Many brands focus only on the process of getting leads or potential customers. This can be a big mistake, as they forget about their regular customers. Therefore, one step that should be taken into account in your business model is customer loyalty. We must pay attention to those regular customers to keep them buying our products. In this post we will talk about loyalty programmes, the key strategies to build loyalty and the benefits it brings to your company.
what is a loyalty programme?
To define this concept, let's consider what a loyal customer is.
A loyal customer is a customer who is interested in the products or services offered by our brand. Thanks to loyalty programmes, we can ensure that this customer continues to buy or is interested in our products. Having a loyal customer can have very positive effects for our brand:
- It is a customer who will repeat the purchase of your products or services.
- A loyal customer will spend more money on their purchase than a lead.
- It will improve the reputation of your company, leaving positive reviews about the brand.
- Recommends your brand to others, so it can attract potential customers.
Therefore, loyalty programmes are a service offered by a company to the customer. Depending on the profile or volume of purchases made by our customer, an offer of rewards is made. The main objective is to provoke a change in the customer's behaviour, which firstly favours retention and repetition, and finally, loyalty.
The company must guarantee the quality of its products and have good customer service, through which it will promote these loyalty programmes.
Key strategies for customer loyalty
Many marketing and sales actions come into play in the customer loyalty process. If they are organised correctly, they can achieve a high success rate for their loyalty programmes. To do so, they must have a structured strategy on how to build customer loyalty.
- Create buyer persona profiles
Creating a buyer persona profile is very important. A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of a company's ideal customer. It is created from the actual socio-demographic data of a customer. By paying attention to this data, and the customer's purchasing behaviour, we will determine which leads are most likely to be loyal.
- Humanising customer service
Many of the complaints about customer services are that they feel unnatural or robotic, regardless of whether you are talking to a person or an answering machine. We must approach the customer with empathy, understanding and sympathy. A good sense of proximity to the company will allow the customer to return, this time willing to make more purchases.
- Generate quality content
We must think that content is the basis of a good marketing strategy. It is this content that we are going to offer to our leads, and which will also attract new prospects. It is a key element to establish an appropriate content strategy, offering quality products that the customer will want to buy repeatedly.
- E-mail marketing
An e-mail marketing service in your company can foster a better relationship with the customer. The installation of this software is crucial to promote your services and products to the different segments of your contact base. A good communication with the customer will enhance your relationship with them, and in turn will promote their loyalty.
Benefits of loyalty programmes
- Increase sales
Having a loyal customer to our brand already guarantees that they will spend more money on it. Through loyalty programmes, we encourage the customer to spend more money if they know they are going to receive rewards or discounts. According to the Nielsen study, 60% of Spaniards have stated that they prefer to buy more in establishments that have a loyalty programme.
- Improve the customer experience
Offering rewards or discounts after a purchase keeps our customers happy. In addition, these programmes boost customer/company communication, leading to a better customer experience. Shoppers expect to be offered benefits in return for their loyalty.
- Reach new customers
A good customer review will lead to the customer recommending my products to others, thus reaching new markets and increasing our company's customer base.
- Valuable feedback
A good communication with the customer will contribute not only to the customer, but also to the company. Companies get valuable information about what customers think about their products or services. This will allow the company to know what it needs to improve. In addition, it will also contribute to the segmentation of users, because now I will know what are the tastes and interests of each customer.
- Boost engagement
If I have good communication with the customer, I will have a good relationship with the customer. A loyalty programme will create an emotional bond between customer and company. Social networks are one of the great channels through which this engagement is enhanced. They promote interaction between customer and brand inside and outside the company.
A loyalty programme will only bring positive consequences to your company. In order to create a loyalty programme that meets your company's expectations, you must create a customer loyalty strategy. Although it is not a bed of roses, a good communication between marketing and sales can make you create a perfect loyalty programme for your business. And you, what are you waiting for to create your loyalty programme?
