Loving and loyal customers - what could be more desirable for a modern company?! In the face of fierce competition at all levels - from commodity to "the struggle for the customer's wallet" - it is becoming increasingly difficult to get a truly loyal consumer. Traditional loy alty programs have ceased to work, because every day the demands of the client are increasing, the formats of interaction with him are changing, and firms have to look for new methods of working in this direction.
Loy alty - what is it
Let's start with a definition. So, loy alty is a preference for some product (service) similar to the obligatory “sacrifice” of the client. It is the presence of this sacrifice that speaks of true loy alty. After all, a simple repeat purchase can only be the result of a lack of assortment in this segment.
Often the consumeragrees to overpay a little for the product, knowing its quality or realizing that the company (store) is located extremely close, etc. Sometimes we observe the opposite: it would seem that there is a store with the right product under the house, and the buyer travels far away to his beloved seller. It is this sacrifice (temporarily in this case) that is the manifestation of true customer loy alty.
Program viability
The most important thing is that the loy alty program has an idea. Poorly thought out conditions for attracting customers will only push buyers away from the company. What does unthinking mean? These are very difficult entry conditions, poorly chosen communication channels, inadequate offers from the point of view of buyers' interest.
Therefore, serious work should be done before deciding to launch a loy alty program for customers. To begin with, it is necessary to carefully analyze all available information - from the purchase receipt and calls to the hotline to the results of external marketing research conducted in the industry of interest (product range). Only as a result of such a comprehensive consideration of the issue, it is possible to offer customers truly valuable loy alty program conditions.
Work in stages
Specialists in this field have recognized that the most correct way to start a program is to break the whole process into several stages. To begin with, they offer to join the “club” in several stores of the chain (or in one or two regions). Then, different groups of clients are distinguished - the interests of young parents and unmarried men (women) will be fundamentally different, for example.
This approach makes it possible to test the developed program "in the field" and make adjustments in time. It is especially important to keep this in mind during rebranding. Indeed, often, changing its image, the company seeks to forget about everything that it used before. The client may not understand and not accept such an attitude towards himself. And go to competitors. Forever.
Simple rules
Developing a loy alty program is not an easy task. But following the proposed rules, you can achieve positive results.
First, the goal of the program should be clearly stated. It can be attracting new customers, retaining "old ones", protecting against poaching customers by competitors, etc. It is advisable to choose one thing.
Secondly, you need to choose the key factor of the program. That is, to prepare for the client an answer to the question: "Why do I always return to this seller?" Whether it will be a special price offer or an opportunity to use unique goods is up to the company's management to decide. An interesting example of the company "Oriflame". Loy alty program - gifts that the buyer receives by fulfilling certain purchase conditions.
Third, do not forget about the economic component. There is no need to remind that everything should bring profit: material or reputational. It is better that in the second case it is still present andmaterial component.
Toolkit
Theorists offer us quite a few mechanisms to reward customers. Loy alty programs can be built on the following tools:
- A bearer card with a fixed discount.
- Personalized card.
- "Category" card. Most often we use the terms "silver", "gold", "platinum". The cardholder of a higher rank is given more opportunities.
- Progressive discount scale.
- Cumulative discounts and bonuses.
- Privileged terms of service.
- The opportunity to receive gifts, prizes, participate in the lottery, etc.
- Access to resources closed to other clients.
- Membership.
Raising a loyal customer is a long, costly and troublesome business. But the effort is worth it. This is evidenced by examples of world-famous retailers. The main thing to remember is that a loy alty program is not a panacea, but one of the ways to stay in a competitive market.
