those other departments work together?
One of the biggest issues likely would be that somebody has to own it. That could be a new hire or a recalibration of an existing role on the team. But do keep in mind that it’s probably not a standalone entry-level role and that it’s not possible to add it to somebody’s already full plate.
At the end of the day, full-circle marketing, when done well, can help the overall strategy. It can streamline content creation and reuse content when it makes sense in even more phases. In addition, it keeps in mind that the customer journey doesn’t end with the sale – though that certainly is a major milestone.
But considering the entire customer journey and experience in our marketing message, from awareness all the way through loyalty, can be highly beneficial.