Consumers are surrounded by marketing noise all day and all night. Brands are always looking for ways to stand out. Loyalty cards seemed like one way to go for physical stores, but have you seen those shoppers with so many loyalty cards that they need a whole separate keychain for them? But the idea behind loyalty is still valid, as it can create real connections with consumers to drive ongoing and predictable revenue. These connections have an emotional element to them that creates better, longer-term customers.
But how do marketers manage this online?
Marketing software that easily integrates with loyalty programs solves the problem. Consumers don’t need to keep up with the program details. The software does that. And the brands can focus on rewarding behaviors – not just transactions – and ultimately create a more developed single view of the customer. The more consumers interact with brands, the more relevant messages brands can send.
Points management
Earning points is at the heart of many loyalty programs and that must be easy for both marketers and consumers. Creating activities that earn points, tracking points, and spending points all need to occur in real time, otherwise a loyalty program becomes a burden rather than a benefit. Brands can make earning points a competitive activity by adding leaderboards – either public or private among friends – to encourage customers to grab as many points as they can.
Flexible loyalty tiers
Even when they are not competitive with others, it is ingrained in consumers that they must achieve the next level of whatever they are participating in. Marketers can use this innate human behavior to build custom tiers into their loyalty programs. Use software to develop tiers that meet business needs and provide the appropriate benefits for each level.
Exclusive rewards
And people like to be rewarded for their actions. As customers earn points towards a rewards goal, it will drive more activity. This is where an integrated marketing platform can serve as a driver of behavior. Brands can review customers’ web and app activity to see what rewards interest them and marketers can send custom messages that encourage points-earning behaviors to get them closer to their preferred reward.
Innovative programs
When considering loyalty software, marketers need to make sure the technology meets their requirements for truly engaging their customers. Too many systems allow brands to build out copycat programs and do not offer the ability to build and execute unique loyalty programs that create memorable customer experiences and drive revenue.
Behaviors create loyal customers. Loyal customers are more engaged customers. And more engaged customers are longer-term customers. Marketers use the term customer lifetime value to determine how much the average customer spends over the average customer lifespan. Loyalty programs can grow both the spend and the lifespan.
