The ideal customer relationship includes much more than one buying experience. It consists of multiple happy experiences that tie a customer to a specific brand. The brand becomes their regular go-to for purchasing a specific product or service, and both parties feel somewhat loyal to each other.

By analyzing each customer interaction beyond a customer’s first purchase, it enables marketers to better understand the purchasing cycle of those who buy from them.

To maintain a thriving business, representatives should think past the basics of making one-time sales and focus on the lifetime value of a customer. The knowledge gained from analyzing the customer’s journey over an extended period, beyond what they purchase the first time, can be powerful when making future business decisions.

The lifetime value of a customer

The lifetime value of a customer is defined by how much revenue a customer might bring to your business throughout their entire relationship with your company. While that requires speculation and possibly some investigation, it can be done fairly accurately.

As a marketer who is tasked with producing ROI, it helps to know which customers have the potential to provide the highest ROI over long periods of time. On top of that, representatives never know who someone may bring to a company to provide future revenue. Thus, it only makes sense to look at every customer as a potential gold mine and serve them accordingly.

Companies who invest in marketing usually benefit from considering the full lifetime value of a customer. Providing great customer service, selling quality products or services at competitive prices, and recognizing customer’s needs from their perspectives will genuinely help customers feel good about buying from you. What can turn them into customers for a lifetime is giving recognition, treating them fairly and honestly, providing discount and/or loyalty programs, perks, giving friendly service at all times, and helping them feel you are truly interested in their success.

Use MediaFast digital products to target customers with a high lifetime value

Determining which customers could eventually provide your company with the highest lifetime value can help you set optimal targets. It can also be beneficial to focus on optimizing retention campaigns as well.

More importantly, by focusing on the lifetime value of each customer, you will maintain a better perspective of the marketing tactics you are using to reach and engage potential customers in ways that are more likely to bring them back for future purchases.

Once you’ve determined customers you would like to target and ways to retain your current ones, MediaFast digital products can help you engage and impress them.

Since 1991, MediaFast has been a great company resource for many companies whom we’ve helped thrive.

5 reasons MediaFast is a great company resource

1. We design, produce, and reinvent solutions. Our team of experts offers complete design and creative services for Point of Purchase Displays (POP Displays), Video Brochures, CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Packaging, Promotional Items, Marketing Videos, Training Videos, and more. When clients work with us, they don’t waste time on unattainable ideas. Instead, we focus on providing clients with the information and innovation necessary to have their concepts become reality so they receive an end product that satisfies their needs and makes them look good in the eyes of their customers. We excel at providing custom media and solutions for even the most challenging projects and circumstances.
2. We aren’t afraid to “burn the box” to create something unique. At MediaFast, we understand eye catching, well-constructed, tasteful merchandise will always sell better than less attractive alternatives. Our passion for designing innovative and creative products as cost effective as possible is fueled by our extensive understanding of the manufacturing processes. We strive to create designs that give our clients impressive results and maximize their budgets by managing raw material waste, increasing manufacturing productivity, and implementing “out of the box” concepts. Our decades of experience has taught us the right questions to ask to achieve success for our clients. Regardless of the size of the job or the deadlines, we help clients create epic solutions to get their messages across and ensure their products get remembered by consumers.
3. We use our experience and wisdom to keep costs down. We’ve helped clients cut their costs in half when they’ve included us in the design process from the very beginning. From the start, we tailor design to be functional and cost effective. We know how to save money on materials, printing, and mailing. We’ve helped countless businesses and purchasing departments reduce their promotional budgets by thousands of dollars. When clients rely on us for help with design, printing, packaging, and fulfillment of their campaigns, they don’t have to worry about winding up over budget in the end.
4. We only use brand new components. As changes in components occur, the quality of components used to make digital media products differ from factory to factory. There is a huge market for recycled or refurbished electronic components. Many suppliers have decided to use recycled or refurbished components to reduce their costs, but we feel that is not a path we want to follow. At MediaFast, we’ve determined the risk of using substandard components in our products is far too great. We value our clients, and their brands and the messages they use our products to deliver are far too important to risk delivering with low quality. Because of this, we do not use any recycled or refurbished components, ever! Every product we produce is made with only brand new, Grade A components. We believe the increased price of high quality components is the only option to completely satisfy our clients.
5. We provide digital media products, which are the most modern path to success. For salespeople, having state-of-the-art sales tools with videos helps them feel more confident and relaxed. With them, they can talk less and listen more, which potential buyers appreciate. For companies, videos allow them to maintain control over how their brand is presented. Videos engage more senses in viewers and allow companies to sell without salespeople having be involved throughout the entire process. Furthermore, research has revealed humans remember up to 65% more when audio and visual are combined. Traditional forms of print advertising and audio messages do not make the same impact as videos. Videos help viewers relate to companies and raise awareness about them. Sharing testimonials, fundraising, sales, training, motivating, recruiting and branding are often done better with videos, and they often make performing these activities more convenient, more efficient, and usually less expensive when all of the costs are considered.

Takeaways for understanding the lifetime value of a customer

Modern consumers have come to expect seamless and integrated buying experiences. The companies who truly understand their customers, including their personalities and their businesses, will succeed in creating loyal customers who keep coming back if they focus on doing so.

For companies who are committed to marketing, it pays to consider how much revenue a customer can provide long term. Sometimes considering future gains more than immediate gains can lead to greater success long term, and all customers should be treated with this point in mind.

Finally, using MediaFast digital products to impress and gain new customers is highly recommended. In the digital age we live in, our digital products will help your company stand out above your competitors and provide other advantages as you focus on the lifetime value of your customers.

John Bynum

Having owned an advertising magazine in Utah, I’ve worked in marketing for over twenty years.

I started writing for MediaFast in 2014. The first time I held one of their video brochures, I thought something like, “Wow! This blows away our magazine and any other print advertising I’ve ever seen. This is like a TV commercial, and I’m holding it in my hands. Amazing!”

Since then, video brochures, video mailers and video boxes have become leaders in marketing performance. It’s a privilege to write about them. I also love MediaFast—with its top-notch product quality, industry leading customer service, and all of the wonderful people I get to work with.