Extend the Initial Success of Established Customer Loyalty Programmes

With the current state of the economy, it is but wise for companies to invest in customer loyalty programmes to keep their current customers. Unfortunately, most loyalty programmes are only effective during the first few months of its launch. Many businesses employ customer loyalty programmes that allow them to convert walk-in customers into loyal patrons, but most of these businesses don’t know how to maximise the benefits of such programmes.

Here, we’ll discuss three key factors that ensure the continued success of loyalty programmes:

1. Maximise the use of your customer data – One of the great benefits of having a customer loyalty programme is that you can easily gather essential information about your customers – their buying patterns, their preferences, down to their mailing addresses.
   
   However, not all companies maximise the use of such important data. Some businesses offer customer loyalty programmes that highly depend on discount offerings and premiums. However, it’s not as profitable in the end, as these types of loyalty programmes are just teaching customers how to save a few pounds. Usually, these loyalty programmes begin to falter when a competitor offers a loyalty programme that provides a more affordable option.
   
   To address this, companies should tap the gold mine that they already possess – the customer data! Find out how you could improve your services by looking into issues such as checkout speeds, store layout, and customer feedback and competitor information. Try to do short customer satisfaction surveys and see how you could improve your loyalty programme based on your patrons’ preferences.
2. Appeal to your customers’ emotions – Again, customer loyalty and satisfaction don’t rely solely on bonuses and discounts. Successful loyalty programmes engage customers as much as possible. A long-term programme builds an emotional link between your business and customers.
   
   The loyalty programme is only one facet of the whole branding and marketing of your business. The other facets include the quality of your actual products, the benefits customers get from being loyal to your business, and even the hospitality of your employees. Try to boost customer loyalty and satisfaction by making the whole business transaction a positive experience for them. Give loyalty cardholders the VIP treatment in your stores – provide special lanes for faster processing, extra discounts, early advice on sales events, and ask your employees address them by name. Successful customer loyalty programmes even go to such lengths as mailing loyal members gifts on important occasions, like Christmas and their birthdays. Such gifts need not be expensive; it’s the thought that counts!
3. Keep up with technology – Modern technology now offers many opportunities in which you can improve your loyalty programme. The technology that allows customers to pay through their smartphones, for example, could be tapped by giving additional discounts for loyalty cardholders if they use such technologies. With these new technologies, measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction has also become easier, as you can now monitor the frequency of purchases and other trends electronically.

You can never run out of ways to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. Always be dynamic. What’s important to remember each time you try a new promotion is to think like the customer, and create ways to ensure that your patrons feel important every time they transact with your business.

Photo Credits: Flickr Creative Commons