Get more revenue from VIP customers with marketing automation

Targeting VIP customers with marketing automation

With VIP customers, you know what their interests are and what motivates them. The message can be tailored to them well. These customers know the web shop well and you approach them differently with marketing automation than customers who are completely new to the web shop. A VIP customer is different for every webshop. How to find VIP customers? A few KPIs to look at:

• Number of orders placed
• Average order value
• Last order date
• Customer Lifetime value
• A combination of all of the above

Of course, this is not a "holy grail" for identifying VIP customers. Above all, try to play with criteria that are relevant to you.

💡Do you want to know the average order turnover of the entire webshop? This information can be retrieved via Google Analytics. The average order value per customer is also easy to find in Reloadify.

Number of orders placed

The criteria to filter by number of orders placed is important. A customer who has ordered from you only once is nice. But, a customer who has ordered from the webshop three, five or maybe ten times is many times more interesting. This customer keeps coming back and is good to target with marketing automation. The number of orders placed also says a lot about where the customer is in the customer journey.

Average order value

The average order value is a good KPI to look at. After all, is a VIP customer really a VIP customer when the customer has placed five orders of twenty euros? Or is a VIP customer actually an important customer when the customer has placed five orders averaging 250 euros? There is quite a difference. Marketing automation can be set for each order value.

Last order date

The VIP customer group should be current. This means that customers caught in the VIP target group are actively ordering from the webshop. It is not important to look at customers whose last order was five years ago. As a matter of fact, this could be a ramification of your VIP customers, namely the inactive VIP customers. You let inactive VIP customers return to the web shop, while the active VIP customers regularly come back to the web shop to order.

Customer lifetime value

The customer lifetime value, or customer lifetime value, is the amount the customer has spent in total at the webshop. Where a hundred euros is a lot for one webshop, the guideline for another is five thousand euros. Look carefully at what suits your business.

Combining all these KPIs is also an option. You will then be left with a small, dedicated group.

Examples of marketing automation for VIP customers

Approaching VIP customers is done in two ways: through marketing automation and through one-off communications. Here are a few examples of marketing automations.

Marketing automation 1. Automatically thank customers with a lifetime value of X

Set a threshold value (e.g. €750) that represents a customer's life value. When a customer reaches this value, an automated e-mail triggers a thank you action. This action can range from a personalised message to an exclusive offer. This is a powerful way to strengthen customer loyalty. An RFM analysis can help you do this.

Marketing automation 2. Thank VIP customers

You thank every customer for his or her placed order. The approach for VIP customers is different. Thank the customer not only for his or her order, but also for their loyalty. Every VIP customer's order is another one. With this order, the CLV also goes up. Rewarding this behaviour is appreciated. Set up an automation thanking the customer for their new purchase. Each e-mail can be different based on quantity of orders or order amount. This way, the customer feels appreciated and special. Link a stamp card to it: for 15 orders, the customer gets free shipping or another nice gift. Customer loyalty matters. Try running an A/B test on this to see what works for your audience.

Marketing automation 3. VIP customers with a preference for a specific brand

Segmenting VIP customers can help to better understand the customer group. Focus not only on the number of orders or total order value, but also consider the nature of the purchases. Customers with a preference for specific brands often show consistent choice in their purchases. This information is valuable for targeted marketing and offering personalized experiences. By understanding why a customer prefers a particular brand, offers and communications can be tailored accordingly, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

General marketing tips for VIP clients

In addition to marketing automation, here are some general tips for targeting VIP customers:

• Give VIP customers earlier access to certain sales
• Give VIP customers a special VIP sale that is just for them
• Give VIP customers an extra gift with their order
• Give VIP customers a personal touch with their order, such as a self-written card

In this article, you read all about VIP customers and using marketing automation and personalised strategies. Important KPIs to identify VIP customers include the number of orders placed, average order value, last order date and customer lifetime value. Various marketing automation strategies can contribute to this, such as automatically thanking customers with high lifetime value, thanking VIP customers after every order and focusing on customers with a preference for specific brands. The goal is to make customers feel special and strengthen their loyalty.

Keep in mind that recipients may know you better than you know yourself. Do it poorly and they will be unconvinced. If you can't manage your goal creatively, go for more businesslike but familiar.

Ready to increase your ROI for marketing automation? Start your free trial today and find out for yourself.