On Wednesday, I asked whether your marketing was about transactions or relationships, and got some good reaction from readers interested in exploring this idea further. Coincidentally, JupiterResearch recently came out with a report on Dealaholics, those sharp-eyed bargain hunters with loyalty as deep as today’s lowest price. As you think about your online marketing tactics, you need to consider whether you are offering deals that create transactions but no loyalty. What kinds of offers are you making to attract new customers? Do you track the success, not of the offer, but of the relationship?
The Jupiter report notes that single-offer deal campaigns aren’t likely to engender long-term loyalty. Jupiter notes that the My Coke Rewards program, which provides value for long-term purchases is more what marketers should be shooting for.
If you think about it, the report makes intuitive sense. Customers seeking deals are likely to continue to do so—you’d think they’d be less likely to stick with your brand rather than seeking another deal the next time.
So, while sweepstakes or discounts might attract attention, and might push some product out the door, you should test to see whether the customers you attract are one-shot deals or long-term relationships. If your Web metrics are oriented only towards sales, perhaps you might want to identify customers so you can calculate lifetime value instead. Remember, not all customers are worth the acquisition costs.
