Loyalty pointshave long been part of a company's arsenal of promotional products, and they continue to be relevant in the age of online retail. The new retail landscape, however, has begun to emphasize a more involved relationship between brand and shopper. "Consumers' desire for seamless, compelling and personalized brand experiences is driving the next generation of customer loyalty," reports Retail Touch Points.
The challenge in starting a rewards system for your brand starts with the planning process. Brands need to create a sustainable system that balances your company's customer lifetime value, the virality of your promotion pushes, and the reinforcement of your company's long-term brand. Furthermore, the metrics for assessing the success of your loyalty program needs to be measured over a long period of time, rather than on a seasonal or quarterly basis.
The value of a rewards program may take a long time to establish early on, but the rewards for a company is clear. It offsets the marketing investments companies spend trying to get new customers on board. A study by Marketing Metrics reveals that, "the average company has a 60-70% probability of selling again to existing customers, a 20-40% probability of successfully selling to lapsed customers - but only a 5-20% chance of selling to a prospect."
Rewards for Your Brand
Building a long-term reward program that applies to all of your selling channels is effective for several reasons. First, this allows customers to engage with the entirety of your brand and prevents the kind of frustration that occurs when loyalty points are not honored in different locations. In Connected Business, earned points are reflected in real time across all locations and channels, ensuring that they are valid at any time.
Another advantage is the opportunity to get a holistic, data-driven view of customer habits as they continue to support your brand. As more people adopt your loyalty program, you will be able to glean which items in your inventory are more likely to be bought through points compared to products that are bought at retail price. You will also find out if customers prefer to redeem loyalty points through your website or at your physical locations.
Looking to the Future
An omnichannel approach to loyalty is the new frontier in this aspect of retail. This involves tailoring rewards and promotions according to location, as well as optimizing the membership and reward programs to be used by people who rely on smartphones for their shopping needs.
Connected Business delivers top of the line solutions for companies looking to implement customer rewards that is hassle-free and fully integrated across all sales channels. Contact us today and find out how to our omnichannel solutions can deliver customer engagement and improve your bottom line.