Customer retention with the country-turned-pop sensation, Taylor Swift – one of the well-figured chartbuster’s names. As the world knows is a singer to listen to for the whole day, doing anything and anywhere.
Little did people have any idea that she is good at marketing her brand name as well. After knowing this, many people might feel heartbroken that all these years. She had sold her and her music to them; nonetheless, wiser fans would admire her prowess in customer retention.
Let’s quickly cover another angle of this story.
As you know, Taylor Swift is one of the most celebrated country-turned-pop singers at present, so – does all credit goes to her singing and flamboyant performances?
Well, pretty much yes, but she and her marketing team have worked upon various aspects of customer retention to manage a global brand identity of Taylor Swift.
Marketers surely can catch up with her example for research and case studies. Jerry Jao, a contributor for Entrepreneur and CEO and Co-founder of Retention Science, has systematically put his idea on Taylor Swift’s Customer Retention Tactics.
Many people will surely come up with the opinion that Taylor Swift is a brand name in herself, and it’s not difficult for her to market her to the audience.
However, the bitter reality is she wasn’t a brand face by birth, and whatever she achieved is her hard work, intelligence, and networking with correct people.
Real Challenge that Was Accepted
Swift is midway through World Tour 1989, which is said to rope in more than $100 million for her. However, there were severe customer retention issues with the superstar’s concert. It was because her team has to look into before finalizing the tour.
Taylor Swift was predominantly kicked off her career in country music, and therefore, most of her fan following has a unique taste for country music.
As her singing style was very similar to pop music, she decided on a crossover pop album release. However, for a smooth transition, she went onto take a gap of almost one year. Besides, the growth of country music lover customers into pop music lover followers was the prime task.
Here, customer retention was as big an issue as would be for any other business tycoon. So, the transition from country music to pop culture was a big decision for Taylor and her team. However, let’s see how they did the oddball work.
What did She do for Healthy Customer Retention?
Just like any other online business, the challenge was inevitable for Taylor; however, she came up with quite a strategy to keep her fan’s base intact.
One most prominent concern for her team was to keep the loyal followers active, as many inactive businesses tend to lose their brand loyalty in the niche market, and Taylor had also taken a transition break.
Facing all the challenges that are coming her way, here is how she managed to retain customers. Her campaigns and media coverage ensure that understanding customers, personalized campaigns, and loyalty rewards are optimized for best results.
Twitter Operation with “Taylurking” Hashtag:
It is the phase where Taylor went on sneaking into fan’s Twitter accounts to access their experiences with Taylor products, photos, merchandise, etc. and displayed collaged photos of fans regularly.
Throughout this campaign, Taylor sent a strong message to her audience group that she cares for them. This campaign was a crucial step by Taylor and her team, as it brought instant notice to her campaign.
“Taylurking,” according to marketing studies, was considered an innovative device to understand customer behavior through social media activities. Besides, this campaign brought highly anticipated excitement factors into the lives of fans.
Personalized Gifts for Followers
During the winter holidays, Taylor Swift brings out a lovely personalized program for followers and fans. This campaign was viral and has been considered very innovative by marketing people.
Based on the data received through the “Taylurking” social media campaign, “Swiftmas” was launched. Some significant attractions of this campaign were:
Use of Social Media Data: The Team TS (Read Team Taylor Swift) used this data to recognize holiday gift wishes made by fans and followers.
Personal Touch to Gifts: Swift hand wrote special notes for fans and placed it with the personalized gifts purchased and wrapped for customers.
Such a gesture from the superstar was highly emotional for fans, and for Taylor. It worked in her favor as personalized gifts and special care shown by her won loyalty for the brand Taylor Swift.
Integration of Technology: As soon as gifts were delivered, Team TS launched a YouTube channel for “Swiftmas,” which roped in numerous likes and comments in moments.
Using Segmentation for High-Value Customer Rewards Program
The bumper excitement offer was yet under the cover. Swift and her team came up with exciting Secret Sessions, where ardent followers and brand advocates on social media were invited to album-listening parties.
Don’t excite upon knowing that Taylor Swift herself host the parties at her residence. She prepared hand-made cookies for fans and influencers, which hardly any of them ever would have thought.
These Secret Sessions were passionate for admirers, fans, and influencers. And, these add unforgettable memories to their experience for connecting with Brand Taylor Swift. Some additional features of these parties are listed below, which were to enhance the Taylor fan group’s experience:
Fan spent the whole day with their favorite pop singer at her home, talking to them about various things.
Guests can snap selfies with Taylor while guests are making and trying new poses from their kitty.
The above features are undoubtedly one of the rewards that fans and followers can cherish for a lifetime. This strategy reportedly increased brand loyalty for Taylor Swift, and her upcoming album and world tour.
Impact of Team TS Customer Retention Tactics
The tactics adopted by team TS left a significant impact on her customer retention strategy. In the meantime, it also ensured huge success for forthcoming music albums.
Though Taylor Swift was already a brand with a huge fan following, these tactics ensured that her transition from country to pop singer became apparent. Reportedly, 75 million copies of her latest album were already sold till May 2015.
This example is a true inspiration for many businesses and marketers. With innovation and creating thinking, these stereotype strategies can yield impressive results for your brand and customer retention strategy.