It is always good to provide a customer support through a loyalty program. A customer is always happy to buy something that has earned the name of your company. There is one thing that worries a customer: what if the product is not available in your area or at the price that he saw promoted? The answer to this problem is quite simple; you should let your loyal customers know about your company’s latest offers and promotions. You can do so by creating a loyalty program toolkit for retail.
Most business owners have a misconception that customers support their chosen products or businesses by word-of-mouth publicity alone. True, the success of a campaign mainly depends on how much it has been spread among the targeted audience. But word-of-mouth promotion is only useful when it comes to familiarizing the customers with the products and services offered by the company. Otherwise, all efforts invested in building up customer loyalty are wasted.
This is why any loyalty program for retail needs to be customized to meet the specific requirements of the target audience. A retail manager should carefully consider the kind of clients his store caters to before creating a particular loyalty program. He should determine whether the target customers usually frequent stores that feature the same brands or services. He should also consider the factors that could affect the customers in question – age, gender, geographic location and buying habits. With such information at hand, a manager can design a program that will yield the best results in terms of generating loyalty and bringing in new customers.
If a company is planning to include a customer loyalty program as part of its marketing strategy, it is best to first analyze the existing trends in customer behavior before creating one. If there is a trend already, it may be worth incorporating into the overall strategy. On the other hand, it may be best to create a program specifically designed for a certain demographic, thereby assuring that the benefits of the program will be more specifically targeted. The loyalty management toolkit should include some of the most important elements that will influence customer behavior.
An important factor is the kind of incentives that will be included in the program. Loyalty programs can take the form of cash rewards, discounts, freebies, entries into sweepstakes, or free merchandise. All of these forms of reward can significantly boost customer turnout and sales. However, customer service is an even better motivator, so companies should try to ensure that the program will provide exceptional customer service.
Another important factor is whether the loyalty program will be open to new customers as well. Most shoppers tend to buy products that they already know about – they don’t particularly care about a new product if they are already aware of what they want. Hence, retail stores should not force their shoppers to join them in a program just because they are willing to give them loyalty points. Instead, this kind of program should be developed so that it will attract customers who have yet to be really introduced to the brand. A loyalty reward should be designed to give the consumer something extra if they take a specific action – a customer may be offered a discount on a new purchase, for example, but this discount may not necessarily apply to all of the products the customer selects.
The quality of customer service in a program toolkit for retail should also be given attention to. Good customer service can go a long way towards making a customer stay loyal and returning to a brand in the future. A customer may be offered information or a special offer when they take part in a program; this should ensure that the customer will receive excellent customer service. Similarly, the program should offer ongoing services to the client such as help deciding what items they would prefer, help designing promotional items to attract them, or any other services the client might demand.
Apart from looking at the quality of the loyalty rewards offered by a program, the customer should also be ensured that they are being kept sufficiently informed. This could mean that the company publishes an annual Customer Loyalty Report. This will detail all of the activities carried out to maintain customer loyalty, including any new offers or promotions the company has started. This is important because it highlights the customer’s experience with a particular organization. It is also useful in showing how well the product has been received by current and past customers. All of this should ensure that the loyalty program works.
