Loyalty Programs Raise Awareness As Well As Profits

by Will Viharo

When you ask a customer to fill out a survey or form so they can have access to special deals and offers, you're in fact gathering valuable intel on their tastes and habits – just like a first date “interview.”

Keep in mind they are doing the same thing with you, sizing you up for future reference. Do you know how to dig deeper to keep consumers coming back to your brand every time? If you don’t, you’re making it that much easier for your competitors. 

Inspiring loyalty is the key to any long-lasting relationship. Then you not only have an enthusiastic customer, but a willing partner. So how do you inspire that loyalty? By offering incentives. And not just for shopping. You can also expand awareness by providing rewards for social media sharing by your customers, making them advocates who advertise your brand.

Here are a few ideas:

• Coordinate with local businesses to offer discounts when your shared customer swipes their rewards card at the check-out counter or gas pump, a popular strategy in many grocery store chains

• Offer on-the-spot discounted items if the customer shows you a Facebook check-in on their Smartphone, a common practice in restaurants

• Retweet “selfies” featuring the customer posing with any one of a brand's products also gives the customer of sense of belonging to an exclusive club, while offering free exposure for your business on their profile page

Certain types of loyalty programs work best for different demographics - we'll share more on that in a later post!

The more info you can gather, the more targeted the rewards you can offer. And that’s what will keep customers loyal when they’ve got money to spend.

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