The ongoing COVID-19 crisis and pandemic have made consumers shop more online than ever before, and it can be expected they will continue to do so after it ends because it is convenient. This of course means, they won't be able to see your business or retail location in person. That's why more and more advertising has been going online and on social media. It is crucial to capture the attention of potential new customers and to retain the old ones, and a very efficient way to do that is through customer loyalty programs. Customer loyalty programs do a very good job of making your customers advertise your business, as they are more likely to continue buying from you or using your services and recommending your business.
It's never too late to set up your customer loyalty program and gather faithful and reliable customers. Two things are essential for customer loyalty programs:
Customer data to track customer activity and reward them.
Reward system so they can see their progress and their potential rewards. This gives customers a sense of accomplishment.
The customers can be rewarded in a myriad of ways such as discounts, free products, special offers, early-bird offers, cashback, etc. Make them feel special. They will also more likely give out their information if there is a prize involved, something to compensate for that. And in return, they can „sample“ your customer loyalty program.
Surveys are also a great way to talk to your customers and listen to what kind of rewards would they like the most. Listening to their feedback while promoting your customer loyalty program is a great advantage that you, as a business owner, have at your disposal. It is a win-win situation.
But promotion is an omnichannel affair. It also has to be done on your website, your mobile app, email marketing campaigns, social media campaigns, and other businesses. Make your customer loyalty program well known and never miss a chance to promote it.
It is also important to have software that keeps track of everything. Good software makes your Customer Management task easy and painless.
You can easily control the structure of your rewards (meeting of thresholds, redeeming of rewards, and earning of points), organize and track customer information (their contact info and amount of their points and earned rewards). This is very helpful for your campaigns because you can easily target customers who you want to directly talk to.
And finally, an easy-to-use User Interface and portal where customers can (securely) access information about their points and rewards are a must.
