Reward Customer Loyalty – Advocado https://advocadoapp.com Award-winning Cloud Loyalty Software for your business Fri, 19 Mar 2021 02:24:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.1 The Next Step To Take After You Have A Loyalty Program In Place https://advocadoapp.com/2019/01/13/the-next-step-to-take-after-you-have-a-loyalty-program-in-place/ Sun, 13 Jan 2019 07:03:00 +0000 http://droitthemes.com/wp/saasland/2018/11/14/why-i-say-old-chap-that-is-spiffing-jolly-good-copy/ So, you have finally created the perfect loyalty program–one that will keep your members loyal for years to come. Congratulations! But now what? What should be the next steps to take after you have a loyalty program in place? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we are going to discuss the four...

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So, you have finally created the perfect loyalty program–one that will keep your members loyal for years to come. Congratulations!

But now what?

What should be the next steps to take after you have a loyalty program in place?

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

In this article, we are going to discuss the four crucial steps that you should take if you want to make your loyalty program a success:

  • Enroll your customers into your program
  • Promote your awesome loyalty program
  • Remind your customers about the rewards and benefits they have
  • Occasionally, run special promotions for the members-only

Read ahead for our best tips!



1. Enroll Customers into The Program

Your first step after creating your loyalty program should be to enroll customers into it. Attracting members to your program is a crucial step, making them stay is even more difficult.

Most people have little to no patience when it comes to things like loyalty programs. We know it’s sad, but it’s reality.

People don’t stick around for a long time if they don’t get quick results and value for their time.

No one wants a membership that adds no value to their life. So, as soon as you enroll customers into the loyalty program, make sure they see the usefulness of it.

Create the best first impression because it goes a long way. Make them familiar with the things the program offers. In the Business World, this is called ‘Member Onboarding’.

An ideal member onboarding process should be able to successfully do these two things.

●     Show the customers the value they are getting from your program

The onboarding process should make the customers want to enroll in your program. They need to see why it’s relevant to them and what value it adds to their lives.

●     Impress the customers immediately

The customers don’t have much patience and they are quick to abandon such programs. So your member onboarding process should be quick, easy and engaging.

●     Provide Helpful Information

Customers should have all the information about your loyalty program easily available to them. Apart from that, tutorials, informative videos, and a helpful support system also help in increasing the chance of them sticking with your program.


2. Promote Your Loyalty Program

Promoting your loyalty program is the most important and crucial step. You have a loyalty program but your target audience isn’t going to get aware of it automatically. 

You will need to make your program visible to them. Here is how you can do it:

  • Banners, Posters, Standees

Now that you are ready with the rewards for your loyal customers, prepare attractive banners, posters or standees and display at the places so that everyone can read. They can be placed at the entrance of the shops, on the tables of a café, in the trial rooms of clothing stores, and common display places in the mall, near the cashier, etc.

  • Website

Include the information about the rewards and membership on your website. This is a must have, as in today’s digital world, customers visit the website first before visiting your store.

  • Social media

Create online campaigns to promote the loyalty program. Almost everyone is present on social media today, so take advantage of it. Make Instagram and Facebook pages and reach out to your target audience. Run paid ads on various online platforms.

Remember, you don’t only need to promote the program but you need to do it in the right way – which is, your customers should know about their rewards from every channel. 


3. Remind Your Members About Their Rewards

People are so busy with their lives that they often forget about various things. And you don’t want your loyalty program to be one of those things.

So make sure that you keep reminding them about the rewards and benefits they are getting from your loyalty program. This can be effectively done by sending occasional emails, organizing webinars, creating campaigns, etc.

Specially in Singapore, the channel that is very effective in bringing customers back is SMS. Read more about the effectiveness of SMS Marketing here.

Now, it’s very important to not overdo it. You don’t want to bother them constantly and appear as annoying. But make sure that you remind the members about their rewards periodically so that they don’t end up forgetting about them.


4. Once In A While, Create Special Offers Only For The Members 

Lastly, make sure to create special offers and benefits once in a while for your permanent members.

This will help you in two ways, firstly, it will make the members feel privileged and special, and secondly, it creates a kind of an exclusive club that other people will also want to join.

In this way, you will be able to increase the member base as well as the popularity of your loyalty program.


Conclusion:

Creating and managing a loyalty program is not a piece of cake. But if done in the right way, it will give you many profitable results in the future.

Planning the next steps to take after you have a loyalty program in place is a crucial decision.

We hope that this article was able to provide you some clarity on it.



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]]> How do loyalty programs work? https://advocadoapp.com/2019/01/09/how-do-loyalty-programs-work/ Wed, 09 Jan 2019 08:32:00 +0000 http://droitthemes.com/wp/saasland/2018/11/14/we-craft-marketing-digital-products-that-grow-businesses-copy/ Loyalty programs have proven to be an efficient marketing tool in driving businesses to the zenith via customer satisfaction. They make customers happy with exciting rewards and then remind them to come back and redeem the rewards. Hence, when executed correctly, they bring customers back to businesses again and again, maximizing the return visits and...

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Loyalty programs have proven to be an efficient marketing tool in driving businesses to the zenith via customer satisfaction. They make customers happy with exciting rewards and then remind them to come back and redeem the rewards. Hence, when executed correctly, they bring customers back to businesses again and again, maximizing the return visits and sales revenue.

For many businesses, convincing clients to come back is the hardest hurdle one must overcome to succeed. Loyalty programs are also tools for understanding the behavioral and attitudinal features of the customer. There are ways to reward a customer, but the best and most effective way is a loyalty program.

When employed appropriately, loyalty programs can trigger a repeated purchase and turn first-time buyers to brand loyalists. Giving back to your customers is incredible, but with trust dwindling, it begs the question; does a loyalty program work?

So in this article, we will be discussing everything loyalty programs, including benefits, impact on retaining customers, types of loyalty programs, and how they work?

So if you are ready, let’s get in the business.


What is a customer loyalty program?



The ability to endear your customers to return again and again is customer loyalty. A strategy put in place to ensure they return for your product and service is the loyalty program. The main reason for a loyalty program is to build a customer base that can help you grow your business.

Loyalty programs have been around for more than three decades with the ‘Frequent flyer program’ introduced by American Airlines. It was to give the frequent flyer more attention than the rest. Today, loyalty programs have extended to travels, vacations, shopping, rentals, financial services, and everything else.

With that said, loyalty programs are marketing strategies that aim to make customers more loyal by developing an open and personal relationship with them.


Why is a loyalty program so crucial to a growing business?



Loyalty programs are marketing options that companies should employ to build loyal customers. The idea is to boost brand recognition and keep the customers happy while driving revenue up.

Loyalty programs are great at converting customers, increasing their spending and loyalty to the brand. It is also a passive system of marketing via word-of-mouth. So if one person is satisfied, they will tell their friends and family members, creating more profit for the business.

Other benefits are:-

  • Increases customer retention – Customers will stick to your brand if they are getting good value and appreciation for their loyalty
  • Customers feel valued and loved by the brand
  • Improved brands recognition and reputation
  • It is a great way to win back customer and welcome first-timers
  • It stimulates customers to spend more and gain more loyalty reward
  • It enables brands to build loyal customer bases anywhere they establish
  • Provides detailed insight to sections of the business that needs more work to improve
  • Allows brand to create advocate from their loyal customer to speak on behalf of the brand like influencers
  • Increased customer-brand interaction

 

Types of loyalty programs and how they work

While we know loyalty programs work, companies need to determine which one is best for them. Below are types of loyalty programs and how it works.





This type of program encourage customers to buy more for a reward. For example, the buy two get the third free increases sales but allows customers to feel rewarded for their efforts dealing with you. It is the simplest loyalty program and the easiest to build a loyal base with increase referral.

So if you are looking to boost sales or introduce yourself to the world, this is the loyalty program for your brand. The only disadvantage to this program is the inability to collect customer information to alert them to another get free/reward program in the future.





In this type, customers get points for purchasing or spending a stipulated amount in a business. These points are then exchanged for rewards or items at the store or listed out by the companies.

In some instances, customers gather points throughout the year for a movie premiere, retreats date for two or a day at the spa. To keep such a loyalty program going, companies should surprise loyal customers with gifts or rewards to keep them interested in gathering points.





Now, most customers love this type of reward program. Customers under this loyalty platform earn cashback when they reach a stipulated spending limit; they are gifted money back. This extra cash gift can be spent immediately or used or something in the future. The cashback loyalty program encourages more spending and is a remarkable way for stores with large or frequent customers.





This tests the patience and loyalty of the customers. In this program, the more points they get, the higher their loyalty level. So once the customers gain a particular point, they are more recognized by the company. The tiered program works exceptionally well as motivating customers in the lower tiers to purchase more and get better rewards.





This is a fun competition that allows customers to engage in a game-like scenario. It will gain the customer points, cash, or reward.

For example, a customer buys a newly introduced product at twice the point of another previous favorite. It strengthens the brand’s image, and it is an entertaining way to cut advertising costs and gain more customers.



Other loyalty programs are the hybrid program, paid program, VVIP paid loyalty program, partnership program, etc.

Loyalty programs work and are an effective marketing strategy to attract and retain new customers. Deciding which loyalty program is efficient for your brand or business will determine how much advantage you will have over your competitors. Note that regardless of the loyalty program of choice, the result is to increase sales, customer interaction, profits, and retention.

Remember, a loyalty program should always be about the customer first. The instructions must be clear enough for the customers to understand and participate in them.

So to answer your question, yes, loyalty programs work. And it is a strategic way to interact with customers.



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]]> How to Reward Customer Loyalty? https://advocadoapp.com/2019/01/07/how-to-reward-customer-loyalty/ Mon, 07 Jan 2019 09:14:00 +0000 http://droitthemes.com/wp/saasland/2018/11/14/we-craft-marketing-digital-products-that-grow-businesses-copy-2/ Every customer who has made a commitment to buy from you repeatedly deserves a special treatment. Rewarding them not only makes them feel that they are special to you, but also increase the chances they will purchase from you more often. Here are few ways you can reward your customers: Points and cashback Multi-tier membership...

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Every customer who has made a commitment to buy from you repeatedly deserves a special treatment. Rewarding them not only makes them feel that they are special to you, but also increase the chances they will purchase from you more often. Here are few ways you can reward your customers:

  • Points and cashback
  • Multi-tier membership
  • Birthday treats
  • Sending reminders at the right time
  • Provide added value to your customers

Rewarding your regulars demonstrate an act of care, put a big smile on your their faces and have them coming back to your business again.

A customer’s loyalty is their voluntary willingness to interact or purchase from a specific company regularly. This loyalty can emanate from a number of things; mostly, it is the customer’s desirable experience with the business or a brand that increases their odds to make repeated purchases from the brand.

The importance of loyal customers stems from the data that a loyal customer spends approximately 67% more on products and services than new customers. Hence, even though the loyal customers make up to 20% of your audience, they bring up to 80% of the business revenue. Moreover, it is five times easier to retain a customer than gain a new one.

This is the reason companies focus largely on their regulars, understanding their interests and dislikes. Loyal customers will continue to buy from the business and spend more over their lifetime than others.



The Reebok Experience

Just like every other popular brand, Reebok has its own way of rewarding its customers. While Starbucks rewards mostly with gifts, Reebok found an alternative method that is less costly and effective. This sporting goods company gives VIP experience, training and wellness program, partner rewards, and much more for every purchase they make over an interval of time.

The company grasps the importance of loyal customers and members even get points for their every transaction and interaction with the brand. As the points gradually accumulate, the rewards also increase. The brand even goes as far as to provide access to partner events and product releases.



Rewarding Customer Loyalty

Rewarding customer loyalty is a small step in the larger growth of your business. Your excellent services and experience are always rewarded and recommended by your customer, fruitfully. There are a number of ways you can reward customer loyalty.


1.   Points and Cashbacks for Loyal Customers

The classic way to reward customer loyalty is to give cashback and points on their purchase and interaction. You can offer cashback to the customers after a certain amount of transactions or purchases. Customers can earn the extra advantage of getting a return on their spending and the additional perk that it offers over a period of time.

Giving points on a regular basis can encourage customers to continue shopping with you and gain more points. In fact, you can make points collection like a game where there are levels of exciting prices/gifts that the customer can redeem once they collect certain points.

If you are an F&B or a retail business, points or cashback are made for you!


2.   Create Multi-Tier Membership

Creating multi-tier membership as a mode to reward customer loyalty can be beneficial for both the customer and the business. You can create a free membership at one level, and other levels can be paid versions with extra perks and benefits. If you are new to these multi-tier memberships without any social testimonials you can begin with a free membership at the beginning for potential customers to gain their trust.

A multi-tier membership program gives you an opportunity to reward your customers based on their spent. The more they buy from you, the more rewards they get. Multi-tier membership is an excellent fit for service-based businesses such as spas, beauty parlors and hair salon.


3.   Birthday Treats

Showing your customers that you care goes a long way to bring them back to your shop. Peek into your customer data and make your customers feel special on their birthday or their birthday month. Many brands now provide birthday offers to their customers and have them visiting their shop/service center frequently. So, if you are not giving birthday treats yet, you might be missing out!

According to an internal survey, special offers on the birthdays can bring up to 66% customers back to the businesses.


4.   Sending Reminders at the Right Time

Sending reminders to redeem offers, avail of amazing discounts, and what’s new in the market is a part of a loyalty customer program. Your customers wouldn’t want to give up their points or fail to avail of discounts just because the offers expired. Hence, it is very important to send reminders at the right time.

Simple text messages that reminds customers to use the cashback before it expires can bring back up to 33% of customers. In order to redeem this cashback, they will spend more at your business. Hence, reminders play a very important role complete the cycle and generate more sales.


5.   Give Value to Your Customer

Everyone wants to feel valued and cared for. What do you have that others don’t? Ask yourself self-introspective questions from a customer’s perspective. Questions like would you choose this program or membership? Is the experience satisfactory enough? Am I valued here? Why should I choose this and not the other program?

These valuable questions will help you set apart in customer loyalty and help you grow your business. Making your customers feel welcomed should be your priority. In this competitive world, the only thing that can keep you at the top is to provide something that others don’t.

For example, if you are a gym, you can add value by sharing healthy recipes with your customers. A pet-grooming business can share more information on how to take care of the pets at home. The enriching information once in while not only makes your customers feel that you care for them, but also keeps your brand on the top of their minds.



Final Words

Excellent customer service goes a long way to show the customers that you care. In return, these customers will become loyal members of your business. You can build a relationship with your customers.  Loyal customers recommend your business to friends and families. The word of mouth marketing and loyalty customer programs go hand in hand. Hence, building a relationship with your customers can become the biggest source of generating leads.

Rewards and money backs are not the only way to make your customers feel good. You can plan exclusive experiences, limited vouchers, rare discounts that are otherwise not available to others to run your customer loyalty programs.


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]]> Do Restaurant Loyalty Programs Work? https://advocadoapp.com/2019/01/03/do-restaurant-loyalty-programs-work/ Thu, 03 Jan 2019 10:12:00 +0000 http://droitthemes.com/wp/saasland/2019/01/14/interdum-luctus-accusamus-habitant-error-nostra-nostrum-copy/ According to Hospitality Technology’s Customer Engagement Study, 45% of diners will select a restaurant if they belong to its loyalty program. So yes, loyalty programs do work in restaurants by: Making customers feel important & rewarded Bringing customers back again & again Helping the restaurant gain competitive advantage Increasing return visits, and in turn, increasing revenue...

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According to Hospitality Technology’s Customer Engagement Study, 45% of diners will select a restaurant if they belong to its loyalty program. So yes, loyalty programs do work in restaurants by:

  • Making customers feel important & rewarded
  • Bringing customers back again & again
  • Helping the restaurant gain competitive advantage
  • Increasing return visits, and in turn, increasing revenue
  • Making them your advocates
 

 

How are loyalty programs useful:

Loyalty programs are the magnet to attract and retain loyal customers. In today’s world, people are interested in trying new things, so they switch their restaurants every now and then. However, there are techniques to convert your restaurant visitors into loyal customers. Loyalty programs are at the top of the list. As a restaurant owner, you will agree it is more beneficial to retain existing visitors than to attract new ones. They already know your restaurant; all you have to do is persuade them to keep visiting. 

It is true that loyalty programs work but it is also true that sometimes they don’t. The elephant in the room is how to make your loyalty program work? How to ensure that your customers are loyal to your restaurant? And how to take advantage of these programs? Let us find the answers and learn the art of successful restaurant loyalty programs.

 
Tips For An Effective Restaurant Loyalty Program:-

1. Keep it Simple & Meaningful 

The Loyalty Programs are for retaining and reinforcing. If your restaurant loyalty program is difficult to understand then customers might just skip it. In today’s digital world everything is running fast, even the memory. If you want your customers to enrol in your restaurant loyalty program and remember you then offer a simple and meaningful program. For example, instead of burdening them with a plastic card manage your program digitally and save data on your system. Offer a pleasant experience to your customers, don’t confuse them with complex proceedings. 


2. Sign-Up Gifts

If you want people to sign up and come again later then offer an instant incentive. People might doubt coming there again just to avail the loyalty program benefits so offer them a discount on the current bill. This might ignite their interest and increase the number of sign-ups for the loyalty program. The offers that work the best are those items which is lower at cost to you, but higher in perceived value.  For example, a coffee or an ice cream.


3. A Special Welcome at Every Visit

Loyalty program members appreciate the special treatment. Train your staff to greet them personally and even offer a special welcome such as free drinks to start their experience. Give them whichever seats they like or seat them in the finest corner of your restaurant. The bonus of this step is that regular customers might also be attracted to the loyalty program after witnessing the special treatment the members receive. 


4. An Exclusive Access

Your restaurant loyalty program should be like an exclusive club. The members should enjoy some out of the reach benefits. This will encourage more and more people to join. Customers love to get what no one else can get. This is the reason why limited-edition products work so well in the market. Organize events at your restaurants just for the Loyalty program members. Reserve a few dishes in your menus and few seats in the restaurants only for the members. Provide them with the password to the WIFI connection. This will help you attract the millennials. You can also distribute coupons to only the members. Special discounts for special people.


5. Birthday Treats

Who doesn’t like discounts, that too in the most special month of the year? Birthday treats are one of the most effective ways to bring the customers back, and a must have for every restaurant. Based on our internal study, a right birthday promotion can bring back up to 66% of customers.

So wait no more, set your strategy and surprise your loyal customer on his/her birthday. Invite them with friends and family, and for them to celebrate at your restaurant.


6. Promoting your Loyalty Program

People will join your restaurant loyalty program only when they will know about it. You have to promote this program both inside and outside of the restaurant. For internal promotion, employ a push strategy. Train your staff to sell your loyalty program and to influence the customers to enrol. For external, you can use local media, pamphlets, billboards, etc. Make sure your target customers know that you will provide them benefits in return for loyalty. 

 

Conclusion:

So now you know how to start an effective loyalty program. The mantra is to provide value to your customers and make them feel important. Invest your time and effort in improving their experience with you. In return, they will come to your restaurant over your competitors, they will spend more to get a better offer, they will bring new customers, and most importantly, they will stay loyal to your restaurant. Restaurant loyalty programs work wonders when you plan them strategically and offer the best to the members. Remember to take feedbacks and improve your restaurant loyalty program for better results. 

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]]> Top 4 Loyalty Features in Asia https://advocadoapp.com/2019/01/01/top-4-loyalty-features-in-asia/ Tue, 01 Jan 2019 12:50:00 +0000 http://droitthemes.com/wp/saasland/2019/01/14/aliquam-mollit-nemo-taciti-ad-quae-reprehenderit-omnis-copy-2/ One key objective that all businesses want to fulfil is converting their customers into brand advocates. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. It requires a loyalty strategy that turns first-time buyers into repeat customers, and ultimately, brand loyalists. Your loyalty programs should have all the right features that allow you to: Enrol members...

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One key objective that all businesses want to fulfil is converting their customers into brand advocates. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. It requires a loyalty strategy that turns first-time buyers into repeat customers, and ultimately, brand loyalists.

Your loyalty programs should have all the right features that allow you to:

  • Enrol members with Easy & Quick Onboarding
  • Make your customers happy with Robust & Customisable Rewards
  • Do targeted marketing with Contextual target messaging
  • Bring your customers back again and again with Re-engagement via SMS

Let’s dive in to each of these features.


Easy and Quick On-Boarding



Onboarding members to your program should be easy, quick, and seamless. In loyalty programs, the challenge is to make the consumers stick to the program in the long haul. Unfortunately, most consumers don’t stick beyond a week or a month. Hence, the challenge you have is to get them to stay and continue in the program.

Fuss-free onboarding plays a key role in making this process easier. New members are notoriously quick to cast aside the loyalty programs when they don’t find any immediate value in them. Most of the members are swift to delete the app, leave points unredeemed, and forget all about the program.

Hence, in order to attract consumers, privileged experiences like members-only access to events while prompting the consumers to sign up may prove more effective than acquiring points in the long run. Especially when it comes to savvy Asian shoppers, they are nothing if not efficient with prices and discounts.


Robust & Customizable Rewards



Each business is different, and so should your loyalty program. In other words, your loyalty program should be customized to your industry, business objectives and needs of your target customers. For example, the loyalty program of a café who wants to acquire more customers to buy their regular coffees will be different from that of a family restaurant, whose objective is to provide memorable experience to every customer.

Concurrently, your rewards should also differentiate your brand in the eyes of your customers. The last thing that will appeal to your customers is the same rewards that they are getting everywhere else, especially for Asian shoppers, who visit stores not just for the products but also for the experience. Hence, your rewards program should be robust enough to cater to all segments of customers. The customers who visit more often or are top spenders get more rewards so that they are constantly motivated to not only purchase from you, but also become your brand advocates.

A flexible, yet robust loyalty program presents an ocean of opportunities for your brand and empowers you to reward, manage and engage your customers in numerous ways.


Contextual Target Messaging

Contextual targeting is a bold and simple marketing strategy that has been a favored targeting format for a while now. Once the consumer is hooked to the program, the next challenge is to encourage usage.

The Asian markets have embedded loyalty programs in smartphones. Through contextual target messaging, direct brand apps, and other messaging apps acquisition and subsequent engagement become conveniently familiar to consumers. App-based programs have also become more beneficial than static store cards, like instant access to reward information, instant rewards, and real-time promises.

By consolidating buyers’ history with relevant and locational information, the prize program supports use by drawing in customers with customized rewards, balance updates and member offers when they are generally open to reacting for example when in or close to a partaking shopping center.


Re-Engagement via SMS

Out of sight is out of mind. This statement holds true for loyalty program customers. Sometimes, the reason is that they must expend too much effort to use this loyalty program. Hence, your consumers need adequate information and reminders to engage with the loyalty program and your brand.

However, trying to engage your consumer by making them log-in to a website or by downloading an app is not efficient and instead can drive them away. These options are neither convenient nor recommended. Making the reward readily available to the consumers on their smartphones can enhance user engagement and efficiency. Rather than forcing the users to access their reward information, a simple SMS to their device can do the job.

Almost 75% of consumers find SMS easy to access their rewards and are more likely to continue with their loyalty program. The SMS can either be a gentle reminder to redeem their reward or prompt them to take a business action to drive purchase.


Conclusion:

The above features empower brands to take control of enrolling customers into their loyalty program and use automations to bring them back to their stores. In this way, brands can maximise their revenue, and turn customers into brand advocates.



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