3 new methods to retain clients

This post was contributed by the team at Good morning.

The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, is fast approaching.

Ordinarily, billions of people would return home to celebrate with their extended families, with festivals, dragon lion dances, firecrackers and red bags.

But like the previous two years, 2022 is not a normal year. As global pandemic restrictions remain in place, many people will not be able to return home as usual.

As with most holidays in 2022, families may be forced to connect via WeChat, WhatsApp, Zoom or any form of video conferencing.

But what does it mean for companies and how we communicate with customers when countries around the world relax for several weeks?

How one win hearts

If you want to win the loyalty of your customers, you have to start with gratitude.

Lunar New Year is a time of togetherness, unity and community. So start by sending your customers a pure thank you and appreciation message for being part of your community.

Feel how tough this year has been for her.

People have lost loved ones, been made redundant and seen plans derailed. If they continue to be customers, let them know what an honor it is.

Everyone wants to be appreciated. Everyone likes that bond of connection that says, “I’m part of this group!”

That makes us human.

Here are three specific ways you can build goodwill capital with your clients over the Lunar New Year.

1. Send them a personal video

Sending a video creates a deeper connection with your customers because you can use tone, body language, and facial expressions.

Check out this example below for a wonderful personal thank you video sent to a team.

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Or you can go one step further and send a thank you that’s just 1:1!

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You can even use Bonjoro’s Chrome Recorder to embed a video in an ActiveCampaign email and instead of just directing someone to a youtube or vimeo link, you can direct them to a branded page that includes your company logo, background and a call-to-action button can. Bonjoro even has one Chinese New Year specific template background!

The key to using video to engage your audience is… be human. It doesn’t have to be flashy or done in a perfectly lit studio. You don’t need a rehearsed speech. Just jump in and let your customers know they matter and you have their back and are there for them too. It’s the message that counts.

Did you know that too? ActiveCampaign has an integration with Bonjoro that allows you to record personalized video emails to your customers and prospects?

2. Send them a branded gift

Everyone is happy about a personal appreciation gift. Gift giving is an important cultural aspect of the Lunar New Year, successfully ruling the new year with all that is brand new.

This is a great opportunity to send your customers something that will make them smile and remember you.

You could make branded items (hats, shirts, mugs, etc.) or give them something that would be a great addition to your product line (if you sell artistic crayons, you can send them a branded notepad).

Think of gifts that the customer might use frequently as this is a great way to keep your brand remembered.

Remember, the goal of your Lunar New Year marketing strategy is engagement. If you do a good job of being remembered, your brand will be remembered after the celebrations, or even into the next year.

3. Tell stories with an email campaign

During the holidays we get together with our families, we share food and we… tell stories.

Stories are the social glue that holds us together. Stories fire our imaginations, spark our interest, and give us a sense of belonging.

When we think of an email newsletter, we usually associate it with company updates or product releases. While these are important things to keep your customers informed, I recommend a different approach for Chinese New Year.

This festive season, craft stories for your customers. Don’t sell anything, just focus on taking your customers on a journey. Here are three options:

1. Share impressive case studies, with a focus on why.
2. Walk through your origin story, guiding you through the good and the bad, and focusing on why.
3. Be vulnerable and share a landmark moment in the company’s history that changed everything. A key co-founder quit. A huge business was lost. Something that surprises her.

Then conclude why it was important.

To put it in the famous words of Simon Sinek: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”.

So as you launch your campaign for this festive season, think about what drives you and your customers.

4. Send relevant emails

As a business, you should send emails that reflect the Lunar New Year in both message and design.

As you ponder how to market and communicate during this time, take off your “marketing” and “sales” hats and put on your human hat.

If we get a “sale” pitch or promotion while we’re on vacation, we probably won’t give it much thought.

On the other hand, when we receive genuine appreciation or recognition, it leaves us with a good feeling.

The best way to achieve this? A custom email template:

For example, you can use these three Lunar New Year marketing email templates:

Personalize every single interaction

This Chinese New Year, make every customer feel like every email was written just for them with a free 14-day trial of ActiveCampaign.

A compass in troubled times

2020 has been a scary year for marketing. Brands around the world struggled with a pandemic and social unrest. We constantly questioned when to post, how to communicate, and had to struggle to keep the wheels on the cart.

2021 was not much different in many places.

Now, in 2022, some of that uncertainty still exists.

The good news is that technology today enables you to stay connected with your customers like never before. With tools like ActiveCampaign, you can deliver a consistent and authentic message to your customers and prospects.

While marketing during the Chinese New Year can seem complicated, at its core, it’s about helping people identify with who you stand for and how you can help them. If you do these two things well, your will will thrive.

So, as the Chinese New Year approaches, try some of the marketing ideas above and leave your customers amazed.