Whether you’ve just started a new business or you want to grow an existing business and create long-term customer relationships, a loyalty program can help you succeed.
By implementing an effective customer loyalty program, companies can easily keep their clients happy by offering them special discounts on items when they visit physical stores or shop online. Incentivising further purchases means increased revenue, and by creating engagement, you’re boosting your brand.
And while these programs can be complicated to set up, it’s worth it. In the US alone, loyalty program members are 60% more likely to make further purchases than non-members, according to McKinsey data.
Sounds good, right? But what are the key considerations when creating an effective customer loyalty program? Let’s take a look.
What you should focus on when developing a loyalty program
First and foremost, a good loyalty program offers customers value. For their ongoing trade, your program should reward customers for their loyalty with exclusive offers, special perks and features that only they get access to (such as coupons).
Secondly, a successful loyalty program makes it easy for customers to sign up and start reaping these rewards. This may mean having an app or other digital platform where customers can easily redeem their points or rewards, or receive notifications about new offers.
Having multiple channels available for customer service (in app chat, website chatbots, and so on) means there’s always someone available when clients need assistance or have questions. This level of availability helps customers feel important and valued.
It’s also important to remember that a loyalty program isn’t just about giving away free stuff. It’s an opportunity to learn more about how people use and feel about the products they buy from you.
Don’t forget to prioritize security
Security is one of the most important aspects of any customer loyalty program. Unfortunately, it’s often overlooked, and there are plenty of loyalty apps that threaten users’ privacy.
It’s your loyal customers that are helping you grow your business. So don’t forget to prioritize security when planning and implementing a loyalty program.
The goal of security is to protect your customer’s data while they use their account on your website or in an app. This includes not only protecting them from hackers who might steal their information, but also protecting that information from being accessed by anyone else within your company who doesn’t need it. For example, employees shouldn’t have access to every single customer’s personal data.
Security also protects both parties—the customer and the business—in case something goes wrong with the system later down the road. For example, if someone hacks into a customer’s account and steals money from them then both parties will suffer negative consequences like bad publicity and ongoing distrust.
Loyalty programs encourage further spending, help you build long-lasting relationships with customers, and strengthen your brand image. Keep security at the fore and you’re on your way to a successful program.
Looking for more helpful tips and ideas? Check out our business section.
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