… or what marketeers can learn from John Denver’s “Leaving on a jet-plane”.

I will be kinda unorthodox, but it is for the sake of the non-believers in new communication.

You know the cost of acquiring a new customer is much higher than keeping an existing customer most of the time.

Ok?

You got to step one.

Now, the question is, how do you keep customers?

The first way to go is to make sure your product or service is worth wile, you threat your customer with respect,… you make sure you have one happy customer.

The more controversial path also implies making sure that it becomes more difficult for a customer to leave you. In the old days, monopolist really mastered this game. But customers becoming more and more reluctant to this approach (as they should be!). Most people now do not feel anything when they switch suppliers and leave you alone in the dark. These same people however still feel sad when leaving people, their peers, their network,… behind.
So lock-in these days becomes a social lock-in where people who want to stop using your product or service also have to leave their social network around your brand behind… Take away the person’s loved away and they feel like leaving on a jet-plane and they will search for confirmation.

Loyalty becomes a social game.

Step 2 achieved!

Thank you John!