Is your business going well? Things ticking along comfortably? A steady stream of customers? On one hand, it’s the perfect time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of your hard work. On the other hand, it’s a perfect opportunity to take some time and think strategically about how to grow.
If you fall into the second category, keep reading, because we’re about to tell you how unlocking the power of a loyalty scheme can help you work smarter, not harder, to grow your business.
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Psychology of a Loyalty Program
First of all, let’s dive into what a loyalty program is and how it works. To take a really high-level overview, it’s a simple way of rewarding your best customers so they keep coming back. The biggest benefit of this is the fact that you won’t have to compete on price alone. They’ll be rewarded for coming back, which means you’ll effortlessly be able to provide a better customer experience.
To get more strategic, however, it’s a great way for you to segment your customers so you can get a much deeper insight into which demographics are profitable, and which are not. This is really important when it comes to marketing, because you can tailor your efforts to attracting the types of people most likely to become profitable customers, which means you’ll get a much greater ROI.
Let’s be honest. Sales are great, and everyone loves a discount, but if people are only buying items available as part of a special offer – and avoiding your premium range – it’s an inefficient use of your time and money. These customers are always welcome, of course, but they’re not your sweet spot.
Loyalty programs Deliver Tangible Results
Accenture is a Fortune Global 500 company that specializes in consulting. It published statistics in 2020 that showed more than 90% of companies have some sort of loyalty program, and there are more than 3.3 billion loyalty memberships currently running in the United States. In fact, American loyalty program membership grew at a rate of 26.7% from 2012-2014. The best part is that, according to Accenture, 57% of consumers spend more on brands to which they are loyal.
What does that mean for you? Well, unless you have a loyalty program, you’re missing out. Today’s environment is so competitive that you can be sure that this is something your main competitors are thinking about, too. Activating a loyalty program now means you’ll be the one setting the pace, not the other way around, which means you’ll be first to start winning any customers you share.
How to Set Up a Customer Loyalty Program
The best way to set up a customer loyalty program is by giving out loyalty cards, or setting up a system that allows customers to be rewarded each time they visit your business by entering an identifier such as a phone number. In the context of running a business, the investment cost is relatively small, considering the benefits: it strengthens your existing customer base, encourages infrequent customers to become regulars, and makes it really easy to track trends.
When it comes to implementation, the easiest way is by integrating it with your POS system. If yours is due for an upgrade, we recommend one called Clover, because it comes with a whole library of user-friendly apps that includes great customer loyalty initiatives. You can even use it to create gift cards, which is a great way to boost revenue, because they’re almost always redeemed for more than the cost of the gift card itself. Plus, it gets a whole range of new people through the door.
Create a loyalty program today and enjoy the benefits. Let’s get started.