How to Choose a Lifecycle Marketing Agency

When looking for marketing ideas for your company, there are several different methods that can be chosen. One of the most successful current strategies for marketing your company, however, uses both proactive and reactive methods to bring in new customers and keep your current customers coming back: lifecycle marketing. You need to know what you are looking for in a lifecycle marketing agency to effectively choose one that will help your company grow.

What is Lifecycle Marketing?

Lifecycle marketing is making sure that your customer, whether they are a current, future, or former customer, receives the appropriate marketing message in order to inform them of your products or services and encourage them to purchase from you. A lifecycle marketing agency will use all the marketing formats available in a proactive and reactive manner to achieve this.

Buying Process Cycle

Using a lifecycle marketing agency, you will gain access to a means of engaging with your customers in all stages of their buying process—not just at the decision-making stage. By giving your potential customers information during earlier stages of the buying process, it will nurture a relationship with the customer early on, increasing the chances that they will choose your products. But also, lifecycle marketing includes marketing to those that have already purchased from you because, as studies have shown, you have a 60% to 70% chance of selling to an existing customer versus the 5% to 20% chance of selling to a new one. All of these different stages will be treated differently, allowing the customer to receive the right type of message for the stage of the buying process they are in. Using a mix of direct communication, social media, sponsorships, advertising, articles, etc. will give you all the tools you need to get the message out.

Choosing a Lifestyle Marketing Agency

Choosing the right lifestyle marketing agency for you is similar to choosing a business to partner with. There are several criteria you should look for in a marketing agency, and there are a few that you don’t need to focus on as much.

Expertise

Expertise is a big one when it comes to a service like those offered by a lifestyle marketing agency. You want to hire a company that actually has the expertise they claim to have because there are many companies out there that know how to sell themselves, but that don’t actually have the knowledge and expertise to back it up. Always research the agencies you are considering; find out who they have worked with before. References are great resources to ensure they are as knowledgeable as they claim to be.

Chemistry

You’re going to be working with your lifestyle marketing agency for a long time, so chemistry is very important, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Hiring a company that understands your business goals and atmosphere will allow them to market more effectively, amplifying your company ideals in your marketing campaign. Respect works both ways, as well; if you respect your agency, and they respect you, then the creativity between you can flow freely and more effectively.

Creativity

The most effective marketing campaigns are creative ones, so you want to look through the lifestyle marketing agency portfolio to get a glance at what they are capable of. When they pitch their marketing campaign ideas to you, you will get to see how creative they can be when marketing your company. Try to find an agency that isn’t just using the same ideas for every client. Your business is unique, and it needs a unique campaign to make you stand out.

Resources

When hiring a lifestyle marketing agency, ensure that they have the ability to take you on as a client. You want an agency that is going to have a team available to work with you, and the means they need to be able to do what they claim and they need to be financially secure so they don’t disappear, causing you to have to choose a different agency mid-campaign.

Cost

Cost is a less important aspect when hiring a lifestyle marketing agency. You want to hire an agency that is within your budget, of course, but you don’t want to just hire the cheapest one—they may be cheap for a reason. Quality is most often going to be worth the extra costs in the return on investment for a marketing campaign.

When you choose a lifecycle marketing agency, it’s important to find one that is the right fit for your company—one that can produce a creative marketing strategy that encompasses the entirety of the buying process cycle for your customers. This agency will be an extension of your own marketing team, so ensure you choose one that will work with your company’s atmosphere. Good chemistry will make for a great relationship and will improve the quality of marketing that is produced.