Top 5 Customer Loyalty Strategies This Year

No one knows better than small business owners: return customers are invaluable. While it is true that “it costs 5x more to get a new customer than to retain an old one,” how can you retain customers? How can you be of value to your customers in an authentic way? Loyalty programs are a great way to do this. By rewarding customers, you build mutual trust and respect over time. The more they get out of engaging with your business, the more they will want to engage.

Loyalty programs should be as unique as the customers they serve to work effectively. Rather than reinvent the wheel, small businesses can examine what’s working for other businesses. Our industry experts identified five popular market trends for rewards programs this year. Apply as much or little as will work for your business and customer base.

Loyalty Partnerships

While not necessarily new, amid a recession, loyalty partnerships can increase sales by allowing customers’ money to go further. A loyalty partnership is when two or more businesses with non-competing but similar clients join together to offer customers rewards across both businesses.

Uber and Marriott’s partnership is a great corporate example of a loyalty partnership. People use Uber most frequently while traveling, and every time a customer uses Uber, they can earn points towards staying at a Marriott hotel – something they would also do while traveling.

To set up a loyalty partnership for your small business, consider which other small businesses in your area serve the same customers. One of the easiest ways to find this out is by talking to your customers, be it in person or via an online survey.

Gamify It

If you spend hours playing Candy Crush in the bathroom, you’ll be happy to hear that 2.6 billion people are also playing mobile games worldwide (50% while on the toilet). Adding a game-like component to your rewards program keeps customers engaged with your business more frequently – they will keep coming back for that dopamine hit that they get while playing their favorite mobile game.

Personalization

As the Cheers theme song proclaims, we all want to go where everybody knows our name. Personalizing your customers’ rewards experience is a way to make them feel like you understand their needs. A way to do this is by analyzing customers’ preferences via previous purchases. For example, if you run a cafe and your customer always orders a coffee and a scone when they come in, they can be rewarded with discounts or freebies on those specific items. This shows them that you see and value their contribution to your business’ success.

Mobile Apps

We all spend a lot of time on our phones, so it is important to have your loyalty and rewards available to your customers via a mobile app. Not only is this an excellent opportunity to implement eCommerce into your business model, but it is also an easy way to track your customers’ preferences and habits. While you are keeping tabs on your customer’s habits and preferences, a mobile app also allows your customers to see their existing rewards as well as steps they can take to earn more rewards.

Tiered Benefits

Beyond our desire to be known, we also all desire to feel special and important – it is human nature. Tiered benefits allow your customers to gain status and additional perks the more they invest in your business. A successful tier program offers rewards that match the money spent by each customer. Be willing to offer quality perks as average customers climb to the top tier.

Increase Customer Loyalty This Year

Whatever industry you are a part of, your business can improve customer experience and loyalty by implementing one or more of these practices. You don’t have to be a massive corporation to offer quality rewards with Ostana. Become a part of our fast-growing small business network, and foster meaningful relationships in your community today.