What are your strategies to help members deal with the COVID-19 virus? The immediate focus has been on communicating critical information (and limiting over communications), as it should be. But you also have the opportunity to help your members deal with this, to do the right thing but also to build goodwill, relationships, and long-term loyalty.
We recommend you consider your members’ long- and short-term needs, and how helping them now can help achieve business goals later. Non-member customers will be encouraged to join your program and a side benefit will be to learn more about your members and build out your customer database. Here are a few ideas that can help.
Simplify and encourage the inevitable shift to online shopping and services
Recommendations to work from home, increase social distance, or shelter in place will accelerate the progression to online ordering for groceries, household necessities, and food deliveries, as well as for other consumer goods like books and apparel. Retailers and restaurants should guide first-time users through the process, and offer incentives to repeat buyers, to ensure a good experience and future loyalty.
How to put this into action:
- Simplify, expedite, and make more economical shipping and returns for members
- Expedite order online/pick-up in store for members in grocery, restaurants, convenience stores, and other retailers
- Remember and utilize member preferences, habits, and practices
- Automate reorders and offer standing deliveries and/or special menus/add-ons for members of restaurants and grocery programs
- Alerts for members and auto add-to-cart when desired items are back in stock
Help members deal with short-term economic concerns
It’s a time of ambiguity, none of us have been here and none of us know where we are going. But right now we can deal with short-term concerns immediately. By offering options and flexibility, members will be more comfortable with their purchases in the future and will remember the brands that understood them in their time of need.
How to put this into action:
- Offer buy now, pay later or monthly payment plans for members
- Consider discounts for bulk orders and future bookings/orders/reservations
Educate and entertain members and their children who are now stuck at home
It’s cabin fever times a hundred. Many members who are working from home and who have kids who are being educated at home will be desperate for distractions. This is the perfect opportunity to provide more brand-relevant information to members, while at the same time collecting more customer data.
How to put this into action:
- Provide useful information around topics where your category has expertise
- Offer free streaming and more online content
- Design games, quizzes, and surveys to encourage online learning and entertainment and to learn more about your customers’ needs and wants
Build an online members’ community, to help temporarily replace IRL communities
Members will be missing their friends and work connections, and will appreciate other ways to connect and communicate with others who share their interests.
How to put this into action:
- Live stream interactive classes and discussions
- Create and coordinate virtual events and gatherings
- Organize user-generated content
- Enable members to meet, discuss ideas and DIY and other coping strategies
Additional tips for easing the burden
Waive or extend tier qualifications to let loyal members retain status when they have to temporarily cut back on travel or shopping. There is no higher loyalty than that of premium members who fear losing their status.
Encourage future planning (of travel, events, wardrobe needs, etc.) for 6-12 months down the road. Members will travel again, have celebrations at restaurants again, and buy new fall outfits again. Anything we can do to help them to start thinking ahead and making those plans will help both parties.
Organize members to help serve their local communities. Members may be bored at home, and concerned about their neighborhoods. Loyalty programs can help connect them to organizations that need their help including healthcare, the elderly population and children and the school system.
Let’s help members get through this challenging time and focus on the future, while we grow membership and build loyalty to our brands.
