It is 7 X more expensive to get acquire customers than it is to keep current customers. Loyalty customers are more valuable to your small business, spending an average of 67% more than new customers.
Loyalty programs are designed to increase customer interactions with your brand. But it’s a lot more than points and discounts, customer loyalty programs built solely on points aren’t built to last. Unique & meaningful brand interactions are the ones that cultivate long-term connections.
Your customers know your business, they like your business, but most importantly, they trust your business. With that in mind, don’t just use reward points, create a customer journey to increase customer satisfaction
In an uncertain economy, you can’t risk failing to understand and engage with customers. Consulting behemoth Accenture reports that loyal customers are 43% more likely to spend with their current brands and companies– you just need to stay relevant when it’s time to make another purchase.
Our experts have created a list of everything your loyalty program needs to provide the ultimate experience for maximum customer retention.
1) Make Onboarding Easy
A successful customer relationship starts with a good first impression — right from the start.
Give your customers a great first impression by making your brand as accessible as possible. They should be able to join your loyalty program whenever they’re ready– whether that be when they first walk in or when they get home with their purchase.
Customer Loyalty App
The Stemless Loyalty App lets users enroll smoothly from their phone. Now your loyalty customers can check their points balance and redeem rewards on their own, without having to work with a cashier. That gives your staff more time to deliver exceptional customer service experiences in store.
Customer loyalty and retention has never been easier or come with so many options. With Stemless, you can give your customers a one-of-a-kind experience by offering unique text-to-join or QR codes to join your loyalty program.
If you’re hoping to reach your caffeine aficionado friends, them text “COFFEE PLS” to start their customer journey through your cafe’s customized loyalty program.
2) Straightforward Reward Structure
Remember that the key to a successful loyalty program lies in its simplicity. Keep the complexity behind the scenes to drive maximum value, but make sure your customers can explain it to each other in 2 sentences or less.
If you’re wondering why the “buy 9 get the 10th free” punch card is so ubiquitous with loyalty programs, it’s because it works. Many coffee shops have used it because it’s simple, straightforward, and anyone can explain how to get their free latte.
Your loyalty and rewards program should be just as clear and concise as that coffee punch card. Some popular loyalty programs for small businesses are:
- Earn 10 points per store visit
- Earn 1 point per dollar spent
- Buy 4 items, get the 5th free
- Spend more than $500 in a year to reach VIP status
Whatever you choose, just keep it straightforward and easy to explain.
3) Valuable Rewards
In order to give happy customers more of what they, retailers have to know what they want.
Our proprietary software tells customers when they’re close to leveling up – encouraging them to increase spend while giving them something they want – rewards.
Everybody loves a discount – a Statista study completed in 2020 reported that 92% of consumers had used coupons to make a purchase. So, it’s a safe bet to reward your loyalty customers with exclusive coupons and discounts.
Swag is Good– but only if it’s good swag.
So before you put your logo on a pen and put a redemption value of 100 points on it, make sure that your customers actually want that pen. Even the most brand loyal consumers won’t be interested in redeeming their hard earned points for rewards they don’t want. Ask for customer feedback to ensure you’re giving the people what they want most from your business.
4) Reward the Right Behaviors
Don’t just give people credit for checking in – you want to reward them for the behavior you want to see – so reward them for purchasing. Consider what customer behaviors make the biggest difference to your business.
Ask yourself what your business needs to do to grow your brand – is it a higher average revenue per user or more products per transaction?
Reward Loyalty Customers Intentionally
Once you put together what behaviors you want to see in your customers, make sure that you’re rewarding the ones that exhibit it. For example, if you want to drive growth in the size of each customer transaction, offer double points for transactions over dollar amount.
Retailers can foster customer loyalty by rewarding with intention. Be sure the loyalty platform you choose offers the robust customer loyalty analytics needed to evaluate if you’re rewarding the correct customer behavior.
Our Recommendation
Customer loyalty programs in retail can take time to perfect. We recommend watching your loyalty program for 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days to see how customer behavior has changed. Beware not to change your program too often. You’ll risk upsetting existing customers and loyalty program participants.
5) Don’t Treat Customers Equally
By using the robust analytics provided by your loyalty platform, you can be sure you’re rewarding the right customers based on purchasing trends like repeat purchases or bulk orders.
Then, make your loyalty customers feel like VIPs by offering targeted rewards like:
- Birthday discounts, coupons, or gift cards
- Bonus incentives for referrals
- VIP access to special programs, workshops, or presentations
- Double points for purchases over $150
Fostering customer loyalty is most effective when your customers feel a sense of belonging and are delighted by an experience. Your VIPs will be happy to continue their customer journey with your brand if they’re rewarded according to their actions.
Cultivate Customer Loyalty & Retention with Stemless
We want to help you keep things simple.
Delivering more meaningful customer loyalty experiences makes customers feel more engaged with your brand. They trust in your ability to make them feel valued. This plus relevant rewards will inspire customers to stick around awhile.
Providing the ultimate customer experience takes expert innovation, detailed analytics, and intelligent loyalty management platforms.
That’s where Stemless comes in, we inspire long-lasting customer relationships through automated text message marketing campaigns, 5-star review programs, and user-friendly loyalty program apps. If you’d like to see how Stemless can help you grow your business, schedule a demo today!