The 4 Main Stages of Closed-Loop Marketing
[Posted by Jeremy Viault, Product Marketing Manager, Neolane]
Today, customers are at the core of every B2B or B2C business. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems collect information on customers; marketers generate and nurture leads and track behaviors; and sales people interact with them to better understand their needs and ultimately close deals. All departments of the company revolve around customers.
Closed-loop marketing allows marketing and sales to work together to improve the customer experience, by integrating the departments and setting up a continuous flow of data. This method involves collecting and analyzing customer data from multiple channels, and using that insight to create and deliver targeted content. It provides a continuous cycle that collects customer preferences and monitors the marketing strategy so it can be optimized to improve outcomes.
The closed-loop marketing method is divided into four main steps:
1. Handle your visitor
The beginning of the loop starts when a visitor reaches your website and browses through various pages. Thanks to methods like cookies or IP tracking, you are able to identify what directed him/her to your website (e-mail, social media, PPC campaigns, etc.) but also to track their path, and then combine this information.
Let’s take the example of a photography fan looking for a new camera. You will know that he used Google, with the keyword “Digital SLR camera.”
2. Understand visitors’ interest
The goal here is to analyze visitors’ behavior on the site. Which pages did they browse? Which documents did they download? Which products did they purchase? Which path drives the most sales outcomes?
All of this information can help improve the customer experience on the website, and optimize it for faster deal closing and higher conversion rates.
In our example, the client watched a video demonstration of the camera and viewed a comparative table between three camera models of his choice.
3. Transform an anonymous visitor into a lead
One of the most crucial points of the closed-loop marketing process is to ensure that the visitor fills out a form to obtain his/her identity. Then, it will be possible to associate all the information collected on anonymous visitors (its origin before reaching the site and its various actions on it) with a customer record. Through the analysis of visitors’ behavior, you can optimize your website for a faster visitor-to-lead conversion.
In our example, the customer used the call back function, and asked the hotline about using cameras in a humid environment.
4. Monitor your marketing strategy
To close the loop, you need to analyze what turned visitors into buyers. What is the origin channel that provided the most new clients? Which campaigns were addressed to him? What’s the time between the first visit and the purchase? Has he downloaded some product documentation? Etc. Now that you are able to answer these questions, you can optimize the channels used to improve conversions subsequently.
In our example, the customer downloaded the product sheet, and then bought the camera online. Afterwards, the product sheet could be improved with information on use in humid environments as well as the comparative table.
As you can see, closed-loop marketing can provide many benefits by a method relatively simple to implement. What are you waiting for to get started with closed-loop marketing?
In my next post, we will further elaborate on the benefits of closed-loop marketing.