It is absolutely appalling how Coronavirus has changed our world dramatically in just a few months’ time. At one end people are trying to save their lives and at the other end, they are trying to save their livelihood. But if the facts are to be believed, people are bouncing back stronger than ever and so are the businesses. In fact, according to the research data by GlobalWebIndex, one in ten Indian shoppers would buy a luxury item first after the lockdown lifts.

Also according to the Valassis consumer survey, 48% consumers will continue purchasing from the same brands they always do. Seems like the pandemic is not completely upsetting the brand loyalty. Well that’s a breather isn’t it?

So let us check out what loyalty marketing trends would look like now onwards.

Data from Bazaarvoice shows that online shopping activity experienced significant y-o-y growth in April 2020 for both page views (88%) and order count (96%). Brands must be available on ecommerce platforms now more than ever. They should reward their stakeholders with online shopping vouchers for sites like Nykaa, Fynd, The Souled Store & more.

Customers would expect easy and instant redemptions through online mediums

Spending power has plummeted drastically so it is time to be easy when giving out rewards. Brands should be careful with the medium of redemption and make it online. Customers will prefer rewards that can be redeemed online, quickly.

For example, they would avoid going into crowded and closed spaces such as theatres and would prefer coupons of online streaming platforms such as Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix etc. Incidentally, Netflix India has reported more than double rise in its subscriber base in the first quarter of 2020. While last year it forecasted the subscriber base to reach 10 million by the end of 2020, it has already touched 15.8 million during the first quarter of 2020. And now it is aiming to grab new 100 million Indian subscribers. So much for pandemic and chill.

Brands should aim at a rewarding system that has something for everyone in the family

As everybody is locked under one roof, brands would not want to upset a family member. They can include reward plans for kids like home activity box vouchers from Podsquad, Magic Crate etc. Plans for fitness enthusiasts which can have Home Fitness Vouchers from Cult.Fit, Shilpa Shetty App etc. Rewards for foodies with vouchers from Zomato, Swiggy etc., and so on and so forth.

Marketing in this pandemic era has empathy as its soul

So, whatever you do, do not miss out on showing empathy in your communication, processes, and all the interactions. Study from Qualtrics shows that 70% consumers trust brands who take care of their employees, customers, dealers, partners, and stakeholders. In the four levels of loyalty, trust plays a pivotal role. No amount of reward would make them more loyal to your brand than building a long term relationship with them, at the time of crisis.

RewardPort specializes in loyalty marketing programs, corporate loyalty card, dealer incentive programs, dealer loyalty, channel incentive, distributor incentive program, B2B loyalty programs, customer loyalty cards & marketing partner programs. Get a free consultation today.