• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 6, 2017

According to the 2017 State of Customer Marketing Report from Koyne Marketing, sponsored by Influitive, even seasoned marketers concentrate their energy and resources on lead generation and conversion of net new customers, rather than revenue generation and expansion, or “marketing.”

 This often neglected “Customer Marketing” is not just renewal or repeat purchase efforts, but the complete set of activities undertaken by a company following a customer’s purchase of products and services, says the report.

There are several reasons why Customer Marketing can be so profitable, says the report:

• First, businesses have already established credibility and trust with their accounts
• Second, firms already have substantial insights into their customers
• Third, marketers have greater awareness of customer satisfaction and approval

Building on existing customer relationships and deepening their knowledge allows companies to provide better service and to develop new features, products, and services that meet customer needs. According to The Incite Group, 91% of B2B buyers are influenced by word-of-mouth when making buying decisions, says the report.

Koyne Marketing has conducted a survey of company leaders and top marketers in order to better articulate the ways in which customer marketing can expand revenues, says the report. The survey examines how organizations currently manage the planning, resourcing and measurement of existing customer marketing efforts. Key findings reveal data that will be useful to help your organization expand revenues and maximize your own success with customer marketing.

 With collected data primarily from CEOs and marketing executives at more than two hundred B2B organizations with small companies with annual revenues up to $25M, medium companies reporting revenue between $25M and $1B,  and large companies with revenue greater than $1B, the analysis reveals some significant findings:

• Only 61% were satisfied with the results of current customer marketing efforts. Of the satisfied respondents, most were from large organizations, leaving a significant opportunity for growth in the customer marketing arena
• Over 90% of respondents acknowledged that customer marketing is somewhat or very important
• Over the next year, 93% of organizations expect that their customer marketing efforts will take on greater importance, and 62% will increase their staff or budgets in the customer marketing area
• The top two impact metrics come from activities that fewer than 50% of respondents report being part of their current customer marketing efforts
• Companies identified three main skills as vital to the success of customer marketing efforts: relationship building, communication, and customer service.
• 49% of companies reported that their customer marketing efforts resulted in moderate to significant revenue gains
• Large companies (71%) report greater gains due to customer marketing than medium (52%) or small companies (44%)
• The three most frequently tracked metrics were upsell/cross-sell revenues, renewal/churn rate, and customer satisfaction
• The most frequently used customer marketing strategies were customer referrals and testimonials; customer user groups; and events and newsletters
• Organizations reporting moderate to significant revenue from customer marketing are more than two and a half times more likely to report high levels of customer satisfaction

For the balance of this report detailing the survey results and analysis, please visit Influitive here.