Customer loyalty is something you want to celebrate. You invest time and money into gaining new leads and, once they’ve become loyal customers, it is something worth celebrating. After all, it’s a lot easier and cheaper to keep a customer once you have them, so why not reward them for that loyalty?
But often, we believe loyalty reward schemes are something that only the big companies offer. However, they can be a great option for a smaller business too!
Why have a customer loyalty reward scheme at all?
A customer loyalty reward is a simple and effective way to say thank you to your customers. If they’ve bought from you and value you, they’ll stick around long term. With a reward loyalty scheme, you’re helping them want to stay around. But more importantly, what it’s also doing is showing them that you want them to repeat the behaviour that earnt the reward. You want them to buy from you and recommend you to their friends and colleagues.
Celebrate your customers
When you reward your customers for their behaviour, you’re also making them feel special. You want to celebrate and showcase the customers who are your loyal fans. You can do this by sharing their successes. Look to do a feature piece on them where you showcase their business. Promote them, share their offers and recommend them to others. Show them that you care for them as much as they care for you.
Create offers as a thank you for loyalty
One of the most common ways to reward customer loyalty is to create special discounts or promotions for them. This can include offering a percentage discount on specific products or services, or creating a loyalty reward scheme, such as a ‘buy x amount and get one free’. By giving them something to aim towards, you’re helping them feel a bigger sense of accomplishment when they hit your reward milestones.
Package together special deals and packages
Rewarding customer loyalty doesn’t have to cost you money; in fact, it can make you more! Create special package deals for them, where you offer unique combinations or access to products or services no one else can buy. You could even give them special pricing for some of your core products or services to build on the exclusivity factor. You could then create a customer loyalty reward page, where you advertise these specials. This further increases the exclusivity factor whilst also showcasing how well you reward client loyalty. Just make sure you word them in such a way that you’re making it clear you’re rewarding loyalty and commitment, so it’s seen as over and above your standard packages etc.
Early access and special events
Another option is to provide early access to new launches or special events you’re running. You can also create special reward events for your customers, such as meet and greet sessions or private webinars and bonus training. Some businesses even hold an annual event, reserved just for their loyal customers.
Send a thank you gift or card
If you’re looking for a more straightforward option, why not just send them a thank you gift or card? Receiving something through the post is a rarity nowadays and can feel quite special – especially when you weren’t expecting anything. This helps create a WOW moment for your clients and allows them to feel valued and appreciated. Make sure you check out this article on the Small Business website, as it lists six useful to remember rules for corporate gifting.
Don’t ignore the power of an affiliate program for your clients
An affiliate program for your existing clients is another good option. This can help increase recommendations and referrals. You can set it up to either give them a discount on their own packages or send them a specific thank you for recommending you to others (such as gift vouchers, cash or a gift).
Simply say thank you
Sometimes a simple thank you will be all that’s needed. Want to make it even more special? Look to either personalise your email or better still, pick up the phone and thank them personally. If you’re looking for simple yet effective ways to thank your customers, HelpScout shares some useful ideas in this article: 11 inexpensive ways to say thank you to your customers.
No matter what loyalty reward options you decide to use, encourage your customers to share their loyalty reward wins. It’s great for brand awareness, as it gets clients talking about you and sharing their rewards. But it’s also a win for your customers too, as it’s free advertising for them plus it gets them in front of a bigger audience. You can help this further, by having your own loyalty reward hashtag or encouraging photo shares etc.
If you’re looking for a little help researching and setting up a suitable customer loyalty reward plan for your business, why not get in touch? We can help take on the project for you, as well as any other administration you’d like, so you can free up your time and focus on running your business. Simply head to this page, for the different ways you can quickly and simply get in touch.
