8 Business Tips from the Top Customer Loyalty Program Trends of 2016
Customer loyalty programs in the Philippines is taking on a wider scale, with SMS promos and members-only discounts in brands such as Surf and Nature Republic. Similar to incentives for employees – they keep customers motivated to buy your product and service.
On the other hand, buyer behavior changes regularly. You have to keep track of the latest trends and developments to make sure that your customer service stays competitive. Here are the essential takeaways that businesses should keep in mind when assessing their customer loyalty programs this year.
1. Personalize Loyalty Programs
Personalized customer loyalty programs take on knowing your customers very well. More than referring to them by name whenever you address their concerns, personalization targets the needs and wants of your market, whenever and wherever necessary.
Give your customers the right incentive through their preferred mediums, and they will be more than grateful for it. They will come back for more of your product and service, and fortunately, recommend your brand.
Keep in mind that your customers are not alike. Thus, there should be a unique marketing strategy for each, and consumer behavior data will help you determine the appropriate incentive for them.
2. Deliver Omni-Channel Customer Experience
Use several touchpoints to connect with your customers. These channels include mobile, audio, video, Internet, ads, and catalogs.
Remember to be consistent with your incentives. An offer sent via email should reflect the same promo sent through SMS since a usual pair of channels is social media and emails.
Customers who post about how happy and satisfied they are with a brand usually receive emails about incentives from the company. Suppose a customer tweeted about a whitening soap that worked as it had promised, you can email the customer back with a discount coupon for a whitening lotion.
3. Leverage IoT (Internet of Things)
Through connected devices, customers can automatically order replacements of products once these have depleted. This loyalty program is still quite new, but Amazon has already supercharged their customer experience with Dash service, where customers can auto-order products through Wi-Fi chips connected to their appliances.
4. Increase your brand presence through mobile devices.
Nearly all people have mobile phones and download apps for easy access to products and services. Mobiles are an all-in-one package: customers can pre-order, buy, and give feedback using their smartphones.
One way to survive the trends is to create an app for your product or service. Grab Taxi, Waze, Buqo, and Merriam-Webster have done it. Their apps keep customers updated.
If customers can highly depend on your app, they will become loyal to your brand.
5. Create virtual reality.
Bank on the customers’ fantasy by using headsets and 360-degree cameras that create virtual reality. Customers would love to watch commercials while feeling they are IN the commercial itself. This technology builds customer loyalty, as well as carves a new niche for your brand.
6. Use multiple channels to connect with your customers.
There are numerous channels to choose from—social media, emails, radio, TV, pay-per-click, and point of sales system. Choose whatever medium works best for you and your customers. After all, it is important to determine consumer behavior and needs.
7. Make your customers connect emotionally to your product.
Fully engage your customers by personalizing your content. Learn more about your consumers through surveys and demographics.
Pique your customers’ curiosity and know what they are crazy about. Companies choose trending love teams and celebrities to endorse their products because they know their customers idolize these stars.
Customers within the teenage bracket like pop culture and even this information would dictate the graphics and type of channel that promote your brand.
8. Prioritize your customers.
Always keep them in mind every time you release a new product. Cater to your customers’ needs, as they are likely to stay loyal to a brand that fully understands them.
The best test of your brand is customer loyalty. If the customers’ loyalty is never shaken, you will always have people who would patronize your products. It will not hurt to study and follow the trends, for a great brand survives the test of time, despite the changes in technology and consumer behavior.
