Growing a business can be tricky. It is a game of trial and error and perseverance. Firstly, you want to acquire new customers, and secondly, you want to be profitable. And, in the end, accelerating the growth of your business.
Some people link growth to getting new customers, which is essential but not cost-effective. Loyal customers are the most important customers since it’s more beneficial to have two customers that come back three times than five customers that buy once. In addition, these loyal customers are the most profitable.
Today we will talk about gaining loyal customers in various ways.
Customer loyalty programs
A program to award your most loyal customers is an easy way to build a relationship with them by offering them discounts and other incentives, which will, in turn, get you more sales.
There are many types of loyalty programs, but to create a better picture, we’ve got some examples for you:
Point-based loyalty programs
The title says it, all customers collect points when doing business with you. Many companies include their programs within an app. Great examples of point-based programs are:
Starbucks
With every purchase or order through the app, customers will earn stars. The more stars a customer has collected, the higher the freebie.
Since every purchase has to be done through the app, Starbucks centralises customer transactions. Asa result, they are creating a gold mine of customer data and behaviour!
Starbucks can gather information on all of these habits and more by directing customers to its app, allowing the brand to provide more targeted rewards and communication to its customers.
If a loyalty app is doable for your store, it can be a great way to collect and centralise customer data. Otherwise, a capable point-of-sale system can help you collect most of the same information.
Paid loyalty
This is a loyalty program where members have to pay a small fee to enjoy the special extras a company has to offer; this can be a one-time fee or a recurring one.
With this type of program, you need proof of value, which means you give more benefits than the membership cost. According to this study, customers are 62% more likely to spend more on the brand.
Paid loyalty programs should have these three things:
- Proof of value
- Personalised experience and content
- High engagement and a continuous flywheel of interaction.
A good example of paid loyalty is:
Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime is well known for its free delivery and streaming service (Prime Video). Other benefits include Twitch Prime, which is for the gaming audience; this service includes freebies in many games.
People with a Prime subscription spend four times more than non-subscribers.
Your loyalty program can become a differentiation and competitive advantage for retailers in comparable industries where products and price points are relatively similar across competitors.
Tiered loyalty
Tiered loyalty programs are a sort of membership in which customers receive varying advantages based on their rank. Businesses frequently assign membership to groups based on indicators such as sales or engagement.
These tiers are goals for customers to achieve; as a result, they engage or buy things within your store to complete these tasks. The higher their tier, the higher the reward
An excellent example of a tiered loyalty system is:
Lancôme
Lancôme’s tiered loyalty program, Elite Rewards, makes it simple to collect points. Members receive 10 points for every dollar spent, 50 points for engaging with Lancôme on social media, and 100 points for sharing additional information about themselves.
This way, Lancôme increases customer lifetime value and collects data about customer behaviour.
Loyalty Apps in the Shopify app store
There are many Loyalty program apps in the Shopify app store, for example, Smile. You can create reward points and referral programs your customers can engage within your store with this app.
It can assist you with program design and installing a widget on your website to attract visitors’ attention and persuade them to join up.
Customers will also have access to their own rewards site on their phones, managing their accounts, collecting rewards, and redeem points from any location.
Get creative
Make it fun! and try to mix it up a bit. You do not have to choose one of these programmes, but you can mix it like a cocktail. The North Face does this really well.
The North Face
Offers various ways to redeem rewards; they are tailored to match the customer’s lifestyle. Being an outdoor brand, The North Face provides unique ways to get rewards, like attending The North Face events or checking in at certain locations.
Customers can use these points to go on unique experiences, for example, a mountain adventure in Nepal.
The North Face’s rewards communicate directly to its target consumers, rather than merely pushing them to spend more. They are not generic product discounts; instead, they have customised experiences that aid in the development of a stronger emotional connection between the consumer and the brand.
Till next time!
Check out our previous blog!
