Customer lifecycle software is a tool that helps businesses understand how customers interact with their brand at different stages of the customer journey. It provides valuable insights to reduce churn and increase customer lifetime value.
Lifecycle marketing software tracks customer habits and purchase history. It also collects data on engagement and post-purchase experience across channels. This data can then be used to create detailed customer profiles for targeted messaging.
By studying customer segments, lifecycle software can attract leads. It can convert them into loyal customers and keep them for repeat business. It can even win back inactive customers and turn them into brand advocates.
Benefits of using customer lifecycle software
The customer lifecycle includes five stages: reach, acquisition, conversion, retention, and loyalty. Customer lifecycle software tailors solutions for every stage, making your marketing more effective.
Lifecycle stage
What customer lifecycle software can do
Reach
– Deliver personalized content to boost brand recognition – Capture leads through automated campaigns – Track and analyze marketing performance for better decision-making
Acquisition
– Nurture leads with targeted email campaigns – Provide personalized product recommendations – Adjust landing pages for conversions
Conversion
– Automate abandoned cart recovery – Offer incentives and discounts – Streamline the checkout process
Retention
– Send personalized post-purchase follow-ups – Gather customer feedback and reviews – Create targeted upsell and cross-sell campaigns
Loyalty
– Implement loyalty and rewards programs – Provide exclusive perks for VIP customers – Encourage brand advocacy and referrals
Track the customer journey from awareness to loyalty. Identify areas of difficulty and opportunities for improvement at each stage.
This can help you determine appropriate software features for your business. For example, welcome emails or abandoned cart recovery automation may fit your needs.
Define your objectives
Define your goals for using customer lifecycle management tools. These might include boosting engagement or gaining more subscribers.
Review your current metrics and set realistic targets for improvement. Then, evaluate the software’s impact.
Mind scalability
Choose lifecycle marketing software that can grow with your business as your customer base increases. Look for flexible pricing and enterprise-level features, such as high-volume data capabilities.
Look for automation and personalization
Choose software with strong workflow automation for email, SMS, and other channels to save time and resources. Find customer lifecycle platforms with email segmentation to create more precise messages.
Look for tools with multi-channel attribution, cohort analysis, customer journey mapping, customizable reporting, and data visualization. It’s a bonus if they include predictive analytics and AI suggestions.
Email marketing automation based on customer lifecycle
Small and mid-sized ecommerce businesses
EngageBay
$13.99/mo
CRM with marketing automation and helpdesk
Small businesses
Customer.io
$150/mo
Behavior-based messaging across email, SMS, and push
Ecommerce and SaaS
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
$400/mo
Omnichannel marketing for enterprises
Large businesses
Zoho CRM
$14/mo
CRM with sales and marketing tools
Businesses of all sizes
Agorapulse
$99/mo
Social media management with CRM features
Agencies and social media teams
LoyaltyLion
$159/mo
Loyalty and rewards programs
Ecommerce stores
1. Omnisend — email marketing automation based on customer lifecycle
Omnisend is a platform for ecommerce email and SMS marketing automation. It helps you drive sales by sending the right message at each customer lifecycle stage.
It includes tools for marketing automation, analytics, customer lifecycle, and customer segmentation. These help you personalize consumer experiences across various channels, such as email, SMS, and push notifications.
Omnisend’s customer lifecycle map visually organizes your consumers by stage. It syncs data from your ecommerce store to create lifecycle segments for automating targeted campaigns in a few clicks.
Best features:
Email, SMS, and push messages automation based on lifecycle stages
Integrates with Agorapulse, Salesforce, LoyaltyLion, and 130+ apps
Cons:
Free plan is limited to 500 emails/month
Who should use this lifecycle marketing software?
Omnisend is ideal for ecommerce businesses of all sizes that want to personalize and automate customer journeys for higher engagement and revenue.
Thousands of ecommerce brands use Omnisend to grow through lifecycle marketing. Check out success stories from brands such as ColourPop Cosmetics, Skinnydip London, Jiggy Puzzles, and Volcom.
Pricing:
Omnisend offers a free plan that includes the customer lifecycle map and all key features. Paid plans start at $16/month.
“The lifecycle stage map is an incredible opportunity for a small business. This is the kind of thing that, otherwise, takes a marketing team to be able to do.
It’s a simple way to see our customers’ shopping or purchasing habits in one place, and it’s really helped us to be able to target different groups. We’re competing with larger businesses, and this allows us to have that reach at the right time.”
– Angèl Foster, co-owner of Island Olive Oil Company
2. EngageBay — customer relationship management with lifecycle marketing tools
EngageBay is an all-in-one CRM platform with sales, marketing, and customer support functionality. It also has tools for email campaigns, marketing automation, landing pages, and signup forms.
Customer.io is a messaging platform that allows businesses to send targeted, behavior-driven communications across multiple channels. It uses customer data to craft personalized messages on a large scale.
Best features:
Complex, multi-path message workflow creation
Highly personalized emails, push notifications, and texts
Targets users based on events, attributes, and segments
A/B testing for message optimization
Advanced reporting to evaluate campaign success
Pros:
Advanced segmentation and personalization
Flexible data integrations and API
Powerful workflow logic for complex use cases
Cons:
Higher pricing than other tools
Requires technical skills
Who is this lifecycle messaging tool for?
Customer.io is ideal for tech-savvy marketers, developers, and product teams who want to create sophisticated, data-driven lifecycle campaigns.
Pricing:
Customer.io offers a free trial and paid plans starting at $150/month for up to 12,000 customer profiles.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a comprehensive digital marketing platform. It offers a suite of tools for email, mobile messaging, social media, digital advertising, and more.
Best features:
Multi-channel campaign mapping and automation with Journey Builder
Predictive scoring and recommendations from Einstein AI
Unified customer data management using Audience Studio
Improved social media marketing and listening with Social Studio
Robust analytics and reporting
Pros:
Comprehensive, enterprise-grade feature set
Seamless integration with Salesforce CRM
Extensive partner ecosystem and AppExchange marketplace
Cons:
Steep learning curve and complexity
High cost and resource investment
Who is this customer lifecycle management system for?
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is best for large enterprises with complex digital marketing needs and substantial budgets.
Pricing:
Pricing is available upon request, with plans starting around $400/month for basic email marketing. Advanced functionality is often priced in the four-figure range monthly.
The Zoho CRM platform has tools for sales, marketing, and customer support. Its marketing automation features can help you streamline and optimize customer lifecycle management.
Best features:
Email marketing campaigns with dynamic content
Lead scoring and assignment rules
Workflow automation for lead nurturing and follow-up
Social media integration and monitoring
Detailed analytics and reporting
Pros:
Affordable, feature-rich CRM solution
Seamless integration with Zoho’s business app ecosystem
Customizable modules and workflows
Cons:
Limited third-party integrations compared to other CRM platforms
Steep learning curve for some features
Who is this customer lifecycle management software for?
Zoho CRM is a good fit for small to mid-sized businesses looking for an affordable, all-in-one CRM system with integrated marketing automation.
Pricing:
Zoho CRM offers a free plan for up to three users. Paid plans start at $14/user/month, billed annually.
Agorapulse is a social media management platform with CRM functionality. Engage customers, manage social media content, and measure performance across multiple networks.
Best features:
Unified social inbox for managing conversations
Social media publishing and scheduling
Social CRM for tracking customer interactions
Reporting and analytics for social media performance
Team collaboration and approval workflows
Pros:
User-friendly interface and easy setup
Robust social media management features
Affordable pricing compared to enterprise tools
Cons:
Limited customization options
Lacks advanced automation features
Who is this customer lifecycle platform for?
Agorapulse is best suited for small and mid-sized businesses, social media agencies, and teams who want to streamline their social media management and customer engagement.
Pricing:
Agorapulse offers a free trial and paid plans starting at $99/month for three social profiles and one user.
LoyaltyLion is a customer loyalty and rewards platform for ecommerce businesses. Develop loyalty programs to drive repeat purchases, referrals, and customer lifetime value.
LoyaltyLion integrates seamlessly with Omnisend. Combine loyalty data with email and SMS automation for more effective lifecycle marketing.
Limited customization options for certain features
Higher pricing than some loyalty tools
Who is this customer retention software for?
LoyaltyLion is an excellent choice for ecommerce businesses of all sizes looking to foster long-term customer relationships and drive repeat sales through rewards and incentives.
Pricing:
LoyaltyLion offers a free plan for up to 800 monthly orders. Paid plans start at $159/month for up to 1,500 monthly orders.
Customer lifecycle software helps businesses optimize every touchpoint in the customer journey. Consider your business goals, marketing channels, budget, and technical resources as you shop.
Ultimately, investing in customer lifecycle marketing software can benefit your bottom line. Nurture long-term customer relationships and maximize their lifetime value. This lays a solid foundation for sustainable growth in today’s competitive landscape.
The software featured in this article was reviewed based on user ratings and feedback on popular software review sites, hands-on testing by our team, and an assessment of key features and usability. We aimed to provide an objective overview to help readers make informed decisions based on their unique business needs and goals.
Ready to take your lifecycle marketing to the next level? Get started with Omnisend for free.
Bernard is the Sr. Director of Communications & Creative at Omnisend, with a passion for good research, helping ecommerce businesses with their marketing automation needs, and beating absolutely everyone in Mario Kart 64.
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These are the Omnisend features that can help you get the results mentioned in the article.
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