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Why your customer loyalty program isn’t working—are you missing this?

Posted by Perceptive Insights Team - 31 May, 2015

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Which tactics can really boost your customer loyalty program? We know you’re time poor, so if you ever wanted a snapshot introduction into customer loyalty building strategies—this is it.


1. Remember your existing customers

Constantly striving to acquire new customers is not only time-consuming and expensive, but can also be detrimental to business. Retaining customers is far more financially viable and easier to achieve.

Rather than a churn-and-burn strategy, whereby you gain customers just as quickly as you lose them, often through over-promising up front and under-delivering when a purchase is actually made, take the time to appreciate current customers.

Reach out and let them know how valuable they are to you with special offers and personalised content. Provide a better customer experience than your competitors every time, not just the first time. Wow them to begin with, certainly, but never become complacent once you add them to your customer base.

 

Related content: The common pitfalls of customer experience

 

 

2. It’s all about your values

A shared foundation of core values is key to building a strong relationship with customers.

According to a study from CEB, 64 per cent of people who said they had a brand relationship mentioned shared values as the main reason. Shared values were the largest driver of brand relationships.

Share what your brand stands for and why—and ensure that what you stand for is the same as what your targeted audience stands for. People buy into the why, not the what.

 


3. Get up close and personal

Personalised communications have a six times higher transaction rate, according to an Experian email marketing study. It's well worth the time, effort and resource to customise emails, considering their ultimate impact on your bottom line.

This can be as easy as implementing a system in your CRM to address customers by name and sending them a personalised message on their birthday. This small act is enough to form a more personal, emotional bond.

Importantly, you want to make it as easy as possible for your customers to speak with a real person. Technology like chat bots has made it easy for people to find information about your product or service, but don’t use that as an excuse to hide behind it. Make it easy to contact your business and chose between automated options or speaking to a real-life person.

 


4. Make life easier for your customers

Often, adding value by making people’s life easier is the best way to build trust and a lasting relationship. It’s also a great way to build positive word-of-mouth.

It’s not always about making a sale and trying to promote your products or services. You could send out monthly newsletters with tips and tricks for your customers or create YouTube videos with product training and demonstrations.

Whatever you decide to share, it's ultimate goal should always be to provide at least one useful thing that your customers didn't know before they read/viewed/experienced your content.

 


5. Be proactive

Instead of fighting fires, a better strategy is to anticipate issues well before they arise.

Use methods of automation that send out alerts to both your staff and your customers well before things like licenses, subscriptions and accounts expire.

This not only makes life easier for you, but also again builds trust and positive experiences for and with your business.

 

Want to learn more? Get our free eBook Powerful leadership strategies to for business growth here.

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Topics: Customer Experience


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