How to Use Touchpoint Marketing to Engage and Retain Retail Customers

Touchpoint marketing is engaging with customers through various mediums at different points in the customer journey.

By reaching out to customers at different points along their journey, retailers are able to create a positive customer experience and remind customers of the value offered.

Based on where your target audience spends time, your marketing strategy can be customized to use specific platforms and channels. For example, if you sell tech products and target millennials, your strategy could include

• social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, where you can share product images and run ads; and
• channels, such as push notifications and in-app messages, that grab attention and redirect it to product pages.

The range of platforms and channels available lets you create a unique experience for your audience.

How to Use Touchpoint Marketing and Find Key Points Along the Customer Journey

The key to successful touchpoint marketing is connecting with the right customers at the right time with the right message. A blanket approach to marketing, even if you’re using more than one channel, doesn’t guarantee customer engagement or retention.

What you need is an understanding of the stages your audience goes through. Based on the products you sell and the experience you want to create, your stages are unique to you.

To figure out relevant customer touchpoints, ask yourself the following questions:

• How do new customers learn about my brand?
• Do new customers share their phone number?
• What devices do customers use to make purchases on?
• When do customers engage with customer support?
• Are customers willing to share feedback?

The answers to these questions help identify the best places along the customer journey to engage with people. For example, you might find that new customers hear about your products on Instagram or Tik Tok when their friends share referrals.

On that note, generating new customers or prospects is not an easy task. Filling sales pipeline is known to be a challenge for many marketing and outbound teams.

When new customers buy something using a referral code, you can share details about similar products that other customers bought. This alerts new customers to other products you offer and uses social proof to get them to buy more.

Another way to identify key points for touchpoint marketing along the customer journey is to review data in your CRM system. You’ll see what types of issues trigger a call to customer support or how many customers call in asking about the same product feature. In this case, it makes sense to connect with customers right after they buy something, and again a few weeks later, to make sure there aren’t any new issues.

What to ask customers

Once you’ve identified where you’ll engage customers, you need to figure out what types of messages you’ll send. To figure out what to ask, here are some questions to ask yourself first:

• What types of questions do customers ask at different stages of the customer journey (from beginning to end)?
• What products do different customer segments buy the most?
• At what point along the customer journey does churn increase (if it does)?

When you use mobile messaging, you can create campaigns based on the answers to these questions. For example, if you find that customers churn after their second purchase, create a drip campaign that triggers after this purchase. Include messages about other products and special offers these customers might like as a way to encourage them to come back.

Now let’s look at a few more examples of what types of target marketing campaigns you can send, and why.

New Customer Follow-up

The moment after someone first buys from you is a critical juncture in the customer relationship. In fact, texting new leads results in 112.6% higher conversion. Reaching out to new customers is your opportunity to set them up for success. Engagement can include asking them to refer you to their friends or come back to you the next time they need to make another purchase.

To help out your new customers, send follow-up messages so those customers know how to get the most out of their new purchase. The type of messages you send depends on the products you sell. Customers might need more guidance with technical products compared with other types. For example, use RMM to send audio clips, short videos, images, Gifs, or document links to customers. Include details about the resources you offer, as a way to help increase engagement and retention. Add calls to action to your messages to help drive traffic back to your websites, YouTube channel, and more.

These follow-up messages can include the following:

• Share product tips. Send a link to a digital version of a simple start-up guide. That way, customers can reference it and troubleshoot from anywhere
• Share links to helpful online resources. This can include blog posts that highlight specific features and different ways to use your products.
• Share links to demo videos. If you have a YouTube channel, find videos with the most views, and share them as a part of rich media messages. The majority of adults are visual learners, so showing them how to complete tasks creates a positive customer experience.

When new customers buy something, they’re excited to get started. But this excitement is cut short if they can’t figure out how to use a feature. By proactively sharing information with new customers, you increase the chances of them using the product repeatedly and coming back for more — because they know there’s support.

The tips you share — especially early on in the customer journey — help customers understand how to use your products properly. The more they understand, the more likely they are to experience the promised value sooner.

Using Touchpoint Marketing To Re-engage Customers

When customers who’ve purchased products in the past suddenly stop, it’s time to reconnect with them to find out why and then encourage them to come back. It’s easier to sell to current customers who know who you are and what you offer. Often, all they need is a reminder to purchase again.

To reengage existing customers, send messages that remind them of what they’ve purchased in the past and what new product offerings are available. For example, for customers who add products to their cart but don’t check out, send rich media messages that include media such as images, videos, and GIFs. Insert images of what’s in the cart as a reminder. Share a link to the cart, and include a discount code if customers don’t check out after you’ve sent multiple messages. To simplify checkout, apply the code to the sale. The only thing customers have to do is click the link to the cart and check out.

Customers who haven’t checked out showed an interest in your product. Not reminding them of this means you miss out on making a sale. People fail to check out for a number of reasons:

• They get distracted.
• They decide they want to do more comparison shopping.
• They experience technical issues.
• There was an issue with their method of payment.
• The shipping costs where unexpected.
• They wanted to see the sale total.

Use VoiceSage’s SMS Messaging to remind customers to come back to buy more. Proactive messaging increases the number of people who follow through and complete a sale when they’re reminded.

Re-engagement messages also work for customers who are at risk of churning. These are customers who haven’t purchased anything new in weeks or months. Send these customers messages that remind them why your products meet their needs and the value they can expect to experience.

Or use VoiceSage’s RMM campaign builder to create rich media messages where you can include images of past purchases to help trigger repurchase.

Information Alerts

Existing customers want to feel like you care about their individual needs and experiences, not just what they can buy. Messages that only aim to sell something are a turnoff for some customers, and a surefire way to lose them over time.

Create a positive customer relationship by sending messages that have the sole purpose of informing and educating them. This will encourage customers to come back and make purchases on their own.

The types of messages you can send include notes about the following:

• Product recalls
• New product launches
• Company updates
• Order confirmation
• Delivery status
• Discount alerts

There are many other ecommerce sellers who sell products similar to yours. You aren’t competing against them on product alone; you’re also competing based on the experience you offer. This experience is what sets you apart from your competitors. Sending information alerts at key points along the customer journey — especially where other retailers don’t — positions you as a brand that cares about what customers experience.

The last thing you want is for customers to hear updates from other sources on social media. This makes it harder for you to control the story being told. By proactively addressing company information, you have a chance to explain what’s happening and share how you’re managing changes.

To make sure messages are sent to the right customers at the right time, use VoiceSage to segment your customers and send targeted rich media messages to each one. For example, it’s more efficient to send product recall alerts just to customers who purchased the affected products.

Promotional SMS Alerts

Loyal customers are your brand advocates because you’ve proved the value you offer and they trust that your products will meet their needs. Customers at this stage of their customer journey aren’t going to leave for a competitor, so rewarding their loyalty reinforces their commitment to you.

To reward these customers, send promotional SMS marketing alerts that offer them exclusive savings. These messages can include:

• Cross-selling opportunities
• Special offers
• In-store events
• New referral or loyalty programs

Personalize these messages by referencing customer preferences and past purchases. This approach reminds customers of what they’ve purchased and points out how much they can save when they purchase the products again. Tell customers exactly what to expect to increase their chances of following through.

You can go even further with personalization and use proximity marketing to share messages with customers who are near a brick-and-mortar store. These customers will receive a text that explains that there’s an in-store promotion available. All they have to do is visit the store to receive the discount. These messages are more targeted and are only sent to customers who are most likely to participate in the sale — because they’re nearby.

If you send proximity messages, use VoiceSage to send virtual scratch cards as a way to gamify their experience. That way, instead of customers receiving a flat discount rate, they have a chance to access different amounts.

Another option is to send coupons via rich media messages that include a barcode. This lets customers quickly scan the offer at checkout when they’re in a physical store.

Customer Support Follow-Up

There will be times throughout the customer journey when customers have a negative experience and your involvement becomes crucial. This shows that you respect and value your customers and want to ensure they have a positive experience — even if they’re complaining about an issue. This approach builds trust between you and your customers because it shows you want to support them even when you have to have difficult conversations.

To accommodate these customers, send follow-up messages after they interact with your support team. For example, when customers call or email support with a product question, complaint, or refund request, you should follow up with a message thanking them for reaching out and restating the solution.

In addition to thanking customers for contacting your support team, send a feedback survey using RMM. This survey helps you learn more about customers’ experiences and find opportunities to prevent certain issues from happening again. For example, if the survey uncovers that when deliveries are delayed, customers don’t receive an update, this is an opportunity to begin sending missed-delivery messages so customers know what to expect.

Another approach to sending follow-up messages is to send IVMs that thank customers for their loyalty. Then, follow up with an SMS or RMM that links to the survey.

Learn more about how to handle missed deliveries with mobile messaging: Customer Journey Stages: Avoiding Missed Deliveries and Improving CX

Prepping for Touchpoint Marketing

The first step in using touchpoint marketing is creating a strategy that caters to your unique customer base. This should be flexible enough that if new a touchpoint is identified, the marketing strategy can be adjusted easily. For example, for new customers, research customer onboarding checklist and strategies to improve loyalty and customer retention rates.

Next, find tools that help you meet the goals you’ve laid out in your strategy. When it comes to your mobile messaging needs, use VoiceSage to improve the customer experience. For your convenience, integration with other platforms is available — like Stripe for fast and easy payments.

To learn more about how VoiceSage can help with your mobile marketing strategy, contact us today.