Inspiration as a Loyalty Driver – Part 2/2

PostFunnel, in partnership with Fiverr, is proud to present a mini-series on inspiration as a loyalty driver for marketers. We live in a time where customer loyalty isn’t easy to achieve, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. So, it would help if you transitioned your brand from a supplier to a helpful friend. We will examine different customer loyalty approaches that are much needed at times like this and will provide you with inspiration and ways to win over your customers. All with real-life examples from Fiverr, a leading online marketplace for freelance services.

In continuation of the first part of this mini-series, let us present you with the details on the various customer stages that will inspire your customers to make them feel they need you.

We will breakdown the following state of minds and examine them from Fiverr’s perspective.

Let’s begin.

Put very simply – our users can be in one of these four states:

1. I know what I need, and I know how to get it
2. I know what I need, but I don’t know how to get it
3. I don’t know that I need something
4. I don’t need anything

*Note that 3+4 will be experienced identically by the user but are 2 different situations

So, how does this approach work?

1. I know what I need, and I know how to get it

If your user is in the first state of mind, you can only hope you’re a part of their plan to achieve what they need. But, you do have the opportunity to inspire them. And assuming that the first step of most of our customers’ journeys is an inspiration – when you give them that, you control the beginning of their journey. And when you control the beginning of their journey, you have an excellent chance to control its ending.

This is the insight that Fiverr Discover is based on. At first glance, it might remind you of Pinterest, and the purpose is quite similar. As a home for 100% Fiverr-based inspiration, it allows users to get inspired for their next project and find the right freelancer to connect with to execute that project (controlling the beginning and the ending of the journey. Remember?)

2. I know what I need, but I don’t know how to get it

This is probably the best pain point to start with. A user who knows they need something is usually actively searching for it. On their way – they usually leave a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow to identify them and their intent.

If we act correctly in this scenario, we can easily identify our ‘hottest’ users and reach out to them with a highly personalized solution. Here are some examples of how we do this at Fiverr:

A. RNCs are users who register to Fiverr but don’t convert, i.e. don’t make a purchase. They represent a significant challenge, but also a great opportunity. One of the things we do to help them convert is to inspire them by identifying those who showed interest in visual services (Graphics & Design).

And as part of their welcome protocol, we deliver a highly personalized message, inspiring them with other visual works designed by Fiverr freelancers while crediting the creators.

By doing that, we accomplish two things:

1. Help them understand what they’re looking to get done
2. Immediately connect them with freelancers who can help them get it done

Not diving too deep into the numbers, a significant uplift in orders was achieved by testing this scenario against a control group (from an email!)

B. Abandoned Search campaigns sounds like a beginner’s example, right? Like most brands, we target these users with an email campaign showing them the services they were searching for. But we took it a step further by adding another layer of inspiration, showing the user the final deliverables of the projects they were searching for in the specific area they’re seeking.

This is relatively new, but based on our RNC activity results, we expect to see successful results here as well.

3. I don’t know that I need something

aThis is when things get a bit more complicated. How do you make a user understand they need something and then inspire them to get it? This basically means that you need to know what they need even before they do.

Actually, this Target case proves that we do have the ability to know what our customers need before them. Here’s one of the ways we do that at Fiverr.

One of the most popular services purchased on Fiverr is logo design. Every business needs it. Every idea needs it because that’s usually the first thing you seek with just an initial plan. So knowing the logo is the first stop for every starting business, and knowing that people who buy a logo don’t usually know what the next stop is, we decided to help our logo buyers understand what comes after a logo, before they even knew they needed it.

How do we do this? Simple. We take the actual logo they bought, and we simulate what it will look like on a t-shirt, business card, a social media account, and more. You might be asking yourself, why specifically here? We have the data on what our users’ usual next steps are, and we use it to guide potential buyers. It makes sense.

4. I don’t need anything

As we enter the world of longer shots, inspiring customers who don’t need anything is mainly about general messages, that talk to the biggest common denominators, and maintain your brand’s TOM awareness.

So, you want to offer inspiring content regularly, to as many of your customers and try to hook them. If you execute this correctly, these two outcomes arise:

1. You create the need, by making them see something they love and want for themselves
2. You maintain your brand in their TOM, and that’s why they’ll come to you, once the need arises

Here are some examples of how we do that:

A. Every active user, regardless of what they buy, gets a Fiverr Discover newsletterdelivered to their inbox once a month. The rationale is simple: We find the finest works that were made in the previous month, and we showcase them to the world. Aside from giving our top sellers well-deserved exposure, we’re giving all of our buyers’ inspiration. Allowing them to connect directly with the creators of the works, achieving both of the outcomes above.

B. Every brand’s top of the funnel activity, which includes some inspiration, is a good example. Some of the best examples are our #MadeOnFiverr calendar, holiday greeting cards, giveaway mobile wallpapers, and so much more. Each of these can easily make users understand that they need something when the need arises.

Final Words

All of the examples above only discuss the short-term impact that helps lead the customer to their next purchase by inspiring them to do so in one way or another. But inspiration doesn’t end here. It is much more than that. Inspiration is critical for long-term retention or more accurately – your relationship with your customers – CRM.

For more from PostFunnel on Loyalty, check out The Loyalty Series