Every business must take care of its customers – not just new ones. Maintaining customer loyalty can be very profitable for your business. A well-designed loyalty program translates into a positive consumer experience and loyalty to your offering.

What is customer loyalty?

Consumer loyalty refers to the attitude of a customer who, over a long period of time, consistently decides to choose the products or services of one company over other, competing ones. It is worth realizing that such a regular customer can be a source of steady revenue for an entrepreneur for years – taking care of them is often much more profitable from the company’s point of view than acquiring new ones.

What customer loyalty is can be well seen in the case of the smallest businesses, such as neighborhood stores or cafes – in such places, very often the owner or seller knows the customers who have been using his services for years. They often return knowing that they will be informed when there is a delivery of fresh goods or get a free slice of coffee cake and can exchange gossip in the process.

How do you build customer loyalty with loyalty programs?

You can use similar mechanisms to promote your business with the help of loyalty programs. Today, in a great many industries, the market is extremely competitive – customers often decide to try a competitor’s offer at the slightest inconvenience and it is difficult to win their “loyalty”. This is what loyalty programs can do – with their help, customers get benefits when they use your company’s services once again. A well-designed loyalty program will ensure that in order to receive a reward or discount, the customer will gladly come back to you.

Benefits that a loyalty program can bring to your company

• Loyalty programs increase sales – collecting points mobilizes customers to make more purchases or use services at the same place. A coffee shop offers the tenth coffee free of charge, and you’ve already collected six stamps? You are likely to order another one right there.
• Greater customer engagement – not only through subsequent purchases, but also through activity on the website or recommending the offer to friends.
• Improved brand image – a loyalty program from which the customer derives real benefits makes the brand perceived as more trustworthy and prestigious.
• Retaining existing customers and attracting new ones – rewards make regular customers more loyal. At the same time, you attract new people who cannot count on similar benefits at your competitors.

Take advantage of modern technologies

You will create the simplest loyalty program by offering stickers or stamps with each purchase. After collecting a certain number of them, the customer can receive a reward – a free next product or a discount on services. Nowadays, however, a far more effective solution will be the use of modern technology. The Rewardo phone application allows users to conveniently collect points for purchases in the form of virtual stamps. From the entrepreneur’s point of view, this is a chance to better promote the brand on the Internet, create a base of regular customers and a mailing list, the ability to analyze data on shopping behavior and promote offers. Ordinary stickers are easy to lose, meanwhile the application will help you build lasting relationships with customers.

Think about consumer loyalty in the long term

Introducing a loyalty program should be a well thought-out strategy. Before you implement it, think carefully about what your customers’ real needs are and which forms of rewards will appeal to them.  If the rules of the program are complicated, unclear or change frequently, instead of bringing the customer closer to your company, they will cause disappointment. This could be the case when a customer collects stamps for an attractive reward, but when he or she wants to redeem them, it turns out that they are no longer valid, as there is a new promotion starting in the new year. Keep in mind, at the same time, that in the long run, tedious collection of points may discourage the use of the program, especially if the customer does not feel that he or she is gaining “here and now”.