By following these proven strategies, you can boost your loyalty program's success and build lasting connections with your customers.
Loyalty programs serve as a powerful tool for merchants to nurture loyalty, community, and repeat business.
How do merchants effectively market their loyalty programs to customers? The key lies in spreading awareness about the program's benefits.
Savvy marketers employ enticing incentives, such as discounts and rewards, to motivate customers to sign up and actively participate in the program.
Customer loyalty programs can increase customer engagement, retention, customer lifetime value (CLTV), and increase average order value (AOV).
Implementing loyalty to your brand strategy is crucial in relieving rising pressures of acquiring new customers, as retaining customers is a lot more cost effective.
Loyal customers make purchases 90% more often, spend 60% more per transaction, and generate 23% more revenue and profitability than first-time buyers.
Few loyalty programs are effective by merely just existing. To succeed in any saturated market, setting your loyalty program apart from others is the key to conducting an engaging loyalty program.
But, finding a manageable way to make your loyalty program stand-out from competitors can be tricky.
We’ve got a few tips that can help merchants market their loyalty program effectively, focusing on awareness and differentiation are the two main tactics to follow.
Ensuring that your loyalty program is visible will significantly increase its chances of encouraging repeat customers, repeat business and repeat.
Business growth depends on happy customers, attracting new ones successfully, and keeping your existing ones. A loyalty program is the perfect way to make it happen and support your business growth.
“Customers who are part of loyalty programs increase their store or website visits by 20% more than a customer who is not part of a loyalty program.”
Ensure that your program is easy to understand and join with a few simple steps. Make sure that your program facilitates a smooth, seamless and simple set-up, from adding your email to instantly getting rewarded.
For example, having a couple of steps to allow members to join is crucial, the easier it is to join, the more members you will see. Add a simple form fill-out with email, name, surname & password or even allow members to sign-up using their Google or Social Media Accounts.
Attract attention to your loyalty program in your brick and mortar stores or POS. Influence.io’s integration with Shopify POS enhances the user experience by enabling merchants to track inventory online & in-store while being able to access their customers data using their POS system - making their point redemption and earning even easier.
Consider visibility in your store such as brochures, loyalty cards, posters and encourage your sales assistants to actively promote your program.
When interacting with customers, the assistants may ask: “Are you signed-up to our Loyalty Program yet? Receive a 10% Discount with your first purchase as a member” to raise awareness, encourage sign-ups, and increase the program’s visibility.
Influence.io’s Shopify Checkout UI Extension simplifies the process of using your loyalty program in-store. By adding the ability for loyalty program members to redeem and earn points in-store as well as online. We are also adding the ability for merchants to scan their own QR codes in-store to simplify their in-store checkout experience further.
Online visibility is crucial for eCommerce merchants, therefore sharing your loyalty program on your website, through email marketing campaigns and on social media channels is vital.
Not only will it help encourage initial sign-ups, it will also increase active participation and make a difference to your loyalty programs visibility and bottom line.
Cross-platform promotion increases the visibility of your loyalty program, without a visible loyalty program, your engagement rates will fall short.
Even reminding existing customers about the program or customers who are signed-up but inactive is all part and parcel of running a successful loyalty program.
Offering sign-up incentives: entry points, percentage discounts, can significantly increase the likelihood of customers signing up for the loyalty program. This is an earn rule which Influence.io offers which you can give to your customers
Rewarding them for joining the program will provide them with an immediate value, and they can instantly feel more connected to your brand. Providing gated rewards for members-only also breeds exclusivity and community.
Social media marketing means that teams can access a broader audience that includes prospective, existing and loyal customers.
By promoting your program on social channels, your brand can encourage prospective customers online to make their initial purchase, often encouraged by an incentivized sign-up scheme. Existing customers can see aspects of your loyalty program if you market it online.
Your existing database containing your customer’s emails or existing customers who have already subscribed and give you permission to communicate marketing materials with them should be informed about your loyalty program.
You need to showcase the benefits of your loyalty program to make it seem worthwhile for now and for the long run. Promote the notion that you will be offering rewards for signing up. And for the customers that are already signed up to the program but are inactive? Sending reminder emails for point redemption is a great way to encourage participation and to reignite their inclusion in the program.
Setting your loyalty program apart from competitors is vital in today's saturated market. A well-designed and innovative loyalty program boosts your chances of success and nurtures long-term relationships with customers to drive repeat purchases and cultivate brand loyalty.
However, with consumers juggling an average of 13.4 loyalty programs but only actively engaging in 6.7 of them, how can merchants ensure their loyalty program remains active and competitive?
To combat what's known as 'loyalty fatigue,' where programs become stagnant and one-size-fits-all, targeted marketing is key. By personalizing messages, offering customized promotions, and creating an exclusive experience, businesses can forge stronger connections with customers, motivating them to actively participate and remain loyal.
A well-executed loyalty program acts as a crucial differentiator in a crowded marketplace, setting your brand apart from competitors. It becomes a decisive factor in a customer's decision-making process, attracting them to your brand over others.
By proactively engaging with customers and providing personalized touch points, you establish a sense of community around your brand, strengthening the emotional bond between customers and your business. This approach creates a unique and compelling loyalty program that stands out in the competitive landscape.
In a nutshell, effective marketing and email strategies are crucial factors to consider to drive engagement and success for your loyalty programs.
By prioritizing awareness, an omnichannel approach, sending email reminders, and communicating the program's value, businesses can foster stronger customer connections and boost retention.
Keeping it simple and highlighting member benefits with a clear call to action for enrolment will lead to increased customer engagement, repeat purchases, and overall loyalty program success.
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