3 Powerful Tips for Marketing Your Loyalty Program Properly
So you’ve got a fantastic loyalty rewards program to engage your customers, but no one knows about it? It might be because you’re not harnessing the power of these three magic marketing tricks…
It’s no secret that a well-designed loyalty program is sure to increase a business’s customer retention and brand loyalty. The trick is to market the loyalty program in such a way that customers find it irresistible and sign up on the spot.
In this article, we cover three marketing techniques you can use to spread awareness of your brand’s loyalty program and make sure customers find it appealing.
1 – Educate Your Staff
Who is the first group of people who need convincing that your loyalty program is the best thing ever? No, it’s not your customers… it’s your employees.
Your staff are the ones who are constantly interacting with your customers; they’re the ones who need to sell your loyalty program. The more they know about the benefits of the program, how it works, and why it’s a great idea to sign up, the easier it is for them to convince customers to join.
Your employees need to know everything about the program – all the perks, the features, and the terms and conditions. As long as your staff are knowledgeable on the subject and passionate about the program, it shouldn’t be a hard sell – loyalty programs are a good thing!
Consider offering your employees rewards for educating themselves on your loyalty program’s various functions, and keeping them on their toes with quizzes and secret shoppers, for instance.
2 – Gamify Your Loyalty Program
We humans love a good game… it’s built into our DNA. So why not incorporate gaming into your loyalty rewards program?
Gamification is a highly effective method for luring people in. It doesn’t have to be much (don’t picture trampolines and Giant Jenga blocks in your shop) – small features like “Birthday Club” (where loyalty members get a discounted or free product on their birthday) and “Scratch & Win” promotions can do wonders for your loyalty program’s success.
A recent report from Giga Information revealed that brands which embrace gamification experience a 68% boost in their online customer activity and 22% more social media shares – those percentages are too high to ignore.
3 – Use Your Existing Customers to Attain New Ones
Have you noticed how just about every rideshare app on the market will offer your half-price rides and other enticing discounts in exchange for persuading a friend to download the app?
Rewarding customer referrals is a fantastic way of turning loyal customers into brand advocates. Not only is it much cheaper than traditional advertising, but it’s likely to be far more effective too, considering that consumers in this day and age tend to trust peer reviews over traditional ads.
Many brands will even offer discounts in exchange for social media sharing – why spend money on advertising when you can incentivise your existing loyalty program members to advertise for you?
Offering a small reward upon signup is another effective method for turning that “on-the-fence, not-sure-if-I-can-be-bothered-signing-up-right-now” customer into your newest loyalty program member.
A small token of appreciation upfront pays dividends down the line when this customer continuously engages with your rewards program and shops with you instead of your competitors.
The best loyalty program marketing technique of all…
Ultimately though, the most effective marketing for your loyalty program is simply to have an incredible loyalty program. Brands which create fun, simple, engaging, convenient and rewarding loyalty programs typically don’t have any problem at all getting customers to sign up.
First make sure your loyalty program is the best it can be, and then implement the three marketing tips mentioned above to get it off the ground, and you’ll have yourself a solid base of satisfied repeat customers.