There are a ton of elements running across your growth strategy that hold immense power when it comes to acquiring new customers. And yet … focusing on acquisition is no longer enough (doing so will only have you chasing your tail!) 

Sure, acquisition is absolutely necessary; that much is clear. But the focus is shifting with acquisition costs at the highest they’ve ever been, and industry competition is at its fiercest. Telecom brands, for example, are increasingly realizing the value of nurturing existing relationships, cultivating loyalty, and fostering repeat purchases. Reader – if you’re not already doing so, it’s time to focus on decreasing churn, increasing retention, and optimizing the cross-sell to maximize customer lifetime value. 

Here’s why: 

Retention reigns supreme: Building strong, long-lasting customer relationships is the foundation of maximizing CLV. When customers stick around, they keep generating revenue for your business – long-term. By focusing on customer retention, you reduce churn and flip one-time buyers into loyal brand advocates. Remember, a happy customer is not just a one-time sale; they’re a recurring source of revenue and a walking, talking advertisement for your business. 

Revenue that keeps on giving: Increasing customer retention by a mere 5% can boost profits by a whopping 25% to 95%. By investing in nurturing and delighting your existing customers, you unlock a treasure trove of revenue potential. And as your customers continue to purchase from you, upgrade their services, and refer friends and family, their CLV skyrockets. 

Loyal customers = lower costs: Let’s talk economics for a moment. Acquiring new customers is an expensive endeavor, requiring a significant slice of your budget. But here’s the beauty of maximizing CLV – loyal customers tend to have lower acquisition costs. Why? They’re already familiar with your brand, have established trust, and require far less marketing effort to convince them to buy. By focusing on these customers, you can reduce your acquisition costs and allocate resources where they should be. 

And loyal customers = satisfied customers: When prioritizing CLV, you shift your focus from transactional relationships to delivering exceptional experiences. By understanding your customers’ needs, preferences, and pain points, you can tailor your products, services, and interactions to exceed their expectations. This level of personalization and attention to detail creates loyal fans who keep returning for more, spreading the word, and attracting new customers to your brand. 

CLV and the cross-sell – how Optimove helps 

So how do we crank up those CLV figures with your cross-selling efforts?  As always, the answer’s data and personalization – but it can be challenging to know where to start because different customers will be more prone to cross-selling one product over another, right? That’s where Optimove comes in.  

• Purchase history: Dive into purchase history data to understand customers’ buying behaviors. You’ll be able to identify which products or services they’ve already purchased, when they purchased, and patterns in their upgrade cycles. These insights will help you tailor cross-sell offers based on their previous buying habits. We’ve covered what marketers can learn from customers’ first purchase in this blog post. 

• Customer Segmentation: Optimove allows you to segment your customer base into distinct groups based on various attributes such as demographics, usage patterns, or preferences. You can develop cross-sell strategies specific to each group by creating targeted customer segments. For instance, you might identify a segment of business professionals who frequently travel and offer them international roaming packages or unique data plans designed for remote work. OptiBot, our AI brain,  will even spot new customer segments for you in real-time, so you can stay ahead of customer trends, and act accordingly. 

• Cross-Channel Behavior: In today’s multi-channel landscape, customers interact with your brand across various touchpoints such as websites, mobile apps, social media, and physical stores. Optimove can capture data from these channels, providing a holistic view of customer behavior. By analyzing cross-channel behavior, you’ll be able to spot the most effective channels for cross-selling – and create personalized cross-sell campaigns that meet customers where they are. 

• Customer Journey Mapping: With Optimove, you can map out the entire customer journey, from the initial touchpoint to post-purchase interactions. By visualizing the customer journey, you can identify critical moments where cross-selling opportunities arise. So, for instance, after installing internet service, you might offer customers a discounted internet security bundle. 

Now that you’ve got a handle on Optimove’s capabilities, let’s explore the power of cross-selling optimization by looking at one of our telecom clients.  

When we delve into this customer’s data, it becomes evident that those who subscribe to a combination of TV, telephone, internet, and mobile services have a future value that surpasses those who stick to a single product – by a whopping 113%. It’s a great example of how strategic cross-selling can elevate the lifetime value of your customer base, right? 

Armed with these valuable insights, the brand’s marketing team can now embark on a mission to create targeted cross-sell campaigns aimed at customers who haven’t yet subscribed to its mobile services. By strategically promoting the benefits and value of adding mobile services to its existing subscriptions, the brand has the foundations to power up its future value and unlock new growth streams. And there’s another way to elevate that growth even further …  

To maximize engagement with customers with varying behaviors and communication preferences, it’s essential to implement a multi-channel campaign strategy: multichannel campaigns not only boast a 37% higher effectiveness compared to a single-channel approach, but they also acknowledge that certain customers respond better to specific channels. So before rolling out the cross-sell campaign, marketing teams can segment customers based on their channel preferences, determining the most appropriate channel for delivering the campaign, boosting engagement, and increasing the chances of a successful conversion. 

And it’s not over yet … To further enhance customer engagement, a winning approach combines outbound channels like email, SMS, and direct mail with inbound channels such as IVR (Interactive Voice Response) and your website or app. This seamless integration of channels, made possible by Optimove’s orchestration capabilities, not only maximizes the efficacy of your cross-sell campaigns but also cultivates stronger connections with your customers throughout their journey – and by default, boosts that CLV!  

So there you have it. By harnessing the power of your big data and leveraging advanced CDP platforms like Optimove, telecom brands like yours have the foundations to unlock new opportunities that drive growth, deepen customer relationships, and boost your bottom line. With a customer-first approach, hyper-personalized experiences, and a keen eye for customer insights, you have the tools to make your brand stand out in a crowded market. To dive deeper into Optimove for telecoms, let’s start the conversation. 

Published on May 25th, 2023

Posted in

• Telecom & Media
• Customer Retention
• Orchestration

Pauline Fyfe

Pauline is a content writer, copywriter, and marketing professional who specializes in writing for start-ups, scale-ups and growing tech brands. She graduated from Central Saint Martin’s in London with an MA in Design at a time when the Internet was just coming into being. Deciding that’s where her real interests lay, she’s pursued a career focused on digital marketing ever since - and never looked back!