5 B2B Rewards Programs for Consumer Products Businesses
Although loyalty programs are more popular among B2C brands, these can also work amazingly well for B2B businesses. As the competition is really high in the market, almost every business is running a loyalty program to attract potential customers and retain them. Running a loyalty program for a B2B brand can be quite challenging, but with the right strategies, you can make your loyalty program successful and bring immense success to your business. Before planning a loyalty program for your B2B brand, you need to keep a lot of things in mind. The most important thing to understand here is that B2B loyalty programs are different from the ones that work for B2C businesses.
You need to analyze your business requirements and your customers’ needs before implementing a loyalty program. Let us help you understand what B2B loyalty programs are, how are they different, and what are the best loyalty program ideas for B2B businesses:
How Are B2B Loyalty Programs Different From B2C Loyalty Programs?
One major difference between B2B and B2C businesses arises in the size of their customer base. As B2B businesses generally have a smaller customer base, they can customize their loyalty programs to provide each customer with personalized experiences and fit the requirements of each customer. Moreover, B2B loyalty programs need better communication as you need to communicate with each customer separately for encouraging them to participate in your program. Another significant difference between B2B and B2C loyalty programs is that rewards need to be more premium in the case of B2B programs.
5 Effective B2B Loyalty Program Ideas
Here are some top loyalty program ideas to boost B2B customer engagement and improve loyalty:
1. Offer Transaction Based Discounts
Discounts work amazingly well in boosting customer loyalty as well as in improving brand reputation. After your customer makes a purchase, provide them with a discount coupon that they can redeem against the current or future purchase. Discount offers are not just beneficial for your customers, but also for your business. Customers are likely to purchase more at discounted prices and as a result, your overall sales increase. Discount-based loyalty programs can be advantageous in boosting B2B brand loyalty in many ways.
Customers always prefer to buy items at sale and hence discount offers can attract new customers to your business. When they get items at lower prices multiple times, they are more likely to make future purchases from your business and stay connected with you for a longer period. Discount-based offers can be of different types. You can either offer a fixed percentage of discount to all your customers or offer higher discounts to customers who spend more.
For example, you can offer a 10% discount to customers who buy 100 units of a product and a 20% discount to those who buy more than 300 units. Another example is to offer a 10% discount to all customers irrespective of the units they purchase. To boost sales, the first offer seems to work more effectively.
2. Run a Rewards-Based Loyalty Program
A rewards based loyalty program works for almost every type of business, including B2B and B2C businesses. However, there can be a difference in the implementation of rewards programs for B2B companies. With this type of loyalty program, you can allow your customers to earn some reward points for every purchase they make and redeem these rewards against exciting vouchers or discount coupons. Make sure that you offer some exciting redemption options that can encourage your customers to earn more and more reward points.
You can fix the number of loyalty reward points against a certain spend amount and allow your customers to earn rewards accordingly. Also, the monetary value of these reward points can be fixed by you as per your preference. You can even keep the monetary value higher for some redemption options and lower for others. For example, suppose you offer 500 Reward Points for every spend of Rs. 10,000, where the value of each reward point is equivalent to Re. 1 for redemption against your products and it is Re. 0.5 for redemption against other options, such as vouchers or discount coupons of other brands.
With these loyalty programs, customers are encouraged to spend more in order to earn more rewards. And when you offer a higher monetary value of reward points for redemption against your products, customers are more likely to make repeat purchases in order to use their reward points. Reward and loyalty solution companies like RewardPort can help you run such loyalty programs and boost B2B brand loyalty.
3. Use Tiered Incentives
Offering tiered incentives is one of the fairest ways to treat your most loyal customers the best. Tier-based loyalty programs are also among the most popular types of loyalty programs for B2B companies. You can divide your loyalty program into different tiers, where a higher tier comes with better rewards and benefits. The more customer purchases, the higher tier they get promoted to. This is a great way to encourage your customers to purchase more frequently in order to get into the upper tier and receive more premium benefits.
For example, let’s suppose you run a loyalty program having three tiers. Your customers enter the first tier after they make their first purchase and receive a 5% discount coupon after every purchase in this tier. This discount coupon can be redeemed against future purchases. After spending a certain amount on your business or after making a specific number of purchases, they enter the second tier and receive a 10% discount coupon after every purchase. Similarly, they enter the third tier after fulfilling the pre-specified conditions and receive a 15% discount coupon after every purchase in this tier.
4. Stimulate Co-Marketing and Support Activities
Co-marketing activities do not just help you boost customer loyalty but also allow you to strengthen relationships with your customers. Provide your B2B customers with the marketing resources and allow them to expand their business as it is ultimately going to benefit your business as well. You can allow their marketing teams to work with your marketing experts and make better sales strategies together. You can mention their business in your advertisements and marketing campaigns to help them get a better reach.
For example, as a manufacturer of home decor products, most of your customers will be retail home decor shop owners. When you advertise your products, you can mention the addresses of your customers’ shops from where your end consumers can buy these products. This will not only help your customers but also improve your marketing campaigns.
5. Offer Referral Incentives
Referral incentives or discounts are one of the most effective loyalty programs with dual benefits. One, you can boost loyalty in your existing customers. Two, you can acquire new customers with minimum effort. In a referral loyalty program, you incentivize your customers to recommend your brand to their friends. The referral incentives can be in the form of rewards, discount coupons, or any other benefit that is exciting enough to encourage your customers to participate in this program.
To make the program more interesting, you can even add different incentives at different stages of referral. For example, suppose you run a discount-based referral program. In this, your customers get a 5% discount coupon when they refer a friend and they get another 10% discount coupon when the friend makes their first purchase. Along with acquiring new customers, this is a great way to boost B2B customer engagement.
Run the Best B2B Loyalty Program With RewardPort
RewardPort, being one of the top rewards and loyalty solution providers in India, can help you build a customized loyalty program for your business. The team of marketing experts at RewardPort makes sure that every detail of your business is taken into consideration and that the loyalty program is planned accordingly. A B2B rewards program is successful when it aligns with your business requirements and fulfills your customers’ interests. This is what RewardPort can do for you.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
B2B loyalty programs are the strategies that businesses use to retain their customers (businesses they sell to). In short, these are the loyalty programs for B2B brands that aim to boost loyalty in their dealer businesses instead of focusing on the end consumers.
There are many benefits of boosting loyalty in B2B businesses. Loyal customers are likely to purchase more often and they are also easier to manage.
Promoting B2B loyalty programs requires more communication efforts. You should communicate with each of your customers and encourage them to participate in your loyalty program by making them aware of its benefits.
How to Run a Loyalty Rewards Program as a Small Business?
Running a loyalty rewards program is the best way to retain existing customers. It can also help you attract new customers by setting your brand apart from the competitors. With increasing competition in the market, more businesses are recognizing the need for customer loyalty. Encouraging customers to stay loyal has become a challenge for businesses, especially for the small ones, as customers have lots of options to choose from in the market.
This is where loyalty programs come into play. Almost every business, from average to large-sized, is running a loyalty program today. But for small businesses, it is not very practical to spend a lot on loyalty programs. However, with a proper strategy, small businesses can create effective loyalty rewards programs under their budget. Before you start looking for a loyalty program provider, you must understand why loyalty programs are so important for a business:
Why is a Loyalty Rewards Program Important?
Studies suggest that acquiring new customers can be 5 to 25% more expensive than retaining the existing ones. Though it is essential to attract your target audience, focusing more on customer loyalty can take your brand to another level. Customer loyalty matters even more for small businesses, which can not spend much on customer acquisition.
In today’s competitive market, it becomes challenging to motivate your customers to stay loyal when they have a lot of other options. But with an effective loyalty program, you can keep your customers coming back again and again. With these programs, you can reward your customers for every purchase they make. It makes them feel that they are receiving something in return for their spend. As a result, they are encouraged to make repeat purchases to earn more rewards.
Some of the most significant advantages of loyalty reward programs include:
- Helps in customer retention.
- Encourages customers to make repeat purchases, which further increases the Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV).
- Strengthens your relationship with your customers by improving customer satisfaction.
- Helps you differentiate your brand from the competitors.
Tips for Running loyalty programs for small businesses
If you are running a small business and trying to build an inexpensive yet effective loyalty program, the following tips might help you achieve your goal:
1. Profile your customers
Profiling your customers refers to creating a perfect picture of your target audience. It is important to identify what your target audience or your customer base looks like. You will have to study your customers and categorize them based on their interests, buying habits, locations, etc. Also, check your customers’ data to find out how many customers make repeat purchases and what is the percentage of one-time buyers.
You should also consider the reviews and feedback of your customers to understand what they like the most and what they do not. After recognizing the requirements and interests of your customers, you can build the most successful loyalty program that does its job of customer retention perfectly.
2. Find What Your Customers Value
You can not make the most out of a loyalty program until you offer something that your customers value. The rewards or benefits you are offering must be interesting enough for your customers to build excitement among them. They will definitely come back to earn more rewards, provided that the rewards are valuable for them.
To find out what your customers are interested in, you can take customer surveys or launch polls through your social media accounts. Another way is to launch short-term offers with different reward options and see which offer gets the most customer engagement. Going with a rewards-based or a cashback-based loyalty program is always a safe option. You can either offer a certain percentage of cashback or a certain number of rewards every time your customers spend a specific amount on your brand.
If you are creating a rewards-based loyalty program, try to offer some great redemption options to your customers. Allowing them to use the rewards against future purchases is the most effective way to encourage repeat purchases.
3. Build 2-3 Programs
Many businesses have different types of loyalty programs running simultaneously. You can also do the same to set your brand apart from the competitors and make the loyalty program exciting for your customers. Let us help you understand this with an example. Suppose you run a rewards-based loyalty program. You have a separate portal for loyalty programs where your customers can log in to track their rewards and redeem them.
To make this program more interesting, you can include gamification. Along with the regular rewards that your customers earn on making purchases, allow them to increase the number of earned reward points in some other ways. You can do this by running a ‘Spin to Win; contest on your website or app. Give your customers a chance to spin the wheel once every day and earn some additional rewards. This will help you increase log-ins to your website/app and also make the loyalty program interesting for your customers.
Similarly, you can even run tier-based loyalty programs along with a basic rewards program or a cashback program. The more rewards you offer, the more your customers are encouraged to stay loyal.
4. Find The Right Platform & Automate The Program
You can find various platforms online that run loyalty programs for small businesses. To find the right platform, you have to keep a lot of factors in mind. Your first step should be to set a budget and look for loyalty solution providers that fit your needs. RewardPort can help you run the best loyalty programs with rewards starting from as low as Rs. 10.
Also, make sure that the platform or tool considers your business objectives and creates a loyalty program that aligns with the interests of your customers. The platform should also allow you to automate the loyalty programs as running them manually can be a real challenge. For automation, you can build a separate rewards portal where your customers can create an account, and all their rewards get accrued automatically when they make a purchase.
Best Loyalty Program Ideas for Small Businesses
The benefits of loyalty rewards and not unknown to businesses these days. However, you need to choose the right type of loyalty program for your brand in order to make it work effectively. The following are some best and most cost-effective loyalty program ideas for small businesses:
Punch Cards:
A punch card is one of the most basic types of loyalty programs. With a punch card, you can encourage your customers to make a certain number of purchases in order to earn a free gift/reward. For example, suppose you run a salon. You can print punch cards with 9 empty boxes and include a free service (like a free hair spa) in the 10th box.
Now, every time your customer visits and avails of your service, a box in their punch card gets stamped. On their 10th purchase, they can avail of a free hair spa along with the service they are going to avail of. This is one of the easiest loyalty programs as you don’t need to make any special efforts to run this.
Come Up with Membership Plans:
Customers love it when they are appreciated for their purchase. Having a membership plan is one of the best ways to make your loyal customers feel special. You can either have a free membership plan or a paid plan or both. Allow your customers to sign-up for the membership plans and avail of the benefits.
If you are having a free and paid membership plan, you can include more benefits with the paid plan. Make sure not to keep the fee of these plans low and affordable for most of your customers. Your goal should not be to make revenue out of this fee, but only to make your customers stick to your brand. Once your customers pay a fee for the membership plan, they are very less likely to switch to other brands.
Points-Based Rewards Program
Points-based loyalty programs are the most popular these days. You can offer a certain number of reward points on every purchase your customers make. In these programs, the number of reward points is fixed against a certain spend amount. The monetary value of rewards and redemption options can be decided by the brand.
For example, you can offer 10 Reward Points for every spend of Rs. 100. Now if a customer makes a purchase worth Rs. 500, they earn 50 points. Let’s say the monetary value of 1 Reward Point is Re. 0.5 and you allow redemption against your own products or services. The next time your customer purchases something, he/she gets Rs. 25 (50 points worth Re. 0.5 each) off on this.
Referral Programs
Referral programs do not only work for customer retention but are also very effective in acquiring new customers. You can run a ‘Refer a Friend’ contest on your website or app. Make sure that you offer some valuable rewards or discounts so that your customers refer as many friends as they can. Once their friends sign up or make a purchase, your customers as well as the friends get the reward.
The benefits of loyalty rewards are not only restricted to customer retention, but these programs also help you acquire new customers, boost brand awareness, and improve customer satisfaction.
Run an Effective Loyalty Rewards Program with RewardPort
RewardPort is one of the top rewards and loyalty program providers in India. With high-quality and low-cost rewards, RewardPort can help you run cost-effective loyalty programs that are just perfect for your small business. The team of marketing experts at RewardPort considers every small detail of your business to come up with an effective loyalty program plan that works best for your brand.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Some most common types of loyalty programs include Reward Points based loyalty programs, punch card-based loyalty programs, cashback-based loyalty programs, tier-based loyalty programs, and membership-based loyalty programs.
Customer loyalty is very important for every brand. Several studies have shown that loyal customers spend around 31% more per transaction than one-time customers. Moreover, customer acquisition is much more expensive than customer retention. Loyal customers do not just make repeat purchases, but they can also help you gain new customers by encouraging word of mouth.
A loyalty program is a strategic rewards-based program that businesses run to encourage their customers to stay loyal. Running a loyalty program has become important these days because it is challenging to retain customers in such a competitive market. The best way to stay ahead of your competitors is to run a unique and effective loyalty program.
5 Simple & Inexpensive Loyalty Programs for D2C Companies
A Loyalty Program, if created and implemented in the right manner, can bring incredible growth to a business. Many D2C brands in India are missing out on the fundamentals of building brand loyalty. The Indian D2C market is estimated to grow to $100 billion by 2025, which shows the level of competition arising in the industry. Succeeding in such a competitive market is a challenge. But if you understand what it takes to set your brand apart from others, you win the game.
One of the most important factors determining the success of a brand is brand loyalty. This is why businesses are now investing more and more in building loyalty programs to retain their customers. Loyalty programs are the strategies used by businesses to boost brand loyalty and improve customer experiences. Customers love it when they get valued for their purchase and this is exactly what loyalty programs aim to do. Before you start looking for a loyalty program company, you must be aware of the importance of boosting customer loyalty:
Why Customer Loyalty is Important for D2C Businesses?
D2C businesses are facing more competition than ever before, especially online ones. To stand out in such a competitive market, it becomes important to focus on building brand loyalty and improving customer experiences. Studies suggest that loyal customers spend 25% more per transaction than other buyers. Moreover, acquiring new customers can be much more expensive than retaining the existing ones.
Most D2C companies in India focus more on customer acquisition than customer retention. However, that should not be the case. It is fine to invest in acquiring customers. But to recover high customer acquisition costs, retaining existing customers is also equally essential. One-time buyers are less likely to become brand loyalists. Loyal customers generally feel emotionally connected with the brand and they tend to purchase more often.
A loyalty program does not only help your business increase repeat purchases, but it also enhances your customers’ experiences. Your customers feel valued when they get rewarded for their purchases. As a result, they start purchasing frequently to earn more rewards. This is how the benefits of loyalty programs are not just restricted to customer loyalty, you can also acquire new customers and improve their overall experience.
Every D2C business needs to earn customer loyalty to beat the competition in the market. Here are some most effective loyalty program strategies for D2C businesses. Make sure that you look for these features while choosing a loyalty program company:
1. Start with Reward Points/Discounts
Reward Points-based programs are the most basic type of loyalty program. Under these programs, customers earn a certain number of loyalty points every time they purchase from a brand. The monetary value of these reward points is decided by the brand only. If you are trying to start with a cost-effective loyalty program for your D2C brand, a reward points-based program would be the best option to consider.
You can build a separate portal to run the loyalty program, where your customers can log in to track their rewards and redeem them. Make sure that you offer some great redemption options. If the redemption options are not good enough to excite your customers, they will not be interested in earning more rewards. Allowing your customers to use the reward points against their next purchase is also a great idea to encourage your customers to come back.
2. Include Gamification
Gamifying your reward program strategy makes it even more interesting for your customers. Gamification is a powerful tool that helps businesses in maximizing the benefits of loyalty programs by keeping their customers engaged. Along with increasing the level of excitement, it encourages your customers to keep coming back for more. Below are some great examples of gamification strategies to boost customer loyalty:
Spin to Win Contests
You can run Spin to Win contests on your website or app and allow your audience to Spin the Wheel once every day. This encourages them to log in to your app regularly to earn rewards or prizes. It can benefit your business in two ways. First, you get more app downloads and log-ins. Second, people who win discount coupons/rewards will make purchases to redeem these rewards.
Top-Spenders Leaderboards
Having a leaderboard for top spenders is another effective gamification strategy. You can add a leaderboard to your website, where your customers can check real-time top spenders of the day, week, or month. It encourages them to spend more to see their names on the top of the leaderboard.
Referral Contests
Running referral contests is the most cost-effective way to acquire new customers while improving the experience of your existing customers. You can keep different rewards for different stages of referral. For example, offer a 10% discount on referring to a friend, a 30% discount when they sign up, and a 50% discount when they make their first purchase.
3. Promote Loyalist To Higher Tiers
A tier-based loyalty program also works amazingly well. As a D2C brand, you must understand that not every customer is equally loyal. There are customers who really like your brand and prefer you the most. Also, there are other customers who only consider you an option and might switch as soon as they see another opportunity. More loyal customers deserve better rewards as they play a significant role in the success of a business.
You can come up with a loyalty program with different tiers. Many D2C businesses are already having such programs. The more your customers purchase, the higher tier they get promoted to. And a high tier means better rewards.
For example, suppose a brand has a loyalty program with three tiers A, B, and C. The customers enter tier A on making their first purchase. In this tier, they get 5 Reward Points for every Rs. 100 they spend. As soon as they complete 10 purchases, they enter tier B, where they earn 10 points for every Rs. 100 they spend. Once they complete 50 purchases with the brand, they enter tier C and start earning 20 points for every Rs. 100 they spend.
4. Provide Proactive Assurance To Your Customers
Loyalty programs are not just about offering rewards and discounts to your customers. You also need to focus on enhancing your customers’ experiences and making them feel good about your brand. You can ensure this by providing proactive assurance to your customers. Make sure that all their questions are answered and their doubts are resolved. This is why many D2C brands are adding AI chatbots to their websites and apps.
If your business is online, you can add AI-powered chatbots to your website. With this, you can ensure that your customers’ queries are resolved quickly and with maximum accuracy. Even if you run an offline business, make sure that you have some support representatives present at your offline store. It gives a sense of satisfaction to your customers and boosts brand loyalty among them.
5. Reward Your Most Loyal Customers With Unexpected Gifts
The most loyal customers of a business are the most precious ones. You can identify brand loyalists by looking at your customer data. It is important to value these customers and appreciate their loyalty. You can do this by sending them personalized messages and small surprise gifts on special occasions like their birthdays. It helps in building stronger relationships with your loyal customers, encouraging them to stay connected with the brand for a longer period.
Boost Your Brand Loyalty With RewardPort
Being one of the top rewards and loyalty program providers in India, RewardPort helps businesses in strategizing and running the most effective loyalty programs. The team of marketing experts at RewardPort has already executed loyalty programs for several leading brands.
Taking every detail of your business into account, RewardPort can help you run a loyalty program that aligns with your brand objectives. With lost-cost rewards and the best marketing strategies, RewardPort can help you boost repeat purchases within three months.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
A loyalty program s a type of marketing strategy that businesses use to retain their existing customers and improve their overall experiences. Though the major goal of these programs is customer retention, they are also effective in attracting new customers.
Companies use loyalty programs to encourage their customers to keep buying by rewarding them for every purchase they make.
A great example of loyalty programs run by companies includes a rewards-based loyalty program where customers earn a certain number of loyalty points every time they spend on a brand.
7 Loyalty Program Rewards for Small & Medium Enterprises
More and more brands are now adopting the concept of loyalty program rewards to retain customers. Research shows that over 90% of companies, whether small, medium, or large enterprises, have a loyalty program today. Businesses must have effective strategies to boost customer retention and stand out in a competitive market.
Running a loyalty program is the most used and effective way to encourage customers to stay loyal to a particular brand.
Loyalty program rewards motivate customers to turn into repeat buyers. However, a loyalty program will work only if it aligns with the interests of the customers and the business. A loyalty rewards program that works for a large-sized business might not be suitable for other small brands.
Here are some best loyalty program ideas for small and medium enterprises:
1. Loyalty Points
Points-based programs are one of the most common loyalty programs for businesses of any size. Such loyalty programs aim to motivate customers to stay loyal to a brand. Under these programs, customers receive a few points every time they purchase.
The number of points is fixed against a certain amount spent on the brand. For example, you can offer 10 points on every spend of Rs. 100 to your customers. If they make a purchase worth Rs. 1,000, they receive 100 points.
These points can be redeemed against various options available at a rewards portal or in the form of store credit that is redeemable for future purchases. You must ensure that the loyalty points are valuable for your customers to make these loyalty programs successful.
If your rewards program is not interesting enough for your customers, it cannot encourage them to repeat purchases and stay loyal to your brand. When the loyalty points are valuable, your customers feel they are getting something in return for their spending and will be motivated to repurchase.
2. Referral Purchase Rewards
Referral purchase rewards are the rewards/benefits customers receive for referring a product to their friends. Under these programs, your referring customers and their friends (to whom they refer your products) get some benefits.
However, the terms and conditions for receiving the rewards can be different with different referral programs. Some programs offer rewards/discounts as soon as customers refer a friend. However, other programs reward them only when their friend signs up or makes a purchase.
The latter is a better option. You can run a referral purchase rewards program under which your customers receive decent benefits when their friend signs up to your website and makes a purchase. You can also keep different rewards for different levels in the referral process.
For example, your customers receive a certain number of reward points when they refer a friend, then they get a discount coupon when their friend signs up, and finally, they get a gift when their friend makes a purchase.
Referral programs are a great way to expand your market reach and acquire new customers. You can encourage your customers to make more and more people aware of your brand. The programs help you increase your brand awareness through word-of-mouth and boost sales.
3. First Access
Giving your customers the first access to your new products, flash sales, and discount offers is also an effective way to boost customer loyalty. Whenever a new product is launched, you can make it accessible to the registered customers on your website before it is available to others in the market.
Another way is to provide your customers early access to flash sales, discount offers, BOGO deals, etc., via e-mails or text messages.
With these loyalty program techniques, you can encourage your target audience to become your registered customers. Also, as your existing customers feel special when they get early access, they promote your brand through word-of-mouth.
The early access strategy works better for online businesses, where purchase does not require registration.
4. Charitable Activities
Giving back to society can be the best reward sometimes. Your rewards program can give your customers opportunities for charitable donations. Offer loyalty points to your customers for their purchases and let them redeem their earned rewards against charity.
Such programs can encourage socially conscious consumers to stick to your brand as they get to contribute to the charity through you. You can include different charity options in your reward redemption program and allow your customers to choose what they prefer.
Once they accumulate a certain number of loyalty points, the equivalent amount gets donated to charity in their name. The program becomes more effective when your charity partners are related to your brand.
5. Pay Later Accounts
Most top e-commerce companies provide ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ options in partnership with financial services companies. Pay Later is a small line of credit that allows customers to purchase and pay for it over a month or in installments.
The pay-later option makes it convenient for customers to make frequent purchases. Moreover, they often spend more than they would without this credit option.
By providing pay-later and EMI options to your customers, you can make them feel that you trust them and understand their needs. Customers with a line of credit with a brand are more likely to stay loyal to it.
6. Freebies
Who doesn’t like getting free products? One of the most effective ways to retain customers is by offering them freebies. Whenever your customer makes a purchase, surprise them with a random free product.
It can be anything as small as a free pair of matching earrings with the main outfit. If you have launched any new products, the best way to make your customers aware of them is to send them free samples along with their purchase.
You can also let the consumers redeem their loyalty points for a free product. The redemption options can include other brand vouchers, discount coupons, etc., to make the program more exciting. Using the word ‘free’ in your loyalty programs can be much more effective than it seems to be.
7. Limited Period Offers
Keep coming up with limited-period offers exclusively for your customers. When your customers make a purchase, you can provide them with a discount coupon that is only valid for a short period. Make the discount offer exciting enough to motivate your customers to visit your store back before the offer expires.
Offering great discounts for a limited duration creates a sense of urgency in your customers and prepone their purchases.
How To Build a Loyalty Program?
Almost every brand runs a loyalty program to retain customers today. However, the loyalty rewards program can be considered effective when it adds value both to the customers and the brand.
Here are some important points to consider when building a customer loyalty program for your business:
- The loyalty program must offer value to your customers. If the customers don’t find your loyalty program rewards valuable, they may not feel motivated to repurchase.
- Tie the rewards back to your brand to make the program more effective. You can offer rewards or cashback that the customers can redeem against your products.
- Keep a mix of instant and premium rewards for different segments of customers. Not every customer is loyal. Before offering premium rewards and benefits to boost loyalty, you can identify long-term customers and one-time buyers coming for discounts.
- Make sure that the rewards program is cost-effective for your business and that you don’t spend without analyzing the results.
Set up a Loyalty Program with RewardPort
RewardPort is one of the top loyalty program solution providers in India. With RewardPort, you can set up a loyalty program that works for your brand and fulfills your customer needs. Experts at RewardPort can plan and execute loyalty program strategies according to your business goals and consumer profile.
RewardPort helps you provide loyalty program rewards online and offline as your budget and consumers allow.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Loyalty programs are the programs that businesses use to boost customer loyalty. Customers get some sort of reward every time they spend on a brand. These rewards can be in the form of loyalty points, cashback, or store credit. Customers can redeem the rewards against future purchases or other options from the brand.
Some most effective types of loyalty program rewards are store credit, loyalty points, rewards redeemable against charity, referral rewards, etc.
Some significant benefits of offering loyalty program rewards to customers include:
- Effective in customer retention
- Encourage customers to spend more
- Help you increase brand awareness through word of mouth
- Improve customer experience
9 Effective Employee Rewards Program Which Costs Nothing
Employee rewards programs are an essential component of any successful business. A well-designed rewards program can help boost morale, increase productivity, and improve employee retention rates. While there are many ways to reward employees, not all programs have to come at a high cost.
In this blog, we will discuss eight effective employee rewards programs that cost nothing.
1. Recognition and Appreciation Programs
Employees thrive on recognition and appreciation, and one of the best ways to show appreciation is through a formal recognition program. A recognition program can be as simple as a thank-you note or a shout-out in a team meeting.
Employees who feel valued and appreciated are more likely to be engaged and motivated, leading to increased productivity and job satisfaction.
2. Professional Development Opportunities
One of the most effective rewards for employees is the opportunity for professional development. By investing in your employees’ growth and development, you not only improve their skills and knowledge but also demonstrate your commitment to their success.
Providing access to training programs, conferences, and online courses can help employees improve their skills and advance in their careers.
3. Flexible Work Arrangements
ork-life balance is crucial for many employees, and offering flexible work arrangements can be a valuable reward. Flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options, flexible schedules, or compressed workweeks, can help employees achieve a better work-life balance and improve their overall well-being.
This reward also has the added benefit of reducing overhead costs for the business.
4. Extra Time Off
Providing employees with extra time off is an effective way to reward them for their hard work. This can come in the form of a bonus day off, an extended holiday break, or a long weekend. Extra time off can help employees recharge, reducing burnout and improving their overall job satisfaction.
5. Peer-to-Peer Recognition
Peer-to-peer recognition is a powerful way to build a positive work culture and boost morale. Allowing employees to recognize each other’s accomplishments can help build stronger relationships between team members and foster a sense of community within the workplace.
This can be done through a formal recognition program or simply encouraging employees to give each other shout-outs in team meetings or a company chat platform.
6. Personalized Rewards
Personalized rewards are an effective way to show employees that you value them as individuals. By tailoring rewards to their interests or preferences, you demonstrate that you know and appreciate them on a personal level.
Personalized rewards can be as simple as a gift card to their favorite coffee shop or restaurant, a book on a topic they enjoy, or a subscription to a service that aligns with their hobbies.
7. Volunteer Opportunities
Many employees are passionate about giving back to their community, and offering volunteer opportunities can be a rewarding experience for both the employee and the company. This can come in the form of company-sponsored volunteer events or simply allowing employees to take time off to volunteer for causes they are passionate about.
Not only does this reward demonstrate your commitment to social responsibility, but it also helps build a positive work culture and improve employee satisfaction.
8. Employee-Led Initiatives
Empowering employees to lead initiatives within the company can be an effective way to reward them for their hard work and dedication. This can come in the form of allowing employees to lead a project, create a new program, or spearhead a new initiative.
By giving employees the autonomy to lead, you demonstrate that you trust and value their contributions to the company.
9. Social Acceptance
Here is another project that is not only free but also successful in this day of selfies and social media.
Promote staff members via social media, in the corporate newsletter, or on the company website when they are performing at the top of their game. The employees will feel much better about their achievements because of the significant difference.
Also, others can aspire to achieve it, which will result in higher performance.
Effective Employee Rewards Programs
Effective employee rewards programs should help you improve employee morale, increase productivity, and have higher retention rates. But employee rewards don’t have to be budgeted for another time.
Whether it’s providing access to professional development opportunities, offering flexible work arrangements, or empowering employees to lead initiatives, these rewards demonstrate your commitment to your employees’ success and well.
All types of employees are taken into consideration when designing the employee incentives and redemption programs at RewardPort, and while they are simple to use, they also provide an engaging model to keep employees interested.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Employee recognition and rewards are essential for enhancing organizational values, fostering healthy competition, enhancing employee happiness & satisfaction, raising customer satisfaction levels, and inspiring employees to go above and beyond.
RewardPort aims at giving you the best employee engagement and recognition programs. These programs are specially curated as per your work culture’s needs.
Recognizing employees' contributions to the success of their teams and the organization helps them understand how much their employers value them. This is especially important as organizations expand or undergo change. Employees are encouraged to keep up the excellent work since it makes them feel secure in their contribution to the organization.
11 Must-Have Incentive and Recogination Programs to Reward Employees
A unique program designed by firms to thank employees for their contributions to the growth of a company is known as an employee incentive and recognition program. Effective employee recognition programs guarantee that workers feel valued, appreciated, and inspired to accomplish company goals. They also aid in attracting and keeping top talent.
1. Gift of Thanks
This is presumably one of the most frequently advised ways to express your appreciation to your staff. Everyone wants to feel appreciated, and a vocal or handwritten “Thank You” has the greatest impact on any expression of gratitude.
Therefore, be sure to express your gratitude to your deserving employees.
2. Peer-to-Peer Identifiers
Peer recognition has a special value. Peers occasionally have greater knowledge of their coworkers’ work than supervisors or those in control do. They are the ones that collaborate at work, and their interactions are less intimate. They frequently see features that bosses miss.
Healthy peer-to-peer recognition is essential to the success of your firm. By conducting surveys among the staff and identifying the ones who received the most votes, it may be completed swiftly.
3. Include Your Staff in a Short Film
Most individuals enjoy watching themselves on screens. Make a brief video that lasts 5 to 10 minutes and make your staff the stars. Inquire about their opinions and loves and dislikes regarding the business.
If you look at the number of voluntary participants, you might be astonished. These actions increase your employees’ sense of belonging to and “participation in” the business.
Of course, once the film is finished, make sure to share it with everyone.
4. Identifying the Creativity in Creative Minds
Some employees continually contribute fresh ideas or a dash of imagination to their work. These are typically the people who have a genuine enthusiasm for what they do and consistently strive to achieve their best. Tell them you value what they are doing. It’s important to remember to thank them occasionally.
Others will be compelled to offer their thoughts and go above and beyond by receiving such appreciation. It, if you haven’t set aside an award for them, do so right away.
5. Moment for the Classic Wall of Fame
An excellent icing on the employee appreciation cake would be to have a wall of fame in the office where the successes are showcased for the entire crew. It will increase the value and notoriety of the appreciation.
Digital screens with live feeds on recognition, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. can also be installed in strategic office places.
6. Promotion of Wellness at Work
An organization can benefit from promoting wellness in the workplace in numerous ways.
For maintaining their health, employees can receive free or discounted gym memberships as an incentive. To keep them motivated and encourage others to adopt a healthy lifestyle, you must also recognize their health achievements.
Along with other advantages like enhancing workers’ health and well-being, decreasing absenteeism, and boosting productivity, it gives the organization a caring image.
A strong corporate wellness program is a requirement for any company.
When such additional efforts are made to enhance employees’ wellness (apart from work), they innately feel cherished, cared for, and thus, recognized.
7. Financial Incentives
Financial incentives have been shown to improve employee engagement: According to research by the Incentive Research Foundation, when an incentive program is properly designed, performance can rise by as much as 44%.
A percentage of the benefit should go to the performers if an employee has helped the organization save money or increase revenue. The design of incentive programs must inspire employees to work harder and further the objectives of the firm.
8. Social Recognition
Employee recognition shouldn’t just take place behind closed doors. While praising your employees, go public. When you publicly thank your staff, they can show off their well-deserved gratitude.
Using social media is another approach to making employee recognition public. Naturally, your staff members spend a lot of time on numerous social media websites. They would adore the opportunity to brag about their success on these platforms.
9. Gamify your rewards and recognition programs
Gamification has become prevalent.
In essence, it is introducing game features into a non-gaming environment.
Your employee recognition program might benefit greatly from gamification. It will pique curiosity and result in more productive work from your staff.
How Do You Do It?
The goal is to make employee recognition an ongoing, immediate process. Keeping track of the accolades and prizes received by your workers is the next stage.
Create leaderboards, badges, and certificates to recognize employees in various areas of their professional lives. If it is healthy, competition may be a powerful motivator.
10. Multiple Choices
What would our staff members adore, do you know? It is the gift of genuine option.
When given the option to select a material reward for a job well done, your staff will be quite happy. Ask your employees what they would like the next time you want to award them.
If it complies with your R&R plan, let them choose the incentives of their choosing.
11. OTT Membership
If you have staff who work remotely, this is the best reward you could give them. Asking your staff for information on their favorite OTT subscription will allow you to provide it to them as a gift.
In this approach, your staff members not only get what they want but it’s also one of the most financially viable methods for rewarding staff, especially in the modern age.
Conclusion
It can be difficult to come up with awards or ideas for employee recognition.
However, you must constantly make it a point to show your staff appreciation regularly, regardless of what. And this list was RewardPort’s way of helping you out by thanking and rewarding your staff in the greatest way possible.
Which suggestions for rewards and recognition do you think are the best? RewardPort is highly aware of it and gives you programs that are specifically tailored to meet your demands.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
The best ways in which a company can motivate distributers and resellers are:
- Offering them some benefits through loyalty programs.
- Investing in their skill upgrade.
- Communicating with the resellers and distributors regularly.
- Appreciate them for great performances by offering discounts.
To get extra time off from your boss, the following tips might help:
- Prove yourself with your performance.
- Never miss deadlines.
- Try to be punctual at work.
- Make your request in a polite way.
Employee recognition plays an important role in the development and growth of a company. It makes the employees feel valued in their company and consequently, they try to remain loyal to the organization and give their best. Moreover, it helps the workers in keeping themselves motivated to work harder to get the recognition.
What do Millennials want from Loyalty Programmes?
A successful business thrives on interacting with its customers and encourages repeat business. One of the most effective strategies for increasing customer retention is the modest loyalty programme. With 63% of Millennials viewing loyalty programmes as important to them, compared to 61% of Gen X, Millennials are exhibiting a particularly great interest, and there are more memberships than ever.
Despite this interest, there is evidence that loyalty programmes are falling short of Millennials’ expectations. In contrast to 62% and 38% of non-Millennials, a concerning 70% of Millennials participate in fewer than half of the loyalty programmes to which they belong, and 50% participate in less than a quarter.
Therefore, it is important for brands to collaborate with a good loyalty programme company to meet the expectations of millennials.
Access to smartphones is essential
In a survey of 1,287 consumers, 97% of millennials responded affirmatively, compared to 69% of non-Millennials, when asked if they would be more likely to engage in a loyalty programme if they could avail it from their smartphone.
Loyalty programme companies need to ensure that the audience can access loyalty programme on their smartphones since it’s safe to assume that 87% of the millennial customers own smartphones and carry them around at all times.
When asked about the top loyalty programme annoyances, 56% of Millennials said that having to download and utilize a mobile app to access rewards, points balance, and other information was annoying, while 44% said having to log into a website was the most annoyance. So, loyalty programme companies need to resolve this issue.
Participate on their favorite platform
Through their preferred means, people want to be contacted and engaged. Brands may demonstrate to customers that they are paying attention to them by using an omnichannel strategy, which also adds a personal touch that can significantly increase engagement and general satisfaction.
When asked about the best ways to use loyalty programmes
- Among millennials, 54% believe a smartphone app is insufficient
- 28% opted to use a smartphone to send texts
- 11% opted to use a mobile wallet
- 6% opted for a computer website
- 4 percent choose Facebook Messenger
Meeting Millennials' demands
Every generation will benefit from having a clear, usable loyalty programme that is available through a variety of channels, but there are undoubtedly some tactics that will resonate more strongly with millennials. When we looked at complaints about loyalty programmes, the findings were largely consistent across generations.
Rewards expiring before they could be used was the biggest complaint among millennials (30%), followed by not knowing when rewards were available (28%) and having to carry the card (14%). Just 22% of non-Millennials selected this as the most noteworthy generational difference in this case, which was not knowing when incentives are available.
Any Loyalty programme company trying to optimize their programmes for millennials must make sure that it is completely available on smartphones, though not always through a mobile app. Make checking the status of collected awards or point balances as simple and frictionless as feasible without requiring users to register for a website or download an app. Pay attention to the communication channels that your customers prefer and adapt your approach.
It makes excellent commercial sense to invest in meeting millennials’ expectations because they may remain loyal customers for a very long time.
Engagement
It is not surprising that millennials are drawn to loyalty programmes that engage them through numerous channels because they are a tech-savvy and highly connected generation. Brands should get in touch with an exclusive loyalty programme company to increase millennial loyalty by implementing a programme that keeps them informed about the brand experience whether they interact with them online, through a mobile app, or in-person. One such channel is social media, which has the added advantage of enabling peer-to-peer recommendations, which many millennial customers rely on before making purchases. Social media is fantastic for constant, relevant communication as well as having this additional benefit.
Brands should think about gamification tactics as well. Brands have the opportunity to build rewarding and personalized experiences that offer entertainment value to the customer while increasing engagement by integrating game-like aspects into their rewards programme.
Convenience
Even a reward programme with fun activities and engaging features won’t appeal to millennials if it’s challenging to use.
While millennials rely on technology to make their lives easier, they expect digital solutions to enhance, not replace, their experiences. This requires businesses to create loyalty programmes with #1 and cost-effective loyalty programme company like RewardPort that are user-friendly and simple to use across all platforms, including laptops, tablets, and, above all else, mobile devices. Millennials are quick to give up on apps that take a long time to load or have complicated interfaces if they do not save them time or improve their lives.
Since 76% of millennials own smartphones, mobile solutions are most suited to their constantly connected and on-the-go lifestyles. For instance, 63% of millennials are more likely to make a purchase if they receive a coupon on their mobile device while close to a store, while 45% of millennials access coupons via email on mobile devices. Loyalty programmes can benefit from common mobile techniques like real-time notifications, multichannel capabilities, personalization, or even technology like mobile wallets, much like other top mobile solutions.
Millennials respect their hard-earned money, time, and effort and despite having enormous purchasing power, people favor experiences over possessions. Brands will need to move away from tried-and-true loyalty strategies in favor of fresh initiatives that place an emphasis on experience, engagement, and convenience.
Conclusion
Every customer wants a comfort zone to fit in and RewardPort understands this necessity so we resolve it and make it lucrative. RewardPort is India’s leading loyalty programme company crafting customized loyalty programmes and solutions as per your needs in order to ensure that your customers keep coming back and with full ease it offers reasonable fairs.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Yes, it is okay to refer prospects to your partner's website. As this will not only increase their sales, but you are also going to get profit out of it.
The level of commitment and time required varies from partner to partner. More commitment gives you better results and higher revenue. However, the required time can be flexible, and it depends on the type of partnership you have.
The cost of becoming a channel partner will depend on the brand, type, and mode of partnership. Dealer partners often have ready infrastructure and customer base and may not need additional investment for brand partnership. However, franchise partners may need to invest a fixed amount and will have the brand support them with store design and inventory.
The length of a partnership agreement depends on the desires of the businesses that are coming together. The stronger the partnership is, the longer it lasts. It can be as short as 6 months and can also go up to five years or even more in some cases. You can even extend the partnership after the expiry of the partnership agreement by drafting another agreement.
5 Superb Sales Techniques to Reach Your Consumer Faster
Everyone has something they can market, whether it’s an item, a service, or some essential information. However, gaining customers and increasing sales from that service, item, or piece of knowledge are the only ways a business can prosper. However, you can’t just sit back and hope that someone would come across your product and buy it. Sales growth is the result of carefully planned sales methods that are created and implemented. To boost sales, you must either expand the audience you sell to, improve the goods you sell, improve your messaging, or do all of the aforementioned.
1. Be methodical when creating leads
The first step is to make sure that your firm generates enough leads consistently to sustain a steady flow of business. Too many business owners are determined to put out regular fires instead of thinking about their long-term aims.
- Establish goals for how many prospects you want to have in the funnel at any one time.
- To reach those goals, schedule the number of visits you want to have each week with potential clients.
- The remaining time should be used to manage your ongoing sales efforts.
- Although it’s not always the simplest element of your job, generating leads is essential if you want to create steady sales.
2. Understand the sales cycle
Your sales cycle, which is the period of time between meeting a potential customer for the first time and closing a deal, will be determined by the type of business you’re in. This can differ significantly amongst businesses. Your sales cycle can only be increased greatly when you offer good products at the time of redemption for the customers through game vouchers and gift cards. But you need to be aware of how long it often takes you, in days, weeks, or months.
To determine how long your sales cycle is:
- List the 20 most recent closed sales you’ve had
- Note the duration of each
- Calculate the median
- Using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology can also help you discover your best customers, target particular demographics, and obtain a better understanding of your sales pipeline.
3. Understand numbers
Every business needs a certain number of prospects at all times just to keep up sales. Consider the usual sales cycle as well as the quantity of closed transactions you desire each month. The proportion of contacted prospects who made purchases is another important statistic to be aware of. Make the best customers through your products such as game redeem code, best loyalty programmes, redeem game voucher. With the aid of these figures, you may establish objectives for your company.
Example:
Your company wants to sell three things each month. An average sale is closed four months after the client is first contacted. You have a close ratio of 25% if one out of every four prospects your sales team contacts end up making a purchase.
In this case, you can be certain that you will close three transactions each month as long as you keep 48 active leads at any given time. It’s that easy. You will need to keep a list of 64 active prospects if you decide one day to boost your monthly production to four closed transactions, for example. With this knowledge, business owners are better equipped to provide their salespeople clear, measurable goals.
4. Active referral-seeking
Obtaining recommendations from happy customers is a general rule for any firm. Asking for a referral directly can be difficult, so one approach to avoid it is to encourage customers to mention their customers and suppliers about the products or services such as best loyalty programmes, redeem game voucher, game gift cards and others.
If a possible customer comes up during a conversation, you may ask them if it’s okay to call Tom and explain that you spoke with him. Describe yourself and say something like, “I was thinking it would be a good idea for us to gather up. Consider next Tuesday.
5. Be prepared for pushback
Be ready for typical objections, especially when conducting cold calls. Typical adverse reactions include:
I have to deal with someone else.
I’m overworked.
This is not the best time.
Send me some material first, and then we can discuss.
You will lose the prospect’s interest if you are not prepared with succinct responses. Get ready to respond by practicing your exact words in advance. It’s critical to understand their concerns before attempting to cast a more favorable perspective on them.
Conclusion
Sales promotion is one of the essential elements of the promotion mix. Keeping your needs in mind RewardPort develops a variety of sales campaigns that resonate with your target market in order to establish lasting relationships with your customers.
10 Common mistakes businesses make with their giveaways
You’ve probably seen your fair share of branded contests over the years. This is for a reason. Contests, when properly executed, can be one of the most effective marketing strategies.
Marketers have known this for years, and as a result, branded contests, sweepstakes, and giveaways have worked wonders for decades.
1. Ineffective Giveaway Strategy
The most serious mistake a company can make when running a giveaway contest is a lack of strategy. Most businesses often launch giveaways without first defining contest goals and objectives. This increases the likelihood of miscommunication and other technical issues that a comprehensive giveaway marketing strategy would otherwise eliminate.
A good giveaway strategy enables businesses to avoid low entry rates and ensure effective contesting to achieve the desired results. A strong giveaway strategy has the advantage of providing a standard for what a successful giveaway will look like. This way, you can reduce squabbles and get your team on the same page to meet specific objectives and achieve your desired level of success.
2. Unspecific Calls to Action (CTA)
The main goal of marketing your giveaway is to have a prominent CTA. Make it clear what the entry requirements are and use text and buttons to entice people to join.
3. Relying Solely on the Giveaway Publisher for Promotions
Create a contact list and send them an email about your giveaway. Be careful not to irritate existing customers by offering your product at a lower price than they paid for it – instead, offer them a free upgrade. Send out e-mails and follow-ups announcing the progress of your giveaway to give it the appearance of a real-life event, which it is.
4. There Are no Official Rules
Establishing official giveaway rules and regulations may require additional work, but it can often mean the difference between a successful giveaway contest and a failure. Without clear rules in place, your giveaway may confuse or, worse, expose your company to reputational harm, legal action, and complaints.
As a result, you must publish your official giveaway rules a few days before the contest to allow time for participants to review them.
When establishing rules, you must define participant eligibility by specifying residency and age requirements. Excluding your employees, affiliates, and their family members from the contest also ensures objectivity and avoids backlash from neutral participants. To avoid confusion and legal trouble, you should also specify how the winner will be chosen and notified, as well as how you will use the personal data you’ve gathered.
5. Unappealing Awards
Another reason most giveaways do not have a higher participant turnout is that the prizes are unappealing and irrelevant. Most people have no idea what giveaway prizes are, what they do, or how much they are worth.
When potential participants are not sold on the idea of your prize, they are more likely to participate without feeling completely convinced or to avoid the contest entirely. One way to avoid this is to come up with several social media giveaway ideas and determine what initially drew your audience to your brand.
As a rule, use your product as a giveaway to generate buzz and gauge customer interest. Using your products in giveaway contests gives the winners a taste of what they can expect if they continue to do business with you, ultimately increasing your conversions and sales in the long run.
6. Running Competitions for Too Long
Businesses frequently run giveaways for extended periods in the hopes of generating and maximizing traffic. This strategy, however, can backfire and result in participants completely forgetting about your contests. On the other hand, if you don’t run it long enough, you may limit the number of people who can enter.
Although there is no one-size-fits-all story when it comes to running giveaways, the sweet spot for a typical contest duration is two to four weeks. This is enough time to ensure that your marketing strategies mature, but not so long that it becomes tedious, and participants begin to complain.
Establish an appropriate contest duration to maintain a sense of urgency and entice people to enter sooner than later.
7. Registration Is Difficult
Many marketers make the mistake of requiring users to go through multiple registration processes and fill out multiple forms to participate in their contests. While this is a great way to collect relevant data, it may discourage potential entrants from converting and participating in your giveaway.
According to data, 74.3% of people despise forms because they take too much time and effort and provide little value. As a result, utilizing powerful marketing technologies such as a giveaway software solution is critical in reducing participant frustration and ensuring a successful contest.
It easily integrates with social media platforms and a dynamic giveaway software platform makes it easier for your customers to participate. The participants can easily log in using their Twitter or Facebook accounts.
Experts at RewardPort can also guide you with several such initiatives to ensure a high-performance Giveaway campaign for your brand.
8. Poor Reward-to-Effort Ratio
The purpose of a contest is to put in a little effort in exchange for a chance to win a large prize. Otherwise, you could save money and buy the item yourself.
This is true in any contest, but it is especially true when trying to get user-generated content in the form of essays, photos, videos, and other media.
Unfortunately, too many contests make this mistake and ask participants to do a lot of work for a small reward. As a result, even if you spent a significant amount of time and money executing the campaign, you may receive very few entries.
Here are some common signs that you’re asking too much of your audience:
- High entry barriers: If users require specific equipment to make submissions, such as a microphone or a camera, they will not accept low-quality prizes, such as cheap gift cards.
- Too time-consuming and/or labour-intensive: If you’re asking people to put in hours of work, you should make it worthwhile.
- The prize is too specific: Assume you sell photography and video equipment. A lens may appear to be a good prize, but it is meaningless to those who do not own a compatible camera. Prizes like this are inferior to those that can be used by anyone.
The cost is low: Money cannot buy happiness, but it can purchase contest entries. The less expensive the prize, the less interest you will receive.
9. Arriving at the Worst Possible Moment
There’s nothing worse than missing out on a contest you’d love to enter because you don’t have the time, money, or energy to do so. Or, even worse, you simply didn’t notice it.
This type of error can turn off people who would otherwise enter your contest. That is a major issue.
Choosing the Incorrect “Location” (i.e., Poor Targeting)
We are all aware that location is important in the real world. You don’t want your contest to attract people who aren’t interested in your brand. While there are no “places” in the traditional sense on the internet, there is traffic – and various traffic sources.
Sometimes you must make a tradeoff: do you want hyper-targeted entrants, a mix, or are you willing to go crazy and accept anyone for the sake of expanding the campaign’s reach?
There are several things you can do to keep things more focused:
- Exclude advertising to specific demographics using Facebook Ads targeting.
- Make the prize specific to a specific demographic.
- Increasing traffic from websites that contain your target audience
Avoid Giveaway Mistakes & Ensure Success
For businesses that lack the tools needed to automate specific processes like contest duration, fraud protection, and contest creation, preventing giveaway mistakes can be difficult. Using a dynamic marketing software platform to manage your giveaways is one way to ensure a successful giveaway.
Alternatively, connect with RewardPort’s award-winning strategists to design and execute a custom Giveaway campaign for you.
14 Ways to promote your sweepstakes in 2022
If you’re an online retailer, you should think about incorporating sweepstakes into your marketing strategy. They’re an efficient marketing channel for expanding your business, generating more leads, promoting your brand, and increasing sales.
A sweepstake is simple and inexpensive to run, and the benefits are far greater than those of many other marketing methods when done correctly.
Email subscribers, new customers, and increased followers on social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. Increased brand exposure and awareness can all result from a single promotion and increase sales.
Planning and Construction
Sweepstakes are a low-cost marketing promotion method that can have a significant impact on growing an audience and building a business. However, before running sweepstakes, you must plan it out so that you have a road map for success with a set of predetermined goals.
Many businesses believe that by giving something away for free, they will receive a flood of new visitors, email subscribers, Facebook likes, and sales. Unfortunately, without a well-defined goal and a solid marketing strategy, this is rarely the case.
To start creating your roadmap for a successful giveaway, plan out each step of your promotion until you reach the goal that you want to achieve. You can begin building your sweepstakes once you have a clear roadmap.
Marketing
Setting up your sweepstakes is a good start, but if you want to accelerate your sweepstakes and meet your goals, you’ll need a solid marketing plan.
Here are 14 different ways sweepstakes can bring real and measurable results to marketers:
1. Make a blog post
Writing a blog post about your sweepstakes is an excellent way to notify customers and prospects that you have a promotion going on. Your post should include a brief description of the promotion, how to enter, what prizes are available, and when it will end. Bonus points if you can explain how winning the sweepstakes will benefit the reader’s life.
2. Send a newsletter via email
Send an email to your list announcing your sweepstakes and providing a direct link to the entry page. Even if these people are already on your list, you should still promote them because if they enter, they will share the giveaway with their friends and family (Facebook and otherwise)
3. Share it on Facebook
Make a post about your giveaway on your Facebook timeline. Include an image of the prize that will catch people’s attention, as well as a brief description of what they can win. Finally, in your post, include a direct link to the giveaway.
4. Share it on other social media portals
In addition to Facebook, promote your giveaway on Twitter by sending a tweet with details about what people can win as well as a direct link to the giveaway page. Pin the giveaway to Pinterest, and share it with your audiences on Google Plus, LinkedIn, and Instagram as well.
5. Make use of video
Creating a video is no longer a difficult task, thanks to the power of smartphones. You can easily create short video clips to promote your sweepstakes using Vine, Instagram, or YouTube. A good starting point would be to make a short video clip showing the prizes available.
6. AdWords by Google
If you’ve set aside money to promote your sweepstakes, Google AdWords can be an effective way to reach your target audience. It enables you to target specific keywords that people are looking for and have your promotion appear in search results.
7. Blogger promotion
Bloggers are always looking for great content to share with their readers. Make a list of 10 or 20 bloggers in your niche and send each of them a personalized email about the sweepstakes you’re launching and how you believe it would be a good fit for their audience if they’d be willing to promote it for you.
8. Collaborate with another company
Collaboration with another company on your giveaway is a great way to increase the number of prizes and gain more exposure. Contact companies that are related to your niche but are not direct competitors to see if they would be interested in offering one of their products as a prize in your giveaway. If they agree, you now have another company to help you promote the giveaway. It’s a win-win scenario.
9. Publish a press release
Use a service like PR web, Pitch Engine, or PR Newswire to create a press release and schedule it to be sent out on the day the promotion goes live.
10. Incorporate a message into your packages
Tossing a little card inside each package telling them to enter the promotion is a great way to get people to enter your sweepstakes if you ship out physical products. Remember that just because these people are already customers does not mean that they will not refer their friends and family to you.
11. After transaction communications
If you sell a product, including a link to your sweepstakes after checkout can be an excellent way to collect entries. Because these people have already purchased something from you, they will most likely be delighted to have the opportunity to win something.
12. Collaborate with YouTube channels
Some incredibly popular YouTube channels may be the ideal partner to help promote your giveaway. Look for channels in your niche with many subscribers and make sure their videos have many views.
To get them to promote your sweepstakes, you may need to offer some form of compensation (either monetary or in the form of a gift- many of them review products for their audiences).
13. Banner of your sweepstakes on the business website
Most visitors to your website’s homepage will be unaware of your sweepstakes unless you notify them. Make an image that can be displayed on your homepage and links directly to your giveaway.
You can also use a simple service like Hello Bar to notify people on your homepage that you are running a giveaway. It appears simple, but many businesses simply do not realize it is an option.
14. Offline marketing
Social media and digital media aren’t the only ways to publicize your giveaway. If you have a physical store, consider how you can use walk-in customers to raise awareness for your competition. Here are some offline promotion ideas:
- Tossing a little card or flyer inside each package telling them to enter the promotion is a great way to get people to enter your sweepstakes.
- Make a check-in contest to encourage people to visit your physical store.
- Promote the contest at local events and communities in which you are involved. Create a banner or say something about your giveaway if you occasionally organize events. Using QR codes generated by a QR Code Generator is a good idea.
Conclusion
If you want your giveaway or contest to be successful, you must promote it frequently and on all available platforms. Make a page on your website for the giveaway, include details in your newsletter, and regularly spread the word on social media. Change your phrasing and timing on social media and monitor the response rate as you do so.
You may find that more people are willing to participate in the evening when they have “distraction time” and are winding down for the day. Contests, like any other marketing activity, can always be improved.
RewardPort sweepstakes can increase sales by up to 200%. Encourage customers to buy your products by offering them the chance to win big. Sweepstakes are ideal for brands seeking to introduce new items and boost trial numbers. Nothing beats sweepstakes to get users to buy your products.