Companies looking for ways to keep their customers on board might want to think about doing something as simple as acknowledging their birthday.
Results of a survey carried out by analytics and marketing technology provider Fulcrum showed that this is an effective way of getting to closer to customers and improving their perceptions.
Of those polled, 74 per cent of consumers who received a birthday message from a company they had done business with thought more positively of them afterwards.
In 88 per cent of cases, these reactions led to improved brand loyalty – especially in the food and beverage industry.
Tara Piazza, senior vice-president at Fulcrum, noted that both brand image and the prospect of future sales are enhanced as a result of a simple happy birthday message.
"Firms deploying campaigns to celebrate their customers' birthdays tighten consumer relationships, while also creating the opportunity to market additional products and services," commented the expert.
The research also explained which demographics are the likeliest to acknowledge this type of marketing – those between the ages of 25 and 34 were shown to be the most responsive.
Carrying out a customer feedback survey on the issue is one way to gain an insight on what people think, as loyalty was less prevalent among customers over the age of 55.
Fulcrum asked respondents to say how well they would respond to different types of birthday greetings – those that included a discount or gift were 24 per cent more effective at impacting customer opinion.
Income level and gender were also shown to play a role in how responsive people are to birthday messages they receive from companies.
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