PROMOTIONS THAT MOVE PEOPLE THROUGH THE RINGS

Once your entire database of customers has been subdivided, you’ll want to create programs, promotions, opportunities, and exclusive offers specifically designed for each fan type. The objective of these promotions is to facilitate the fans’ investment—both emotional and fiscal—in your company. The goal is to condition fans to connect with you, which then moves them toward the inner circle. Let’s talk about the most classic example of programs designed to increase fans: loyalty programs. Well-developed loyalty programs have been proven to advance fans from the outer rings into the P1 category effectively; that’s why you see them everywhere. Be careful, though. The main weakness of many of these programs is that they focus purely on higher levels of revenue, so many of them are really just mechanisms to convince people to buy more. Getting someone to buy more from you doesn’t necessarily increase her avidity. Don’t focus on the money during this part of the process. We’ll get to that later.