The hype of the 2013 election may be over, but your engagement with an evolving public sector is set to continue. Here’s three strategy tips to consider when retaining with your health, government or education customers in the post-election environment.

1.    Know your audience 

The public sector is an ever-changing space, with complicated structures and fluid bodies. Post-election this means existing contacts will disappear and whole divisions evaporate. From email campaigns to mail and phone contacts, accurate and well-classified marketing lists are always the first step to a successful public sector campaign.  It is important to directly contact the ‘right’ person within the department, who has the ability to make, finance or specify a purchasing decision.

2.    Strengthen customer retention

Whilst customer acquisition is important, customer retention is vital and has a direct impact on profitability. Research indicates that by expanding the lifetime value of a customer your business will generate 1.7 times more revenue. A vital clue to strengthening the lifetime value of your public sector customers is an accurate and up to date CRM. Savvy suppliers will map their CRM to a reliable 3rd party external source. This means when both databases are periodically compared changes are identified and acted upon where necessary.

3.    Understand your customers

The 3rd way to retain your public sector customers is to understand each and every one of them. Customer care is vital, so you can anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations. Do you understand the structure of their organisation? What political pressures are they under? Are you speaking to your client’s peers and what are their opinions? How many branches are in the organisation and are they under threat of being closed? For extra clarity, try creating a mind map of your customer’s organisational structure.

This article first appeared on the ADMA blog.

Michael Bleakley

Michael Bleakley is a journalist, communicator and marketing professional of 25 years. His career began in his early 20’s publishing tech magazines for education. Michael’s career then moved into online and book publishing for a global business publisher, then finally into database publishing and marketing at A-ZGovBIZ.