Why are your loyalty programs not working?
Today's market is highly competitive, and each of its branches is made up of hundreds of brands that are fighting to first attract and then retain customers, eventually making them confident and loyal. Competition, to a certain extent, is always a good thing. By analyzing it, we can come to valuable conclusions that will help us achieve the above goal by creating better, more attractive offers that will provide customers with something more.
When we say "something more," we mean positive experiences that create a sense of satisfaction, which does not only apply to the purchase as such, but also to everything that happens after it. Customers will always return to a brand whose service suits them, a brand that is of high quality, in which they trust, and in whose values they find themselves. Remember that values are at the top of the list of reasons why customers are loyal to a brand, as well as the feeling that they are understood, valued, and respected by the brand.
A brand cannot exist without its customers - so the goal is to build a positive relationship with them that lasts, rests on solid foundations (values), and will not be undermined by a better offer from the competition. In order to achieve this, and to somehow thank customers for their loyalty, brands create different loyalty programs that include different benefits. However, despite the best intentions, it often happens that they just don't work. Why?
The more complicated the process of participating in a program or winning rewards, the less consumers will want to "deal" with it. Therefore, registration and rewards should be as simple and fast as possible so that you do not lose the attention and patience of your consumers.
SmartApp, a new, innovative loyalty platform developed by the Smartpoint group, is the right solution for this problem. Fast implementation guarantees an excellent user experience for both companies and customers, and this is confirmed by dozens of successfully implemented national campaigns for the most famous brands.
In order for your loyalty program to bring satisfactory results, it is important to know not only the market (read: the competition) but also the customers themselves. The key to creating a program that really works is to identify a specific need that your brand can fill (thereby doing good for both parties) and, consequently, use personalized communication to show your customers that you see, understand, and value them.
Mistakes brands make:
- Creating loyalty programs and offering unattractive and monotonous rewards, without the possibility of choice.
- Creating equal benefits for all customers, without special benefits for exclusive members or the most loyal customers.
- Designing programs that are vague, uninteresting, without any "wow" effect.
Although it may not seem like it to you, it is important for your consumers to follow trends and avoid outdated types of programs, which is another area in which the SmartApp platform can be of help to you. Given that it is based on artificial intelligence, it overcomes all the challenges of organizing campaigns and is a next-generation product that offers unsurpassed functionality uniquely adapted to achieve success.
Finally, do not forget that trust is the basis of every relationship, including the relationship of a brand with its customers, and your loyalty programs or prize games should reflect this. Give them a fair chance to participate and win prizes by using the SmartApp platform that monitors the results and reports in real-time during the campaign, thus enabling a timely response in case of any irregularities. And the selection of the winners of your campaign is fast, unbiased, and accurate, all thanks to an automated system that provides timely information to participants, which increases their satisfaction with the program. SmartApp also helps you deliver rewards, both physical and digital.
Many brands know from experience that it is easier and cheaper to keep an existing customer than to get a new one. Therefore, invest your efforts in getting to know those who trust you again and again and responding to their needs in the right way. They will know how to appreciate it, and the success of your business will not be absent.
Text written for the Marketing mreža website by: Ivana Tomić, smartpoint adria Brand Specialist
Photo: Unsplash