June 24

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Loyalty Marketing

If you are looking for a long-term relationship, why go on a “blind date” when your chances of success are much better if you do a little research upfront. And… you will need to go on several dates before you figure out if you are in love!

Once you find that perfect customer, don’t let them go. ❤️

According to Forrester Research, acquiring a new customer costs 5 times as much as it does to retain a customer. The beauty of loyal customers is that they become your best referral source for new customers – birds of a feather flock together. An added bonus is that they will offer you quality feedback to shape your future business and new products (keep the spark alive).

Loyalty Marketing is much more than swiping your card at checkout for a discount or earning. It is the cornerstone of building a legion of loyal customers who will become brand ambassadors and product evangelists.

Back in 1896, the Sperry and Hutchison Company offered Green Stamps. In 1936, Betty Crocker encouraged cooks to collect and redeem box tops for free gifts. Today’s loyalty programs are more sophisticated and enable brands to curate an experience for their customers that aligns with their values, needs and desires.

Getting to know your customers is a must, just like dating your sweetheart. Loyalty is always based on experience. How did you feel after the first date? How about the second date?

👉 Four basic steps to building loyalty:

1. Always ask for feedback (𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩?)
2. Celebrate a successful experience (𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩?)
3. Incent repeat business with rewards (𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 6-𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮!)
4.  Encourage loyal customers to refer others (𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧?)

Make your customers look forward to the next date and you are bound to have a long and happy relationship.

Don’t leave customer loyalty to chance. What is your favorite loyalty initiative❓

Let us know in the comments below.

Rose Hamilton

About the author

With over 20 years in Omni-channel retail, Rose is a proven Ecommerce expert specializing in evaluating, launching, growing and scaling Direct to Consumer businesses.


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