As you prepare your 2010 marketing plans, if you’re like many companies you’re wrestling with how to grow the business while holding the line on margin compression and erosion from current customers. Many businesses find themselves having 25 percent or more of their current customer agreements coming up for renewal each year. In this economic climate, current customers are going to be looking for price reductions to renew. B2B marketers should be looking to their current customers as the way to enhance their margins vs. eroding them.
How?
Now is the time to review your current product and service portfolio and analyze which customers are currently using which parts of your product portfolio. This segmentation and analysis typically takes some time due to data residing in a myriad of systems. That’s why most marketers focus their time and effort on aiding the sales team in adding new customers. Frankly, from a marketing perspective it is often more glamorous, fun and less analytical to continue to create new lead generation and awareness campaigns.
While new customer acquisition must continue to be supported, by focusing on the installed base with targeted marketing campaigns, you can protect your margins at renewal by ensuring your current customers are aware of the breadth of your offering and tailoring specific packages to customer segments. That way at time of renewal perhaps instead of losing margin you’ll be able to maintain or grow price and profits through having your renewed agreements include increased customer consumption of what you have to offer.
As you plan 2010 programs, don’t lose sight of tapping your current customers for increased growth in revenue and margins.
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