Do you have a loyalty program?
If not, you’re missing out on one of the best ways to increase customer engagement and drive more sales.
According to the Harvard business review, it costs a business 5-25 times more to acquire a new customer than to sell to an existing one.
In addition, studies have shown that more than 80% of revenue comes from loyal customers, which means that existing customers are the ones who buy more often.
The benefits of a good loyalty program are numerous: from creating a stronger relationship with your best clients to building customer loyalty and creating brand advocates for your business, which all lead to an increase in sales.
But Customer Loyalty programs aren’t exactly a new thing.
From the first loyalty program back in 1793 till today, more than 90% of companies have created their own loyalty programs. Moreover, research done by MarketsandMarkets shows that the global loyalty management market will grow from USD 8.6 billion in 2021 to USD 18.2 billion by 2026.
If you’re thinking about creating a loyalty rewards program for your customers, now is the best time to do it.
This article will cover everything you need to know about loyalty programs: from choosing the most appealing rewards that will work best for increasing engagement to using Referrizer marketing automation software to create your loyalty program easily.
How to make sure that your loyalty program is driving sales
By following these tips, you can create a loyalty program that will help increase engagement and drive more sales.
Make it personal. Who doesn’t want to have an offer created especially for them? It’s harder to resist the offer if it is tailored to your needs and wishes.
A recent study by Accentura showed that a third of consumers would abandon a brand that fails to create a sense of personalization. Don’t make the same mistakes as those abandoned brands.
Keep it simple. The easier it is for your customers to understand how your loyalty program works, the more likely they are to participate. Avoid complex points systems or tiers that are difficult to follow.
Make it easier for your customers to use loyalty programs on their mobile phones. Research by CodeBroke showed that 75% of consumers will be more likely to participate in a loyalty program if they can access it easily from their smartphones. Card-based loyalty programs are not something Millennials or Gen Z will use, and those are generations you definitely want to attract.
Offer valuable rewards. Make sure that the rewards you offer are meaningful and desirable to your target audience. Otherwise, they won’t be motivated to stay engaged with your brand.
Make it convenient. Your customers should be able to redeem their rewards easily, whether that means having an online redemption portal or allowing rewards to be used in-store. If it’s too much hassle, they’ll simply move on to another program.
Choose rewards that increase engagement
For a loyalty program to work, you must offer irresistible rewards for your clients.
But as many business owners know, creating tempting offers isn’t as easy as it sounds because it requires you to understand your customers.
Some rewards work better than others; therefore, we listed a few which make the best results.
Store credits
Store credits are a type of currency that can be used to purchase items at the store where they were earned.
Unlike other types of rewards, such as discounts or coupons, store credits can only be used at the issuing store. This creates a sense of exclusivity and encourages customers to visit the store more often to use their credits.
Store credits also have the added benefit of being flexible – your customers can use them to buy whatever they want when they want it. Additionally, store credits don’t expire, so customers can save them up for larger purchases.
But the main benefit of store credits for your customers is that they give them the power to choose – and that’s a powerful motivator.
Store credits also offer some benefits for business owners since they can be easily customized to match the branding of your business.
By offering store credits as a reward for your customers, you can increase customer engagement and loyalty. And the more engaged they are, the more likely they will become long-term loyal customers.
Discounts
While there are many different types of rewards, discounts are often one of the most popular. Customers love feeling like they are getting a good deal, so offering discounts as part of a loyalty program seems logical.
After all, who doesn’t love saving money?
There are two different types of discounts: on services and products you want to sell more of or on services and products that are high in demand.
Which option will be the best for your business depends on your final goal, customer base, and business model.
If you don’t have optimal conditions to produce more of your best-selling product or not enough staff to provide the best service, giving a discount is not the option.
Discounts can be an excellent way to show your appreciation for loyal customers and can also help encourage continued business.
Offering exclusive discounts to loyalty program members gives customers an incentive to sign up for the program and make them feel like they are getting access to deals that others are not.
Free products and services
In today’s competitive marketplace, businesses are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves and attract and retain customers. One way to do this is through loyalty programs that offer free products or services as rewards.
Everyone loves getting something for nothing. That’s why loyalty programs that provide free products and services as rewards are so popular.
In fact, a recent study found that nearly two-thirds of consumers say they’re more likely to participate in a loyalty program if it offers freebies as rewards.
Offering freebies can help you build customer loyalty and encourage customers to stick with your brand. Additionally, it can also help you generate word-of-mouth marketing, as customers tell their friends and family about the great deals they’re getting through your loyalty program.
Think about different free products or services you can offer.
Unfortunately, giving something for free is not something many small business owners like doing, as the primary goal in business is to earn money, not to spend money.
But think of this as investing in customers to motivate them to invest in your business.
More than 45% of customers want a loyalty program where they get free gifts. Loyal customers make purchases 90% more frequently (Squarespace).
Numbers are clear: giving something for free will help you earn more.
Free merchandise
Have you ever walked into the grocery store and seen a sample stand with free products? Whether it is food, make-up, or different accessories like caps and hats, everyone feels instant satisfaction when they can get something for free, no matter how big or small the gift is.
By offering free merchandise, you are not only rewarding your customers and improving customer retention, but you are also creating brand advocates for your brand. If you’re giving something nice, your customers will use that in public.
Free stuff for your loyal customers equals free marketing for you.
How Referrizer can help you grow your business using loyalty program rewards
What makes creating a quality loyalty program challenging is that people expect to get a reward as soon as they click on the CTA button. Therefore sending rewards manually is not only slow and time-consuming, but it’s a stumbling block in growing your business and increasing your revenue.
Luckily, Referrizer brings life to your loyalty program thanks to its amazing features.
Once set, it does everything automatically, without you needing to spend time and energy on sending or tracking the points.
Whatever way of earning loyalty points you choose, Referrizer can help you make the most of it, all on autopilot.
4 ways your customers can earn membership rewards
Check-ins
The best way to keep your customers coming back to your business is to show them that you appreciate them. One way to do this is by implementing a loyalty program that offers check-ins as a way to earn reward points.
For every visit, customers can check-in and receive points that can be redeemed for discounts or freebies. This shows your customers that you value them and gives them an incentive to continue choosing your company over others.
In a research done by Wirecard, 75% of consumers say they are likely to make another purchase after receiving an incentive. Allow your customers to become members of your loyalty program after they visit your shop for the first time to start building a solid relationship with them.
In today’s competitive market, customer loyalty is more important than ever. By offering check-ins as a way to earn rewards, you can ensure that your customers keep returning for more.
With Referrizer, you can create a unique welcome email and text campaign that will introduce your loyalty program to new customers and educate them about its benefits. You can choose one of many different templates your customers will love, and most importantly, you can segment your customers based on various criteria.
For example, you can avoid sending emails to customers already using your loyalty program and target those who don’t with a customized message.
Reviews
Good reviews on Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor, and social media will do wonders for your business, especially if you have a small, local business.
Honest, good reviews serve as social proof for your future customers since people will decide to choose the business with better reviews.
Reviews will also help you generate more traffic to your website.
This is especially important in terms of SEO. More people visiting your website signal to Google that your business is valuable, so Google will place your website where most people can see it: on the first page.
Reward your customers when they write a review for your business. By taking the time to post a review, your customers can help you promote your business and attract new customers. Reviews can also give you valuable feedback about your products or services. Still, more importantly, they will help you grow your online presence.
Asking for reviews might be tiresome, especially if you contact each one of your customers individually. Unfortunately, there’s an even bigger problem with reviews: someone may leave you a bad review and hurt your online presence.
Luckily, Referrizer has a solution for that, too: The platform will help you get more reviews and protect you from the bad ones since only positive reviews go live. And all that while giving reward points to your customers.
But best of all, by offering loyalty points for writing a review, you can show appreciation for your customers. So if you’re looking for a convenient way to reward your best customers, consider using customer reviews as part of your loyalty program.
Shares and referrals
As Bond discovered, 73% of consumers are more likely to recommend brands with good loyalty programs. And since word of mouth still works as the best form of marketing, why don’t you use it to grow your business?
Encourage your customers to promote your business to all their friends and family members in order to earn points.
With Referrizer, this is super simple: with just a couple of clicks, your customers can recommend your business (and get rewarded for doing so) through email, social media, and SMS.
You don’t even have to bother to keep track of referrals and rewards since the platform does that automatically.
Irresistible offers
If you have a pricey service, you can always make the service too irresistible to decline by rewarding people with additional points when they purchase a 6-month membership, for example.
People buy guided by emotions but need logical proof to justify the purchase. So give them an always-needed logical argument to become your customers using special rewards to help them get more points and faster redeem rewards.
For example: when they check-in they get 1 point, but if they buy 6-month membership they get 45 points.
As always, Referrizer will do everything for you. You just need to create your irresistible offer.
Creating a successful loyalty program doesn’t have to be difficult and time-consuming when you have Referrizer by your side to do everything on autopilot.
With these tips, you can now maximize your loyalty program easily and efficiently.
