5 Loyalty Marketing Strategies to Attract More Customers.
In the current scenario there are numerous brands available in the market, all fighting for the customer’s attention and loyalty. But not all brands can get the attention of every customer, however, building customer loyalty is something that a brand can plan to achieve.
Different brands adopt different marketing strategies to build customer loyalty program, some succeed, whereas others fail. Customer loyalty can be gained if a few points are considered while developing your marketing strategy.
Customer Loyalty Program
For a brand its entire target audience and customer base is important but the most important are the regular customers. These are called the loyal customers, depending on the brand the size of these loyal customers can be small or large.
These customers are the ones to make purchases regularly even if there is no special discount or sale going on. They are also going to recommend the brand to their friends and family and indirectly contribute to the increased sales of the brand.
Customer loyalty program are developed to recognise and reward such customers. Without digital technology it was a complex to figure out the loyal customer but with the digital technology integrated, it is readily available.
Brands can devise their marketing strategies to target these regular customers and offer them better deals to ensure their loyalty for the brand. Furthermore, these loyalty program are also to create awareness for the brand among the audience. Running marketing campaigns will also enable the new customers to get involved to get benefit of the loyalty program.
Follow the pointers listed below and develop a customer loyalty program.
- Focus on Customer Behaviour
World is changing everyday and so is the customer behaviour. For a successful loyalty program, brands need to follow the rapidly changing customer behaviour and devise their strategies accordingly.
- Consider Customer Needs
Before devising any marketing strategy consider the needs and requirements of the customer. If your products and brand is targeted to the needs of the customers it becomes easy for the customers to become loyal to the brand.
- Strong Customer Service
Once a customer has made a purchase from your brand, ensure that you have a strong customer service department as it is one of the most important aspects of the customer experience. In case of any issues, the customer should feel valued by the customer services.
This will create a bond between the customer and the brand, making them a loyal customer.
- Offer Rewards
By recognising the loyal customers and offering them certain rewards is one of the most trending and successful strategies.
Sending free gifts or discount coupons along with the orders makes the customers feel special, and valued. This further works as a referral as well, as the loyal customer will now be recommending the brand to their friends and family as well.
Integrate different programs by RewardPort such as DigiFlix, GameBucks, Gamification, Subscription Nation, and CineRewards for better customer loyalty marketing program.
- Engage Customers on Digital Platforms
In the digital age, customers are present on all the digital platforms and hence, it becomes easy to engage the customers on a regular basis. This everyday engagement will keep the customers attached to the brand and maintain loyalty throughout.
These engagements can be personalised notifications based on the purchase history, or discount coupons.
Tips for Successful Loyalty Program
A successful loyalty program can benefit a brand at a large scale. It can help the brand to re-create its image and even explore the audience beyond.
- Personalisation
Customers, be it loyal or a new one is a human being only, and loves to feel valued. The small touch of personalisation added in the loyalty program can help you gain the trust of them.
Send them a personalised offer, email, or message on their birthdays to make them feel special based on their details.
- Offers on Frequent Purchases
On most online stores, it keeps a track of your frequent purchases and items that you look out for most. Offering a cashback or discount on those specific products can encourage the customers to keep making purchases.
This not only allows the customers to become a loyal customer but also refer the brand to their peers as well, and this does a small marketing for your brand.
- Leverage the technology (autofill address, and preferred payment modes)
Integrating advanced technology and using it for your own benefit should be considered by brands. With the AI technology, customer purchase patterns, and other details can be stored in the application.
These stored details can be used at the time of finishing up a purchase on the online store, making it convenient for the customer to finish the purchase. This helps them to make a quick purchase and have a seamless experience.
- Create a Memorable Experience
As discussed already, for a customer experience matters the most. How you made them feel is going to decide if they are going to be a loyal customer or not. Ensure that the customer experience is good, and they are happy with the services being offered.
- Encourage Feedbacks
If a customer is providing feedback, accept the feedback, and take some serious action on it. Brand’s actions on customer feedback will eventually make them feel valued and heard, offering a sense of belonging with the brand.
Most Common Loyalty Programs
Different companies have different strategies and loyalty program running for their customers. These loyalty program ideas can vary as per the needs and requirements of the brand and the customer size as well.
However, some of the most common loyalty program in marketing are as follows:
- Point Based System
In the point based system, customers earn a certain amount of points at the end of each purchase which can be redeemed on the next purchase. These points ensure that the customer will come back for more purchase and hence, the cycle keeps going on.
- Subscriptions
By asking customers to subscribe to your brand and get a premium account you offer them certain added benefits which are not available for regular customers. This makes the customers feel valued and special as they have added advantages.
Subscription Nation by RewardPort being integrated with your brand can help you offer better programs to your customers.
- Referral Rewards
Ensuring that not only one customer but even their peers become loyal to your brand, you implement a referral loyalty program. When a friend whom the customer referred to makes a purchase, the customer will get extra benefits such as a discount or gift card, motivating the customers to refer to their peers.
Integrating My Choice of Gift by RewardPort to offer customers free gifts of their choice on referrals. This will make customers associate themselves with the brand in a personal manner.
- Cashbacks
Offering a small amount of cashback on purchase of a certain amount or product creates excitement among the customers, motivating them to make more purchases for more cashback offers.
FreeBucks by RewardPort can be integrated with any loyalty program and can help customers get rewards and redeem points or get cash prizes as well.
RewardPort Loyalty Program
Among the various players in the industry RewardPort is the leading loyalty programs in India, offering various different solutions for your brand. The experience team, and the broad spectrum of clients has enabled RewardPort to offer the best loyalty program.
For more information, get in touch with our expert team and enhance your business today with our loyalty program.
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7 Types of Customer Loyalty Programs That Work for All Businesses
Studies suggest that around 84% of consumers are more likely to stick to a brand that runs a loyalty program. This is the reason why more than 90% of brands run a loyalty program today. Loyalty programs can definitely drive immense success to a business, but only when they are executed in the right manner. The best loyalty program for a business depends on various factors, including the type of business, the customer base, and the business objectives. Choosing the right program for your brand might be a real challenge. However, there are some common types of loyalty programs that work for almost every business. Some of these programs are as follows:
1. Rewards Points-Based Programs
Reward Point-based programs are one of the most widely used loyalty programs by businesses of every type. These programs are being used since the 1700s and are still considered one of the most successful strategies to win customer loyalty. In a rewards program, customers earn some sort of reward points every time they make a purchase. The number of points against a particular spend amount is pre-specified by the brand and customers earn accordingly.
For example, if a brand offers 10 Reward Points against every spend of Rs. 100, customers will earn 50 RPs on spending Rs. 500, 100 RPs on spending Rs. 1,000, and so on. Now, the monetary value of these reward points depends on the brand running the program. More valuable rewards are able to attract more customers. A program offering 5 Reward Points with each point equivalent to Re. 1 would be better than a program offering 10 Reward Points with each point equivalent to Re. 0.25.
Customers can later redeem these points against discount coupons, merchandise, or even against the products of other brands in some cases. You can create a separate rewards portal to run your loyalty program and add multiple redemption options for your customers. The more redemption options you offer, the happier your customers are. Though rewards programs are very good for acquiring new customers and encouraging them to stay loyal, these are not much effective in motivating customers to spend more.
2. Cashback-Based Programs
The cashback-based programs are the second most popular type of loyalty program after reward-based ones. These are very similar to reward programs in terms of their functionality. Instead of reward points, customers earn cashback that can either be directly redeemed against future purchases or can be credited back into their bank accounts. The percentage of cashback is fixed by the brand and customers get the corresponding amount back every time they make a purchase.
The most effective way to retain customers via cashback-based programs is to offer store-specific cashback, i.e. cashback that can only be redeemed against future purchases at your brand. The loyalty program run by Flipkart is one of the best examples of such cashback programs. Flipkart offers SuperCoins to its customers on every purchase they make. These SuperCoins are just like cashback as one coin is equivalent to Re. 1. Customers can redeem these coins against Flipkart purchases as well as against several other brands available for redemption.
Restricting the redemption option only to your brand might not be a very good idea, but make sure that it is the primary redemption option. You can allow your customers to redeem the cashback against other coupons or gift cards as well, but keeping your products as the most valuable redemption option can help you make your loyalty program successful.
3. Tier-Based Loyalty Programs
Tier-based loyalty programs also work well for almost every type of business. Though these are less popular compared to the rewards and cashback-based programs, many businesses are now running tiered loyalty programs as these can be amazingly successful if implemented correctly. These programs generally have three or more tiers with benefits getting more exclusive with each upper tier. The more a customer purchases, the higher tier he/she enters. And the higher tier a customer enters, the better rewards and benefits he/she earns.
For example, suppose you run a tiered loyalty program having three tiers. Customers enter the first tier as soon as they make their first purchase and they get 5% cashback under this tier. After making 10 purchases (worth above a pre-specified amount), they enter the second tier and start earning 7% cashback along with discount coupons on every purchase. Now, once they complete 30 or more purchases with your brand, they enter the third and the most premium tier that offers 10% cashback, discount coupons, as well as additional spend-based rewards.
This is how tier-based loyalty programs work. One of the biggest advantages of these programs is that you can customize them as per your business requirements. Also, you can offer more value to more loyal customers with this type of loyalty program.
4. Punch Card Programs
Punch Card-based programs are one of the most traditional loyalty programs that businesses have been using for several decades. This program is one of the most effective strategies to drive repeat business and boost customer loyalty. In a punch card program, customers get a card with a specific number of empty boxes. Every time they make a purchase, one empty box gets punched with the store stamp. Once all the empty boxes get stamped, customers get eligible for a free gift or rewards that are specified in the program.
For example, suppose you own a burger restaurant and run a punch card program for your customers. Let’s say your punch card has 10 empty boxes and on the 10th purchase, you offer a free meal for two. Now, your customers will come along with the punch card and get it stamped every time they purchase a burger. Once they reach the 10th box, they are eligible for the free meal.
5. Subscription-Based Loyalty Programs
Subscription-based loyalty programs are less preferred but are one of the most successful loyalty programs. In this type of program, customers need to pay in order to participate and earn the benefits of the loyalty program. If you opt for a subscription-based loyalty program, you must be very sure that your customers will find your program exciting enough to pay for it. As customers pay for these loyalty programs, they are more likely to stay loyal and engaged with your brand.
As per research, the members of subscription-based loyalty programs are 60% more likely to purchase more often from your brand. On the other hand, free loyalty programs increase that cance only to 30%, which is comparatively very low. Although paid loyalty programs can be quite expensive for average customers, this is also a positive point at the same time. With these programs, you can identify your best customers and provide them with the most premium benefits.
6. Charity-Based Loyalty Programs
Charity-based loyalty programs are quite unique yet one of the most effective customer loyalty programs run by businesses. These programs are very similar to rewards-based programs other than the redemption process. In a charity-based program, customers earn reward points that are redeemable against charity donations. These programs work for every business as almost every customer loves to donate to a social cause. You can include multiple charity options with your program and allow your customers to donate the equivalent amount to the charity of their choice once they accumulate a certain number of points.
7. Spend-Based Loyalty Programs
Spend-based loyalty programs, also known as milestone-based customer loyalty programs, reward customers for making purchases beyond a specific amount. In this type of program, not every customer gets rewarded, but it rewards only those who purchase above a pre-specified amount. The rewards can also get better with more spends. Businesses can customize these programs as per their requirements and their customers’ interests. For example, you can offer 2% cashback on spends up to Rs. 1,000, 5% cashback on spends up to Rs. 5,000, and 10% cashback on spends beyond Rs. 5,000.
Run The Best Loyalty Programs for Your Business With RewardPort
Implementing a loyalty program is not a big deal, but choosing the right loyalty program for your business is. A loyalty program is most successful when it aligns with the goals of your business and also takes the interests of your customers into account. This is what RewardPort can help you with. The team of marketing experts at RewardPort takes every small detail of your business into consideration and helps you run a loyalty program accordingly. Moreover, RewardPort includes gamification strategies in your loyalty programs, which make them even more exciting for your customers.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Some of the best loyalty programs for frequent shoppers are cashback-based programs, milestone-based rewards programs, reward points-based programs, etc.
Some key features of the best loyalty programs are as follows:
- The program should fulfill customer interests.
- The program should be valuable for customers as well as for the business.
- The program should align with business objectives.
Some best examples of customer loyalty programs run by businesses include Sephora’s beauty insider program, Starbucks loyalty program, Flipkart’s loyalty program, etc.
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4 Types of Critical Customer Engagement Metrics For Every Business.
In the current organizational landscape, data is very important. It serves as the foundation for decisions about strategy and implementation and propels crucial investments in both the personnel and technology. For good reason, it is the focus of research papers, boardroom debates, and conferences.
Scaling data and analytics, according to 33% of businesses, has enabled them to boost revenue from their current source. 24% of respondents said it has enabled them to access new revenue sources. Who’s important for businesses that wish to prosper in the current cutthroat and unstable market environment.
The majority of firms today are aware of how valuable data insights can be in streamlining operations, enhancing performance, and boosting profits. Companies still struggle to successfully track and capitalize on a number of crucial indicators and signals, though.
Most Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) place too much emphasis on gauging output and performance. Organizations risk losing sight of the most important indicators that spur business success if they just focus on those KPIs: user or customer experience measurements.
Which is what this blog aims to address.
1. Choose your Customer Performance Indicators (CPIs) and concentrate on the results that are important to your customers.
The most popular indicators that businesses monitor, such as customer retention rate, revenue churn, growth, etc., are all company-centric. Organizations shouldn’t merely gauge how well their customers are performing for them, especially those that pride themselves on being customer-centric. They ought to gauge how well their business serves customers.
To make your customers loyal to your brand you should focus on customer engagement strategies such as customer engagement gamification, customer loyalty programme, gamification rewards programme.
Identifying your company’s main Customer Performance Indicators (CPIs) is a useful approach to differentiate between the two. These include results that are significant to your customers (such as time or money saved, convenience, recognition, etc.).
The Customer Effort Score (CES), for instance, is a great illustration of a CPI because it focuses on outcomes (convenience and time saved) that are important to customers. It measures the effort it takes for customers to get an issue resolved, a question answered, or a request fulfilled.
2. Pay attention to what people do rather than just relying on poll results
Most businesses largely rely on NPS surveys and CSAT scores for gauging customer advocacy and loyalty. These ratings and survey replies, nevertheless, frequently don’t provide a completely true picture of customer behavior or experience.
NPS, for instance, is unable to reveal whether your “promoters” are in fact telling others about the goods and services offered by your business. CSAT survey responses don’t necessarily reflect a customer’s overall opinion of your business; rather, they primarily reflect their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a specific experience or support interaction.
Compared to returning customers or customers who recommend other people based on their experience, secondary performance metrics like post-customer service surveys are significantly less meaningful. It is a typical instance of deeds speaking louder than words.
Customers enjoy receiving unexpected treats like spinning the wheel and winning amazing rewards, pay attention to their needs and practices and organize customer loyalty programmes accordingly, also you can add a tinge of more fun if you gamify your loyalty programme.
3. Keep an eye out for signs. Keep track of how customers behave and how they interact with your product
Feedback from customer surveys frequently misses numerous crucial behavioral cues. Critical markers of a customer’s experience and purpose are how they interact with your product and website. You must keep an eye on them and your survey results simultaneously.
Customers’ survey responses may not always be as accurate as some behavioral indications, such as which areas of your website or product they spend the most time on or quickly leave, which product features they use the most or the least, etc.
They monitor new user adoption and experience metrics for their QR Code generator and marketing platform in addition to tracking some company-specific KPIs to assess revenue growth and support quality.
Collectively, the metrics mentioned above support the team in identifying emerging product concerns. Additionally, they help them understand user behavior so they can continuously enhance their onboarding strategy.
Because they couldn’t figure out how to use an app, 80% of users deleted it, and 86% of people are more likely to stick with a brand that makes an effort to “welcome and educate” them during the onboarding process.
Give your customers the opportunity to explore what you have for them such as spin the wheel and win, gamify your loyalty programmes or customer engagement gamification and to get a better revert from your customers indulge them into customer loyalty programmes.
4. Be master problem solvers by attempting to address customers' concerns on the first try
It goes without saying that today’s consumers are pickier than ever. If they don’t think your product is worthwhile or aren’t satisfied with the service you provide, they’ll leave—and they’ll depart quickly. 60% of customers believe that after two or three negative experiences, they would move to a different brand. A third of people say they would switch companies after just one negative customer service encounter. One-on-one problem-solving is regarded by 33% of consumers as being the most crucial component of excellent customer service.
You can find out that your workers are overloaded with a high amount of customer requests and are unable to respond to customer inquiries right away.
Then, you may lessen their workload by automating routine tasks and making sure workflows are well-defined.
You can simply handle these issues if you make the correct software investment for customer care.
Conclusion
The top rewards and loyalty marketing business in India is RewardPort. In order to help corporations not only increase their sales and profits but also build enduring relationships with their people, RewardPort provides end-to-end solutions. They believe that the decisions made by your company can inspire your people, whether they are your customers or employees.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
To participate in a contest and win prizes, you will just need to log in to that website/app using your registered mobile number. Check all the steps required to participate and proceed further accordingly.
If the contest has nothing to do with a mobile number registered with a particular brand, you can participate in it using any number. But, for contests launched by a particular brand under their loyalty program, you will most probably need your registered number.
If a particular brand is providing you with an option to win prizes by spinning the wheel, you can do it by logging in to their app/website. Generally, the wheel pops up on your screen when you open the app, and you can easily spin it. Otherwise, you can find the option under the rewards section.
You can win exciting prizes by participating in a daily spin-to-win contest. Just log in to the respective brand’s app/website, spin the wheel, and check what prize you have won. You might not win a prize every time you spin it, but you can get something amazing if you do it regularly.
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7 Tips to inspire lifelong customer loyalty
We live in a world where new businesses are sprouting up everywhere. The marketplace is crowded, and customers have a plethora of options for every product or service category.
It is no longer sufficient for brands to simply provide a great product or service – modern consumers are far more demanding. They anticipate that businesses will be available to them even after they have made a purchase. Customers purchase more than just the product; they also purchase the experience and associated lifestyle that comes with their purchase.
In such a competitive environment, it is the relationships that brands develop with their customers that distinguish successful businesses from those that fail.
What is Customer Loyalty?
Customer loyalty refers to a relationship between a customer and a brand that extends beyond simple purchasing and selling. It’s all about making an emotional connection with your customers so they keep returning to your brand. A satisfied customer will always prefer you to the competition. They will drive word-of-mouth sales by recommending your products to others, in addition to significantly increasing their lifetime value (CLV) with your brand.
Customer loyalty is classified into two types: transactional loyalty and emotional loyalty.
Transactional loyalty refers to the value that a customer places on your company’s product or service.
Emotional loyalty is much more complex than that. It happens because of consistently providing great experiences to your customers over time. Emotionally loyal customers have a strong connection to your brand and will stick with you regardless of external factors. They will even go out of their way to reward their devotion.
Emotional loyalty is especially important for businesses because it is unconditional and is not influenced by factors such as price or convenience.
What is the significance of customer loyalty?
Customer loyalty refers to the possibility of your brand taking preference in consumers’ decisions while considering similar purchases. This is due to customer satisfaction, which outweighs availability, pricing, and other factors that influence purchasing decisions.
When a customer is committed to a product, service, or brand, they are willing to wait for a restock or pay a little more for it.
Customer loyalty is essential for a variety of reasons. These are the most important:
1. Customers who return spend more than new customers
Existing customers tend to spend more money than new customers because they already trust your company and its products or services. The amount they spend usually increases with the length of time they do business with your brand.
2. Customer loyalty results in higher conversion rates
Existing customers convert at a rate of around 60% to 70%, while new customers convert at a rate of 5% to 20%. In other words, loyal customers who visit your website provide more value.
3. Customer loyalty increases profits
The higher your customer loyalty, the higher your profits. Just a 5% increase in customer retention could boost business profits by 25% to 95%.
4. Customer retention costs less than acquiring new customers
While acquiring new customers is important, it can be costly – roughly five times more expensive than retaining existing ones. Retaining loyal customers is far more cost-effective, as they generate higher profits at a lower cost.
5. Customers who are regular shoppers
Repeat customers shop much more frequently than new customers because they’ve already had positive experiences with your brand. This is especially true during the holidays when consumers buy gifts and spend more than they normally would throughout the year.
6. Customer loyalty allows you to plan time
When you have loyal customers, you can make better anticipatory decisions and plan your finances and marketing efforts more effectively.
Tips to Ensure Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is not something that happens by accident. Here are some important tips to be followed for increasing customer loyalty:
1. Understand your customers (and let them know you)
You should get personal with your customers if you want to cultivate customer loyalty. Learn their names, stories, and purchasing habits. Treat each one as an individual, not just another paying customer.
For example, on a customer’s birthday, you could send them a personalized birthday message along with a discount. You should also send them emails that you know will be of particular interest to them.
2. Set up a customer loyalty program
A customer loyalty program is an excellent way to reward and encourage loyal customers. These programs typically have reward criteria (for example, the customer must spend X amount per month), but the benefits to the customer usually outweigh these requirements.
Customer loyalty programs come in a variety of forms, including credit card programs, punch cards, and point systems. They all have one thing in common: they all provide an incentive for customers to spend more money on your products or services.
3. Create a referral program
A referral program, like a loyalty program, rewards customers for their involvement with a business. Customers receive certain benefits in this case if they refer your company to a friend or loved one. This not only attracts new customers (referral marketing is both effective and inexpensive!), but it also keeps your existing customers coming back for more because they now have incentives to do business with you.
4. Use your strengths and values to your advantage
What does your company excel at? What distinguishes your services? What is the most important thing to you? Your responses to these questions will assist you in framing your brand, which is essential for attracting loyal customers.
To truly connect with buyers, you must stay true to your brand and focus on your strengths. Be a market constant – a company that customers can always count on to deliver.
“Don’t fix what isn’t broken,” as the saying goes. Don’t change your offerings or become unrecognizable as a brand unless you’re having trouble attracting and retaining customers. Instead, be as committed to your company as you would like your customers to be.
5. Use social media to interact with customers
Social media is a great way to broadcast directly to customers, prospects, and the public. Many consumers will perceive you as irrelevant if you are not present on social media. It is critical to maintaining an active business profile across multiple social media platforms.
Sharing behind-the-scenes information about your brand and products or services, as well as interacting with your followers, will help you build a strong online community that will entice customers to return for more.
Consider the companies with whom you frequently do business and how they conduct themselves on social media: Do their posts reach their intended audience? Is their brand voice consistent with their values and products? Do they genuinely interact with their followers? You most likely answered yes to these questions.
6. Encourage feedback from customers
Request feedback from your customers to demonstrate your appreciation and willingness to constantly improve. Send out surveys, solicit email reviews, and be open to feedback. Customers are more likely to invest in companies that value their feedback and insights.
Don’t just say you care about customer satisfaction; actually, implement it and market it to them as proof of your commitment. You must first be loyal to them to cultivate their loyalty.
7. Save customer information
Businesses that save customer data make it easier for customers to return in the future. You could, for example, allow members to create an account on your mobile app or website, which securely stores their shipping and payment information for a quick purchase.
As a result, they have a one-touch ordering solution rather than having to re-enter their credit card number every time they want to make a transaction.
RewardPort’s Bespoke Solutions
The key to customer loyalty is to respect them as individuals and to demonstrate that respect in your interactions with them. If you adhere to that philosophy, your customers will reward you with their loyalty. The greatest challenge is to run custom campaigns targeting a significant chunk (or the most influential) of your customers.
RewardPort is a business consultant with expertise in designing, executing, and implementing bespoke customer loyalty solutions. We can bring in the best practices and decades of learning experience to assist you in nurturing loyal customers for many years to come.
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Top 10 Loyalty Marketing Trends for 2019
The concept behind customer retention or having a customer’s loyalty towards your brand is simple – ‘there is only a tangible number of customers to any given business’! However, returning and loyal customers is not an easy goal to reach easily especially when you want to perpetually make it a profitable brand with a good amount of sales. A famous sales mantra is “80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers!” It was observed that 5% increase in customer loyalty increases the average profit per customer by 25%-100%. Customer loyalty programs are usually highly effective when it comes to maintaining existing customers. In a market as competitive as it is now where decisions made by customers can switch rapidly with regard to their choice of their service providers or suppliers, loyalty programs can make a great deal of impact.
Based on the aforementioned reasons, it is implied that every brand that wants to make an impact and measurable connection with their audience or customer must engage in great loyalty programs. The brands or companies that have already begun engaging in such loyalty programs must keep an open perspective and try to incorporate latest, successful loyalty marketing strategies to increase their brand value and customer engagement to a sizable amount. Here are the top 10 loyalty marketing trends that are going to take over the loyalty program sector by storm:
1. Modern customers are noticeably
Modern customers are noticeably bored and tired of typical messaging and flowery posts and ads trying to sell something! Trying to sell “The perfect life” is passe now and there is a legitimate crusade for authenticity and customers are likely to believe in real and raw videos testifying the same. Brands have found that the current audience or customers watch live streams for about 3x longer than pre-made, scripted video content. Live streams and unedited videos is what might drive the customers going forward!
2. Vertical channel integration through AR
The further the technologies advance, the quest for content via Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality is likely to grow manifold. It will increase a productive conversation between vertical channel partners. Real estate companies are already implementing similar techniques to create interactive and interesting models for their customers to engage with. Introduction to such media can enhance the way customers react, respond and purchase completely.
3. Going local
Various programs have gone mobile which implies that the program reaches the customer wherever they go. A new class of technologies called ‘geofences’ is what is used to target audiences based on their location. Promotional messaging could penetrate into the customer’s mind with greater ease based on where and what they are doing! It also indicates that distinct sales and training data can be made available in specific areas for on-the-spot improved efficiency. Smart applications of geofencing are set to improve the member experience on the whole.
4. Loyalty based on Accounts
Account Based Loyalty is all about moving a program’s focus from quantity over quality. Instead of concentrating on lots of prospects to highly targeted, high-value non-members to the top-of-the-pyramid, decisive non-member accounts who you require to be on top of your list.
5. A closer look at your data
Make sure to take a close look at your data because in order to make it big, you’ll have to analyze your customers, their pattern of shopping, customer shopping behaviors and current trends along with their approach towards the brand at large.
6. Loyalty Hacking
The time has come to start running interactive, small-scale operations that defines the works and doesn’t work for the program. Soon, programs will be examining different ways of phrasing a customer’s call to action. Loyalty hacking would assure of immediate delivery of results, and clear results along with providing a quick response to the requirements of the customer.
7. Artificial Intelligence accelerating attention
It is presumed that AI and machine-learning methods are likely to have an inexplicable impact on the way brands communicate with their loyalty program members. The actual success of deploying these Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms will be able to achieve a level of Attention and Interest (A&I) that gains the customer’s attention.
8. Enhancing influencer loyalty programs
The concept of an ‘influencer loyalty’ directs to be driven by people with fame or celebrities and trend-setters engaging on their respective Instagram feeds. Influencer loyalty works best through online testimonials, videos, and referrals from other loyalty members.
9. Security and Transparency
Transparency has become the most valuable aspect of social media and online activities these days. The prominent assurance of one’s security drives most customers to trust the brand or the reward program with their respective details and that’s the trust they have on you.
10. Focus on Return on Learning
Most B2B loyalty programs companies are evolving around re-engineering their loyalty through enablement. In other words, driving member engagement by the completion of education and learning contributions which help to increase their overall knowledge of the product and other services.
These are some of the most incredible trends that have already set foot in the loyalty program companies and others are estimated to set things in the right path in 2019 and change the way customers experience shopping and brand project themselves!
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5 Reasons Why Customers Losing Interest on your Loyalty Program
Offers are Repetitive
With every religious and national event, there comes the horde of offers and promotions. If your company is product based then you should always look at your competitors and see what are they offering. Sometime many companies of the same product-line offers similar loyalty program and it becomes confusing for customers to choose the right one. And before you introduce your offer to them, they are already exhausted by seeing similar offers again and again! Do a proper research on your competitors before turning over confident!
Your Presence is Weak on Digital Media
The decision making process of human minds has been changing drastically. It has become very instantaneous since brands are offering something new everyday and targeting customers personally through different digital mediums. Think about your presence on digital media. Hit them through your social presence, take help from Google adwords, launch an app and cover all kinds of digital mediums which you think can help you reach your target audience.
You are Ignoring Retention Policies
Have you ever given a thought why Amazon gives more preference to prime members than new ones? That’s because they understand the importance of loyal customers and always gives more preference to retain them. Your loyal bunch of customers would always want to try something new introduced by your company but the new ones may hesitate since they don’t know much about you. Give special discount, send personalized mails, give them seasonal offers and don’t think it twice to make them feel special!
Your Offers are not Relevant and Real
Always think of offering something that becomes useful for your customers in their daily lives. For example, loyalty points won’t make much difference but some discount on their daily grocery needs would do. Make your offers more realistic by relating them to the daily needs of your targeted audience. Don’t make long running offers but keep it short and practical. Give them a chance to use them on their hobbies and entertainment.
You are not Integrating your Loyalty Program with Overall Customer Experience
A loyalty successful loyalty program depends on three important things,
1) Accurate brand communication,
2) Excellent service and
3) create real value and meaning for your customers.
Don’t ignore your customers in the long run. Make them feel like a part of your company, personalize special offers in festivals, build your own community by inviting them to special events and interact with them on social media.
In the end, your customers build your business and it depends upon you how you make them feel special. Don’t take loyalty programs as a separate add-on but make it a part of your actual business through which you can build a community of people to participate in your business offerings.
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Tips to Retain Loyal Customers
A loyal client is every businessman’s dream. Be it any product or service, spanning the sea of industries out there, a major chunk of strategist’s energy is devoted to acquiring customers and retaining them by all means. Loyalty programs in India are one of important methods used by organizations to reward and retain their loyal customers. While different businesses may need to have specific retention plans, here are a few guidelines from which most of the businesses can benefit-
1. Empathize
Use design thinking 101. Before thinking of various ways to retain loyal customers, it is of utmost importance to empathize with them, get into their shoes and experience the product/ service the same way the customers will.
2. Customer’s Trust
Once a customer is acquired and served well, he is bound to return, since he begins to trust the brand. It is absolutely necessary that this trust is never betrayed. Thus brands should only sell what they stand for and refrain from overselling.
3. Uniformity of experience
Brands should ensure superior customer experience which is uniform across all of their offerings and across geographies as well. A customer having gained a certain experience at one store location would expect the same quality of experience at another store. Differences might mislead and confuse the customer about what truly the brand represents.
4. Real-time CRM and data driven decisions
With so many businesses engaging with their customers online, gathering intricate details about a customer’s needs and preferences has become the trend. Organizations that have the means to correctly mine this data and analyze it can make more informed and accurate decisions, targeting the right customers with the right products.
Data can also be used to predict which of the repeat customers are worth more. Upon segregating into high worth and low worth, customers can be offered customized offerings with preference given to the former.
5. Reward their loyalty
It always augurs well with businesses to reward customers for their loyalty in the form of special offers and discounts. Loyalty programs are one of the most popular tools used by businesses in India. For knowing what kind of loyalty program would work for a particular business, professional consultancy can be taken from loyalty management companies and customer loyalty marketing companies.
6. Customer service and ORM
Businesses should ensure that customers get quality after-service. A disgruntled customer could turn out to be a nightmare owing to the massive reach he can have via various social media. A negative word of mouth could dissuade the acquired customers from continuing with the product or service.
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Customer Engagement in 2015 & Beyond
A customer is not an interruption to our work, but the purpose of it. There may be a controversy about who quoted this, but the inherent truth in the statement can never be contested. Companies spend millions of dollars every year to attract customers, yet they manage to retain very few. Technology can help to bridge the communication gap between customers and brands, yet it threatens to make them lose the human touch. To quote an example from our everyday lives- how many of us have the patience to wait on the IVR until our call is connected to a human customer service representative?
Here’s what every business needs to do in order to engage customers in 2015 and retain them for years to come:
1. Know your customers and know him well
When Wally Urtz, a store manager at the Food Emporium in Hastings-on-Hudson, a New York City suburb was transferred to a nearby suburb, the entire village of around 8000 people rallied around him. A manager may seem to be an unlikely person to set off such an emotional outburst, but he represents ‘a dying breed that is being replaced by something that people are resentful to and very unhappy about because the human element is missing’, quotes an article about him in the New York Times (October 26, 2003). Incorporating the human touch in our business isn’t difficult. Simple steps like calling clients, sending them letters/emails, or meeting them in person can go a long way in knowing customers and making them feel special.
2. Personalize the experience by using technology to automate communication in a scalable way:
Technology can be used to automate communication. This can be tackled by creating interactive documents and integrating elements such as drop down menus, data feeds, etc.
3. Emotionally engage…its beyond offers and discounts now:
Companies are obsessively fighting the price war, yet customers are more fickle than ever. Only those that can move beyond the price tag zone and create real value for customers can survive. As earlier said, know your customers well. And use this information to surprise them and personalize their experience. A discount driven approach cannot sustain for long, but one driven by customer loyalty can. To be successful in customer engagement, make sure that you tweak your business model to rely on loyalty.
3. Engage across channels:
A typical modern day customer refers to not less than 6 to 7 communication channels before deciding on a product. Some of them include website content, in store, or social media. Businesses should ensure that information passed through each of these channels shouldn’t be conflicting or ambiguous. Technology can help in this regard by standardizing enterprise wide systems, thereby allowing companies to send out branded messages via emails, SMS’s etc.
4. Mobile engagement is most effective…get this right:
Smartphone searches are all set to replace desktop search. Companies are now busy exploiting this trend with location based messages and mobile ads, incorporating mobile SEO and adapting a responsive web design.
5. Reward them for actions…even the simplest one:
Don’t we all thrive on attention? Rewarding customers with small surprises can go a long way in creating brand loyalty and increasing customer retention.
6. Make customers feel like a VIP:
The easiest way to show that you value customers is by being polite. Words such as ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ often seem insignificant until someone stops using them. Get to know customers interests and wants by using technology such as Google Think Insights and include these habits by publicizing and praising them openly.
7. Use technology effectively…build or outsource, but do it:
Technology can be used to get your message across its intended audience. Webinars can be hosted on topical issues, using QR codes, Wi-Fi targeting and arranging virtual meetings are some of the things that businesses can do. If adapting to technology seems an overwhelming task or if you are starved of time, outsourcing is a good option.
8. Use the Internet of Things to engage:
Market researchers have predicted that by 2020, more than 212 billion devices are likely to be connected through IoT. To explain IoT in a nutshell, this is a technology that enables people to connect everyday physical objects to the internet, enabling them to communicate with other devices and even transfer data. With IoT, you’d never run out of grocery supplies because your fridge could be preprogrammed to monitor stock and send a message to the local grocer automatically.
9. Participatory engagement- involve customer in your next product development:
A new product development need not necessarily involve inventing something new. More often than not, it involves modifying an existing product by eliminating its limitations. Involving customers in this process not only results in better customer engagement, but also ensures that the end result is in line with customer expectations.
Customer engagement needs patience and creativity. Creating brand loyalty is the ultimate goal because this is directly linked to profitability. But without maintaining a fine balance, your efforts are likely to backfire, because you may end up overwhelming him. There may be different ways of engaging a customer, but at the end of the day the main aim of every strategy is to create happy consumers who can promote your products to one and all.