According to COLLOQUY's 2009 Loyalty Census, the average U.S. household belongs to 14 loyalty programs. No wonder. Loyalty programs are one of businesses’ most frequently implemented strategies for increasing ROI and boosting the bottom line. But the survey finds something else. These same households actively participate only in six of these programs.
What’s the problem? In order for loyalty programs to work, they have to be implemented properly. They have to provide real value.
What makes a loyalty program tick?
Targeting. Everybody offers rewards points these days. To really capture your customers’ long-term loyalty, you need to communicate based on demographics and interests. Give them something that generic loyalty programs don’t — relevance.
Customer choice. Consider letting customers opt in to various subgroups based on interest. If you’re a florist, you might offer the opportunity to opt into “daisy lovers” or “romantic gifts,” with the option to add or change sub-groups based on their changing lifestyle needs.
Create value. As the marketer, you are clearly getting something out of the program. What are participants getting? The value to them should be clear. If it’s just a discount a few times a year, what are they getting that is different from what your competitor is doing?
Give participants something that transcends accumulating rewards points. If you’re a local hot spot, for example, you might send out schedules of performing bands, advance notifications of new items on the menu, or alerts about weekend events. Take the value beyond what they may be receiving from “the other guy.”
Make goals attainable. If your program offers rewards for purchases, make sure the goals are attainable. Some experts suggest starting customers off with a certain number of points to make them feel that they’ve already gotten a head start, creating an emotional investment in the program.
You have data. Use it! 1:1 print marketing gives you the opportunity to do much more than say, “Hi, Bob. You have 6,324 rewards points. Call us to redeem them.” Ask questions. Conduct surveys, and learn about what offers are most important to participants. You can get to know participants in a way that solidifies existing relationships and turns them from mere “program members” into truly loyal, long-term customers.
Commit to the program. In order to be successful, you need to make a regular investment in it. Don’t just sit around, waiting for people to redeem their rewards points. Send out regular communications, even if you’re not promoting something.
Long-term emotional investment from your customers starts with an investment from you. Go beyond rewards points accumulation and get your customer emotionally invested in your company. Offer something more than a mere transactional relationship. The more you invest in your customers, the more they will become invested in you.
