Identifying which loyalty program company is best for your business?
Be it a business or an individual, we all have placed loyalty at the top of the list. However, for businesses customer loyalty is a driving force that keeps them in the competition and to reward such loyal customers, businesses have started integrating loyalty program in their marketing strategy and keep the loyal customers.
From the large options of customer loyalty program available in the market to choose from. It often becomes a challenge for brands to figure out which loyalty program would be most effective and suitable for their business.
Hence, in this blog we will help you understand and identify the best suitable loyalty rewards program and loyalty program company to offer you best results.
Defining Basics of Loyalty Program
In its essence a loyalty program is a marketing strategy being implemented by any business or brand to reward the loyal customers and ensure repeat business from the customers. In this process brands offer various benefits such as discount coupons, gift cards, free gifts and other additional benefits.
Furthermore, the customer loyalty program is designed in such a way that it is beneficial for both the parties involved and leaves the customer with a satisfactory experience with the brand. However, it is often challenging to identify and design the perfect loyalty program for your brand which covers all the major aspects. Hence, it is recommended to get a suitable partner such as RewardPort to help you throughout the process.
The biggest benefit of integrating a loyalty program company such as RewardPort is that you can get customized loyalty program as per your requirements and pick the suitable aspects.
Benefits of Loyalty Program
Here are some of the most important benefits that you can reap off leveraging a loyalty rewards program.
- Building customer relationships
First and foremost integrating a loyalty program in your marketing strategy would allow you to build a strong relationship with your customers, offering them a sense of belonging and connection with the brand.
- New customer base
Once you start implementing a loyalty program your loyal customers will do a word-of-mouth marketing for your brand which would push their peers, friends and family to get an experience with your brand. Hence, expanding your customer base and helping you acquire new customers.
- Increased sales, revenue and profit
Since we have already established this will help you gain more customers it is only logical that this will further help you get more sales, generate more revenue and hence more profit as well.
- Brand recognition
Since more and more customers will be getting connected with your brand, and your loyal customers will be doing word-of-mouth marketing for you, this will help your brand get more recognition in the market.
- Customer satisfaction
Customer loyalty program is one such aspect which is implemented for offering benefits to both the parties. Having said that, a loyalty program would result in certain rewards or additional benefits to the customers which would offer them a certain level of satisfaction.
What to Consider?
Now that we have established the benefits and the purpose of integrating a loyalty program in any business, let’s have a look at some key points that you need to consider when designing your customer loyalty program.
- Data driven insights
Always look for data driven insights before you start designing any customer loyalty program for your business. Data will always help you put together a clear picture and help have a better understanding of what is required and what is expected out of this loyalty program.
- Define the purpose
Define the purpose of integrating a customer loyalty program in your business. Define if you are trying to expand your customer base, maintain the loyal customer base or spread a word of marketing for your business.
- Target audience
Next step is to get a clear understanding of your target audience. This will help you devise your strategy in a better manner. Your target audience will help you get better insights about your business plan and what you wish to achieve via the loyalty program.
- Prioritize customer service
When designing your loyalty rewards program, always prioritize the customer services. Focus on offering your customers enhanced services. This will help your customers have a sense of connection with your brand and further allow them to create a bond with the brand.
Furthermore, prioritizing customer service will allow your customers to feel valued which is going to contribute to the success of your brand in the long run.
- Understand the customer needs
When designing your loyalty program rewards first understand the needs of your customers, then decide for the rewards that you want to offer. Don’t go selecting random rewards that are not aligned with your customer’s needs.
- Rewards optimization
Optimize your rewards at a regular interval to offer the customers a fresh and new feel instead of repeating the same rewards. This will further allow the customers to look forward to the rewards with your loyalty program. Always maintain the element of surprise in the program.
Loyalty Program with RewardPort
For a brand it is important to maintain and reward loyal customers. Hence, it becomes a necessity to integrate a loyalty program in their marketing strategy. In the above discussion we have already established the contributing factors, benefits, and key points to consider while integrating a loyalty program.
Furthermore, it is important to integrate customer loyalty program with the right partner such as RewardPort where you can get the program customized as per your needs and leverage different programs and services such as Sweepstakes, CineRewardz, Scratch2Win and various others from the entire offerings.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Implementing a loyalty program would help you to offer your loyal customers with rewards and additional benefits for their loyalty towards the brand. It further helps you to establish a bond with your customers and ensure a long term relationship.
For implementing a loyalty program, define the purpose, find your target audience, set the rewards as per the customers needs, and start the campaign making customers aware of the benefits and rewards.
Implementing a loyalty program requires you to first identify the audience group or target audience. Next step is to decide for the rewards that you wish to integrate in the program and how you wish to communicate regarding the same with the audience.
5 loyalty rewards program that are beneficial for your brand.
For any business or brand, the one thing that keeps them going is their customer’s undying loyalty. In today’s fast paced world it is however, quite difficult to manage and build a loyal customer for a longer period of time. The reason being, short attention spans of customers and high competition in the market. For this a brand requires a loyalty rewards program to keep the loyal customers with them.
Now, it might sound a bit complex and confusing as to how loyalty program companies are helping various brands to establish loyalty rewards program. Here in this blog, we are going to give you a walk through of the entire process of developing a loyalty programs in India.
Understanding the Basics of Loyalty Rewards Program
A customer loyalty program is a structured and devised marketing program with an intent to retain the existing customers and expand the customer base leveraging the existing customer base. It is achieved by offering these existing customers some rewards, incentives, or any other additional benefits.
In general these programs are point based systems to ensure a repurchase and recurring event of customer, hence ensuring customer loyalty toward the brand. These points can be redeemed in the future purchases and reap benefits from the brand as well.
Why Integrate Loyalty Program Company?
For any brand that is looking to integrate a loyalty rewards program, they are required to do so via a loyalty program company. Since not many such loyalty program companies are existing in the market at this point, RewardPort is one of the best loyalty program companies to exist.
Here are some of the most common benefits that a brand can reap off by integrating a loyalty rewards program.
- Customer retention
The most common benefit that a brand can avail from a loyalty program is that it helps you to have better customer retention. With a loyalty rewards company such as RewardPort you can leverage any of the following programs as per your preference and avail customer loyalty and customer retention.
Sweepstakes, Digiflix, and Freebucks are a few programs from RewardPort’s customer loyalty program that can be integrated.
- Brand recognition
Another major benefit of these loyalty programs is that they help your brand to get better recognition. Since you are valuing your existing customers by offering them rewards and incentives, they are bound to do word of mouth marketing for your brand. Hence, better brand recognition.
- Increased revenue
Since you are retaining your old customers, by offering them points to be redeemed on their next purchase. It further helps to increase your brand’s revenue and generate more profit as well.
- Increased customer base
Existing customers doing word of mouth marketing leads to better brand recognition, hence increasing your customer base and allows you to get more and more customers. This further contributes to generating more revenue and more profit for the brand.
Now, having discussed the benefits, let’s have a look at some of the best approaches of integrating a loyalty rewards program in your brand.
5 Loyalty Rewards Program
Here are 5 best loyalty rewards program that you can integrate into your business by leveraging the services of loyalty program companies in India such as RewardPort.
- Point based system
One of the most common approaches that a loyalty program company would implement is a Point-based system. Here the customer is rewarded with certain points on their purchase, which can be redeemed on their next purchases allowing them to have some discounts on the purchase.
This allows the customer to come back for another purchase in order to redeem the points. Since these point-based loyalty rewards program are free to sign up for, any brand can easily integrate these and let the customers keep coming back and ensure customer loyalty.
- Cashback system
Another most common approach is to have a cashback system. Loyalty programs India are integrating this approach to let the customers have a sense of satisfaction or winning after they complete a purchase.
In this system, once a customer makes a purchase, brands can integrate loyalty program such as Scratch2Win by RewardPort and let the customer scratch the card and get a certain amount of cashback. Now this can be in the form of direct cash or a discount that can be availed on the next purchase. Hence, ensuring repurchase by the customer, and loyalty as well.
- Tiered program
The tiered program is a bit different from the two we have discussed above. Here, the customers are segregated into different tiers or categories and are promoted to the next tier based on their purchase.
With a new tier, the customer also gets some additional benefits such as early access to the sale by the brand and much more. This allows the customer to reap the benefits of a tier and also shop more and more to get promoted to the next tier and again have more benefits and advantages as well.
- Subscription program
A lot of brands have started this subscription program as part of their customer loyalty program. Here the customers are given subscription to a premium OTT platform or any other platform once they make a specific purchase with the brand.
This allows the customer to feel rewarded and incentivised for making the purchase and receiving the subscription. One of the best such programs is Subscription Nation by RewardPort, one of the best loyalty program company.
- Referral program
The last one is the referral program where a customer gets a reward or discount or any other incentive once they refer the brand to a friend or family member and they make a purchase or sign up with the brand. This is beneficial for the brand as it helps them to get more customers and also beneficial for the customer as they get benefits out of their friends and family members making the purchase.
What are Different Loyalty Programs Being Introduced by Brands for Increasing Sales?
Every brand is looking out for loyal customers, and channel partners who will always be there, making purchases from the brand and supporting the brand in their own way. These loyal customers and channel partners are the strength of any brand and based on this relationship and bond, brands run certain campaigns to recognise and reward these loyal partners.
To make their place and sustain in this highly competitive market, brands are trying out different strategies, and making their own plans to mark their identity in the market. In this process brands are recognising and rewarding the loyal customers and channel partners Program for their support and efforts via loyalty program.
What is a Loyalty Program?
Loyalty program is a marketing strategy implemented by a brand to recognise and reward loyal customers and channel partners. These strategies are devised in a manner that they can make these loyal partners feel valued, motivated and appreciated for their loyalty and efforts.
However, loyalty programs differ from brand to brand, depending on their internal strategies, audience base, marketing plans, and other factors. These can be further categorised into different segments such as:
- Paid Program: a certain amount of money is paid to get access to the VIP club or group for added benefits on a monthly or annual basis.
- Point Program: on every purchase customers receive some points that can be redeemed on their next purchase or they can use them to get some form of discounts.
- Tier Program: similar to a point program only, but here with a fixed number of points customers are upgraded to a new tier with added benefits.
- Value Program: with every purchase the brand donates some amount of money to a value added program such as child education, hunger relief, etc to make the customer remember the brand for a long period of time and make them feel the satisfaction of contributing to some good deeds.
Further depending on the needs and requirements of the brand these loyalty programs can be modified and implemented in the brand strategies. One important thing to consider is that partnering with a loyalty program provider is essential as their expertise and professional approach can help you strategies the loyalty program with ease.
Loyalty program provider RewardPort is one such company that can help you modify, and implement these loyalty programs as per the requirements of your brand. Here with RewardPort you can browse through their wide range of programs available such as CineRewards, Sweepstakes, Freebucks, Digiflix, Subscription Nation, etc. These loyalty programs are developed in such a way that they can be easily integrated with any brand and their marketing strategies.
Benefits of Loyalty Program
Every practice and strategy in the field of sales and marketing is added for some benefits and with a goal of either increasing the sales or increasing brand recognition in the market. Here are some of the most common benefits that your brand can avail by implementing a loyalty program.
- Customer Retention
When any brand implements a loyalty program it recognises, rewards and appreciates the loyalty of customers in different ways. This makes the customers feel valued, and heard which strengthens their loyalty and bond with the brand, further continuing their journey with the brand.
Loyalty programs can include programs such as Digiflix, CineRewards, Subscription Nation by RewardPort for a more effective approach.
- Increased Order Value
If the customer feels valued via these loyalty programs, they are more likely to place orders for more items by the brand, hence, increasing the order value and giving more profit to the brand.
- Increased Revenue
Feeling valued pushes the customers to make more purchases which increases the sales of the brand and hence they generate more revenue compared to the others. This small act of appreciation allows the brand to achieve more heights and grow more.
- High Brand Recognition
Appreciated customers are more likely to refer the brand to their peers which will increase the brand recognition in the market, making more and more people get associated with the brand.
- Word of Mouth Marketing
Another benefit is that the appreciated customers tend to talk about their experience with the brand which does a word of mouth marketing for the brand, and this can be highly influential for their peers and others with whom they are discussing this about.
- Expanded Customer Base
Talking more about the brand with the peers influences them to join the brand and avail loyalty benefits like their friends are availing. This provides the brand with new customers and helps them expand their customer base to a whole new level.
Functioning of a Loyalty Program
Now that we have discussed the benefits of implementing a loyalty program, you need to understand how these programs work, and how you can incorporate them into your brand strategies for more benefits.
- Brand recognition
- Customer awareness
- Purchase
- Sign up with company
- Data collection
- Rewards and discount coupons
Once a customer is enrolled with a brand this cycle keeps on going and new customers keep on adding following the same cycle, forming a never ending loop.
RewardPort Loyalty Program
In this environment of cut throat competition to get the customer’s attention and get the customer loyalty, having a right partner to help you achieve that goal is necessary.
RewardPort is one such partner that you will need to achieve growth and customer loyalty. It is one of the leading loyalty program company that one can indulge with for different customised and personalised loyalty programs.
It consists of programs in a wide range from CineRewards, Digiflix, Subscription Nation, Sweepstakes, Freebucks and others. These programs are designed in such a way to be integrated into any brand’s strategies and help them develop their loyalty programs.
For more details get in touch with the expert team of RewardPort today.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
While implementing a loyalty program it will help the business to retain its customers and also attract new customers hence generating more sales and more profit for the company.
Commonly discount coupons, vouchers, redeemable points are rewards being provided in the loyalty program to the customers. However, few brands depending on their budgets and other factors can also provide their own merchandise as well.
For enrolling in a loyalty program, customers can engage with the brands while making their purchases and provide their contact information along with other required details. From this database brands can develop their loyalty program.
How Different Customer Loyalty Programs are Changing the Dynamics of the Industry?
For any brand the most important aspect is the customer loyalty. Without a loyal customer, a brand cannot establish itself in the market. Hence, for every brand it is necessary to have a detailed understanding and strategy of employing a customer loyalty program.
But before this, let’s understand in brief what a customer loyalty program is, and how it functions.
Customer Loyalty Program is simply an act of recognising and rewarding the loyal customers of the brand by offering them certain products and rewards. These loyalty programs ensure that the customer feels rewarded and recognised for their continuous efforts and purchases with the brand.
These rewards can be cashbacks, free gifts, vouchers or discount coupons as well. Further depending on the brand, these rewards can also include the exclusive merchandise of the brand as well, making the loyal customers a part of the family.
Benefits of Customer Loyalty Programs
While integrating a customer loyalty program one should consider the various factors such as the cost for the company and most importantly how it would make the loyal customers feel.
Apart from the fact that customer loyalty program are used to maintain the loyal customer, there are several other benefits of the program as well. Here are some of the most common benefits observed from a customer loyalty program.
- Customer Retention
Using customer loyalty program a brand can easily retain the old customers by offering them various rewards and recognition. This activity helps brands to regain the customers trust and make them stay for a longer period of time with the brand.
- Increased Sales
Integrating customer loyalty program a brand can increase their sales easily, as during these activities the loyal customers are tend to make more purchases and also refer the same to their peers. This helps the brand to increase their sales, and make more profit.
- Brand Recognition
Launching any form of promotion or loyalty program in the market will allow the brand to gain more and more recognition. This increased brand recognition will help the brand to offer more and more exciting offers for the loyal customer, hence, making them feel rewarded.
- Increased Referrals
Once a loyal customer is rewarded, they will feel valued and hence, will refer the brand to their peers as well. This increase in the referrals will allow the brand to gain new customers and increase their sales.
- Increased Revenue
Increased referral results in increased sales which in the end increases the revenue generated by the brand, hence more profit. More profit further indicates more and more loyal customers are valued and recognised
Different Customer Loyalty Program
In this cut-throat competition in the market, all the brands are fighting to grab the attention of its customers. However, the attention span of a customer is very less, and the fight is to grab the attention for those 4-5 seconds.
Each brand is coming with a different strategy and trying their best to retain their loyal customers, and hence running different campaigns. Some of the most common strategies are discussed below:
- Point-based program
For every purchase that the customer makes, they get a certain number of points which can be further redeemed on a purchase when they have a fixed number of points gathered (differs from brand to brand). This allows customers to keep making purchases for more and more points, and the final redeem of the points feels like a reward to the customers.
Here you can also browse the Freebucks by RewardPort and integrate the point-based customer loyalty program into your system.
- Tiered Program
This is also a point-based system only, but when the customer has earned a fixed number of points they are moved to a different tier with different benefits and advantages. This feels like an achievement to the customer once they are upgraded to a different tier further motivating them to make more purchases.
- Paid Program
This program is simple to understand as the customers in this category pay a certain amount of monthly or annual fee to avail the VIP benefits or become a part of the VIP club. This further offers them different benefits on their purchases such as one-day delivery, guaranteed cashbacks, easy flight bookings, etc.
- Value-based Program
This is one of the most creative loyalty programs in India. Here instead of giving points or rewards, the customers are made to become a part of a value-based initiative taken by the brand such as contributing towards girl child education, or feeding the homeless.
These gestures make a strong impression on the customer, making them remember your brand and get associated with it. Further, customers also refer the brand to their peers resulting in more brand loyalty and recognition.
- Cashbacks
This is one of the most commonly used customer loyalty program being implemented. Here customer loyalty is rewarded by giving them a certain amount of cashback on their purchase.
Loyalty program leaders such as RewardPort offer various different programs that can be implemented here such as Freebucks, Gamebucsk, etc.
Customer Loyalty Program Uplifting Businesses
Integrating customer loyalty programs in a business is one of the smartest decisions a brand can make, as this allows the brand to not only use this as a marketing strategy but also reward the loyal customers by making them feel valued, and let these loyal customers do the rest of marketing for the brand.
Using these loyalty program company are investing in a long term process and relationship between the brand and the customers that will help the brand to gain more customers and increase their sales & revenue as well.
Apart from this, customers these days don’t feel valued enough by the brand they tend to switch to a different brand, so a loyal customer will purchase a product from the brand they are loyal with even if the price is even a bit higher than others. Maintaining the customer loyalty program is a long-term investment that the brand is making today for its future.
RewardPort Customer Loyalty Program
Leading loyalty program providers such as RewardPort offer various different programs in the market to cater to the wide range of the clients and their needs. The programs by RewardPort are designed to cater to the different needs of different clients.
Some of the programs offered by RewardPort are CineRewards, Freebucks, Gamification, Scratch2Win, Sweepstakes. For more information get in touch with the experts here.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Customer loyalty programs are integrated to recognize and reward the loyalty customers for their efforts and contributions toward the brand throughout the journey. It can be of different forms depending on the brand such as cashbacks, discount coupons, referral bonus, etc.
Customer loyalty programs allow brands to reward the loyal customers and it helps to retain the customer, increase their customer base and generate more leads as well.
Different rewards in loyalty programs include:
Cashbacks, discount coupons, point-based systems, vouchers, free memberships, official brand merchandise, etc.
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 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.