Creating loyal customers is essential for the success of a business. In an article on Inc., one stat reported that getting a new customer costs ?five to ten times the cost of retaining an existing one.? Thus, most companies do their best to get creative in retaining existing customers. With the ever-changing Internet, it has forced companies to get even more innovative with their loyalty programs to stand out above their competition.? Additionally, younger consumers seem less interested in rewards programs. It?s a changing landscape. To be influential in convincing customers to continue being loyal to your brand, it?s important that your program and related messaging is truly relevant to each shopper and really gives them a reason to sign up. With mobile assisting with the innovation of online loyalty programs, many businesses are hoping that they will regain the popularity they once had years ago.
Some interesting loyalty program statistics:
If you?re thinking about starting an online loyalty program for your company, here are a few pointers to get you started.
The easier, the better. This is especially important in the age of the Internet. People don?t like to waste time, and if you?re reward program requires too much time or effort to complete sign up or understand exactly how the loyalty program will work, people won?t bother with it. When possible, create bullet point lists, concise descriptions and bold the most important text to allow for easier skimming. And with more people using smartphones, it?s a great idea to create a text, app or mobile-friendly email version of your rewards program to create an easier experience. Many people no longer bother with?tangible rewards cards. An alternative method is to allow your customers to use their phone number upon check out to earn points and rewards.
Define realistic goals. When starting a loyalty program, you should have some idea of what the ultimate goal is. It?s also important to consider how much time and what resources you have available to dedicate to this loyalty program to ensure it can become effective.
Some questions to consider:
- How many sign ups do you hope to have in what time period?
- How much do you want this loyalty program to drive up sales?
- What discounts are you prepared to offer?
- How will you spread awareness of your loyalty program?
- How quickly do you hope to see results?
- What is your start-up budget to create the program? (For instance, if you plan to create a smartphone app, there can be significant costs associated with beginning that process, so it?s important to keep that in mind when setting goals.)
Make it as personal as possible. Every consumer is different, and your loyalty program should reflect those differences as much as possible. With the 
Internet, it has become much easier to gather information regarding the preferences of each of your customers. It?s good to ask some basic information about the individual when they sign up for the loyalty program, but don?t bombard them during that step because they may simply avoid signing up because it takes too long. A good way to get their attention and more information from them is to send a follow-up email or text to let them know you?d like to create a more personalized experience. ?Prompt them to fill out an additional questionnaire so you can make the loyalty program more relevant to them, which will increase their likelihood in returning to your location. ????????
Some good questions to get answered:
- What is your preferred way of receiving promotions? (text, email or via mail)
- What types of promotions do you get most excited about? (ex. Free shipping, BOGO, small freebies with purchase or percentage off purchases)
- Which of our products are your favorite?
- How many people usually accompany you when you visit our location?
- How frequently do you visit our location?
Don?t become a spammer. It?s great to remind your customers about current promotions, special offers and things that are available to them through the loyalty program. However, it?s a good idea to set some boundaries on how frequently you communicate to them. If you flood the inboxes of your customers, it?ll become easier for them to ignore your messages.
Despite a decrease in the popularity of loyalty programs, they can still do the trick for many consumers. If you are interested in starting up an email campaign, we can help! Let?s chat!
About the Author jcline
Source: http://core3solutions.com/web/blog/online-marketing/tips-to-create-an-online-loyalty-program/
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