Customer retention is tougher than ever due to rising consumer expectations and challenging economic conditions. But that hasn’t stopped consumers from using their favorite loyalty programs. They’re just more selective about the programs they participate in and the brands they’re loyal to.
The first installment of our loyalty amplifiers series covered the steps to acquire and onboard customers into your loyalty program. The second focused on generating sales through loyalty programs and how to encourage point burn. In our third and final piece, we discuss the affinity-building stage of the loyalty program lifecycle.
Here, you’ll learn how to show appreciation for loyalty program members so that they not only remain active members, but evolve into brand advocates. (The goals are a continuation from parts one and two of this series.)
Goal 5: Retention
Even your most active members won’t remain engaged with your loyalty program if you don’t make them feel valued regularly. Forty-five percent of consumers said the main reason they haven’t engaged with a loyalty program in a long time is because the rewards aren’t valuable enough to them.
Herein lies a huge opportunity to make your members feel special. For example, you could commemorate a member’s anniversary for joining your loyalty program by gifting them a product or service personalized to their shopping behaviors.
Even a small token of appreciation to help them save money could get things moving again. Fifty-eight percent of consumers say receiving a coupon code or discount would be the main reason for them to re-engage.
And there’s no shortage of experiences you can introduce. Members-only product releases, chance-to-win events and surprise-and-delight moments are all opportunities to evoke emotional connections between your brand and dedicated loyalty program members, reducing member churn and even re-engaging lapsed members.
Goal 6: Advocacy
A member who feels special is a member willing to spread the word. Nothing convinces someone to try out a new brand like a recommendation from a close acquaintance — 76 percent of consumers say the opinions of family and friends influence their purchasing decisions significantly more than influencers
Encourage members to advocate for your loyalty program through first-hand experiences and social media interactions.
In a previous piece, we noted that 78 percent of consumers will refer a brand’s loyalty program to friends and family in exchange for an incentive. Hashtag-to-enter programs, user-generated content (UGC) contests and referral benefits create excitement among your member base and convince your best customers to spread the word about your loyalty program, forging connections with potential new members (often beyond your traditional audience pools).
UGC on social channels is particularly useful for building advocacy. By giving loyalty program members a reason to create and share original content on their personal social media channels, you can identify brand advocates and capture authentic testimonials that start positive conversations about your company. Consumers love to see brands join these conversations, which you can do by targeting hashtags or comments on your posts.
Strengthen Your Loyalty Program Through Loyalty Amplifiers
Now that we’ve covered the six stages of the loyalty member lifecycle, you’re ready to apply these lessons to your own program.
The market for loyalty programs may be competitive and economic conditions may be challenging, but the rewards of a high-performing loyalty program are too good to pass up.
Remember that loyalty amplifiers aren’t mutually exclusive: Elements of all six stages should be available to your loyalty program members on an ongoing basis because different incentivized engagements appeal to different customers at each stage of the loyalty journey.
Go all in on these engagement opportunities. Over time, you can dive deeper into loyalty amplifiers and refine the strategies that drive the best results.
Tyler Haskins is the executive vice president of marketing at ebbo, an all-in-one loyalty company that has helped leading brands build unforgettable customer experiences for over two decades.
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