Customer loyalty programs are essential tools for business owners to reward customers who have remained loyal over time. There are many reasons why it is crucial to secure loyal customers. And after securing them, there must be active, productive plans to retain them through a viable reward system that pitches your business far above your competitors.
This retention of loyal customers continues to build more stature for your business. Customers don’t even consider other products or services since yours is always regarded as being better. In a broader sense, customer loyalty programs are essential for brand connection and retention to change company brands’ perception towards more successful relationships with customers.
This article cites some unique and highly successful customer loyalty programs as stories. As you read through these fantastic stories, you can find helpful tips to implement for your business brands. From such practices, you can achieve better customer engagement and retention through customer loyalty reward programs.
- Use of Digital Wallets for Transactions
A decade or more ago, there would have been minimal options of transactions, especially online. But in recent decades, the use of digital wallets has revolutionized the use of alternative transaction methods. However, the first problem occurred due to building customers’ trust for these platforms above the conventional banking provisions.
One of the strategies that brought terrific results was the introduction of customer loyalty and rewards programs. For instance, payment platforms began to reward customers who share registration links with others, thereby creating a user network. It is another marketing strategy for a specific set of users who may have experienced similar challenges or have similar needs.
Furthermore, digital wallets’ use reduced people’s dependence on credit cards that otherwise raked in billions of dollars through charges such as maintenance charges. Also, in keeping a digital wallet, the user can alleviate the risk of card theft and misplacement. Digital wallet companies can also gather more data from users willing to share some details on a first-hand basis. Examples of companies that have enjoyed tremendous success by injecting mobile payments in loyalty programs include Starbucks, Walmart, and Kohl.
- Customer Loyalty Success through the Great Privacy Debate
The year 2018 is characterized by the customers’ demand for more privacy and the reluctance to share personal information and other private data with product and service providers. For instance, Facebook and Cambridge Analytica experienced some scandals that brought privacy to the fore. Customers started demanding more control over their data and its use.
Furthermore, about 63% of Americans admitted that it is essential to them that a brand would not share their personal information with a third party while redeeming their exclusive offer. On the other hand, a study reported that 64% of consumers are ready to exchange private data or personal information for automatic credits, coupons, and loyalty points. Besides, 60% of consumers can let go of personal information for access to exclusive deals.
Also, 52% of American consumers are ready to show their purchase history to a retailer in exchange for coupons or other promotional discounts. More so, 87% of active members in a loyalty marketing program can allow providers to watch, monitor, and trace their activities and behaviors to receive personalized rewards and engagements. From all these facts, companies and brands can focus more on delivering person lazed experience and real value to consumers for greater engagement, conversion, and retention.
- Practical Artificial Intelligence
A significant benefit of introducing AI to marketing is the implementation of more personalized marketing strategies to potential customers. More so, the one-on-one interface that the AI brings has perhaps been the most exciting benefit of the new technology. In other words, companies and brands can now have a better understanding of the consumer’s needs, wants, and current trends.
Based on the accurate analytical reports that the AI provides, digital marketing experts, can use retargeting to reach out to previous visitors or customers to prompt more action. And while doing so, they may introduce a reward program for such customers to motivate them more to return to the brand product or service. On the other hand, even when the brand is not taking immediate action, they already have insights and details of the best moments, channels, and strategies to reach their targeted customers.
Based on 2018 statistics, 22% of consumers globally admitted that retailers always bring them personalized and relevant data. On the other hand, 48% of consumers claim to leave a brand website for its competitor due to a poorly personalized experience, which is an integral part of customer satisfaction. The latter is preventable through a dynamic loyalty program that can reinvent the customer experience and bring more rewards to business products and services.
- Use of Mobile Loyalty Apps
Mobile devices and technology have become increasingly relevant to all digital platforms and do not leave out brand products and services. In response to the development, companies need to invest in adopting new methods to promote brand engagement and sales strategy. For instance, major popular brands such as Nike, Target, and Victoria’s Secret used mobile loyalty program apps to create a more connected customer experience.
The primary reason why these brands diversified into mobile loyalty and reward programs is that they create new opportunities for better targeting and delivery of rewards through instant offers with faster responses. Besides, mobile loyalty programs provide information such as customers’ exact location, which by the way, is not available through any other channel, and highly personalized content for real buyers who take instant decisions to buy.
Conclusion
In summary, customer loyalty success stories’ various applications form the right basis for implementing viable loyalty programs targeted at newly acquired and existing customers. This strategy promised business brands terrific opportunities to recreate a more rewarding marketing campaign and increase their reach based on customers’ behavior and emotions. On the other hand, the user of customer loyalty programs must realize that such programs’ success depends mainly on the accuracy of the acquired data. In other cases, it may require an integration of existing strategies through newly invented platforms such as AI and digital marketing features for better results.