The concept behind customer retention or having a customer’s loyalty towards your brand is simple – ‘there is only a tangible number of customers to any given business’! However, returning and loyal customers is not an easy goal to reach easily especially when you want to perpetually make it a profitable brand with a good amount of sales. A famous sales mantra is “80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers!” It was observed that 5% increase in customer loyalty increases the average profit per customer by 25%-100%. Customer loyalty programs are usually highly effective when it comes to maintaining existing customers. In a market as competitive as it is now where decisions made by customers can switch rapidly with regard to their choice of their service providers or suppliers, loyalty programs can make a great deal of impact.
Based on the aforementioned reasons, it is implied that every brand that wants to make an impact and measurable connection with their audience or customer must engage in great loyalty programs. The brands or companies that have already begun engaging in such loyalty programs must keep an open perspective and try to incorporate latest, successful loyalty marketing strategies to increase their brand value and customer engagement to a sizable amount. Here are the top 10 loyalty marketing trends that are going to take over the loyalty program sector by storm:
1. Modern customers are noticeably
Modern customers are noticeably bored and tired of typical messaging and flowery posts and ads trying to sell something! Trying to sell “The perfect life” is passe now and there is a legitimate crusade for authenticity and customers are likely to believe in real and raw videos testifying the same. Brands have found that the current audience or customers watch live streams for about 3x longer than pre-made, scripted video content. Live streams and unedited videos is what might drive the customers going forward!
2. Vertical channel integration through AR
The further the technologies advance, the quest for content via Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality is likely to grow manifold. It will increase a productive conversation between vertical channel partners. Real estate companies are already implementing similar techniques to create interactive and interesting models for their customers to engage with. Introduction to such media can enhance the way customers react, respond and purchase completely.
3. Going local
Various programs have gone mobile which implies that the program reaches the customer wherever they go. A new class of technologies called ‘geofences’ is what is used to target audiences based on their location. Promotional messaging could penetrate into the customer’s mind with greater ease based on where and what they are doing! It also indicates that distinct sales and training data can be made available in specific areas for on-the-spot improved efficiency. Smart applications of geofencing are set to improve the member experience on the whole.
4. Loyalty based on Accounts
Account Based Loyalty is all about moving a program’s focus from quantity over quality. Instead of concentrating on lots of prospects to highly targeted, high-value non-members to the top-of-the-pyramid, decisive non-member accounts who you require to be on top of your list.
5. A closer look at your data
Make sure to take a close look at your data because in order to make it big, you’ll have to analyze your customers, their pattern of shopping, customer shopping behaviors and current trends along with their approach towards the brand at large.
6. Loyalty Hacking
The time has come to start running interactive, small-scale operations that defines the works and doesn’t work for the program. Soon, programs will be examining different ways of phrasing a customer’s call to action. Loyalty hacking would assure of immediate delivery of results, and clear results along with providing a quick response to the requirements of the customer.
7. Artificial Intelligence accelerating attention
It is presumed that AI and machine-learning methods are likely to have an inexplicable impact on the way brands communicate with their loyalty program members. The actual success of deploying these Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms will be able to achieve a level of Attention and Interest (A&I) that gains the customer’s attention.
8. Enhancing influencer loyalty programs
The concept of an ‘influencer loyalty’ directs to be driven by people with fame or celebrities and trend-setters engaging on their respective Instagram feeds. Influencer loyalty works best through online testimonials, videos, and referrals from other loyalty members.
9. Security and Transparency
Transparency has become the most valuable aspect of social media and online activities these days. The prominent assurance of one’s security drives most customers to trust the brand or the reward program with their respective details and that’s the trust they have on you.
10. Focus on Return on Learning
Most B2B loyalty programs companies are evolving around re-engineering their loyalty through enablement. In other words, driving member engagement by the completion of education and learning contributions which help to increase their overall knowledge of the product and other services.
These are some of the most incredible trends that have already set foot in the loyalty program companies and others are estimated to set things in the right path in 2019 and change the way customers experience shopping and brand project themselves!
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