When retailers understand the importance of keeping existing clients and finding new ways to have them come back again and again, the big question is why business owners don’t invest more in doing it right? And do they really know what “right” is?
To get a successful loyalty program, it needs to benefit both clients and business owners. This requires a lot more than just pricing benefits. Almost 77% of loyalty programs that are based on earning points from purchasing tend to fail within around two years.
How a loyalty program benefits the client:
- The loyalty program meets the needs of the clients
- Participating in the program is enjoyed by clients
- The program benefits the brand experience
- Redeeming the rewards is easy and effortless through the Members Club
- The Program meets the brand expectations
- The rewards are appealing to clients
- It doesn’t take long to start receiving the rewards
- A good ratio between the money spent and the number of gained points
All these reasons are a mix of experiential with financial rewards. While most brands are fixated on creating a points system that represents a currency and translated into purchasing a product of a service, is shown here that there is an alternative in the form of an experience.
So, what is the experience?
The answer to this question differs from one business to another. The expectancy makes clients feel retailers listen to their needs, the output is more personal, therefore more impactful.
Some examples of loyalty experience activities:
- Live chat as a customer service to make it easier to communicate and resolve issues and answer inquiries
- Providing professional information with added value to consumers
- Sending customized rewards and promotions
- Sending push notifications with greetings for holidays and special occasions
Here is how some of the top brands use experience-based loyalty
Walgreens
Walgreens’ loyalty program enables clients to refill their prescriptions, monitor the status of their orders, pay with their phone, and redeem rewards
Starbucks
Starbucks members club is in the form of an app that embodies the embodies brand’s motto of “lifestyle enhancement”.
It enables clients to place a coffee order, pay, access streamed music, and redeem rewards in real-time.
Uber
Uber offers a luxury ride experience to its clients. Clients move up the loyalty tiers while earning points and get more perks such as priority pickups at airports, premium support, and highly-rated drivers.
Nike
Members of the Nike loyalty program (via App) gain access to meditation services, free access to music on Apple, and are exposed to various athletic content. The app also enables clients to scan and pay for products without waiting in line.
There are a few loyalty strategies that actually work to benefit the client. This is why most plans fail. How’s your loyalty strategy works?
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