How are consumers reacting to your loyalty program?
Are they signing up enthusiastically? Or are they saying, “No thanks?”
As 2020 unfolds, nearly 70% of consumers agree their loyalty is more difficult for a retailer to maintain than ever before, while 88% agree retailers could do more to earn their long-term loyalty.
Limitless options present consumers with limitless possibilities.
So, if your brand offers a loyalty program, signups really comes to one thing: Value.
Why Value is the Key to Your Loyalty Program
Thirty-eight percent of consumers avoid participating in retail loyalty programs because they don’t see enough value being offered.
If customers are looking for more value from loyalty programs, brands must take notice.
Making strong emotional connections and being authentic and transparent to your loyalty program members is the key to acquisition and retention.
Lululemon is a great example of a retailer providing value to its loyalty members in different ways – and customers are even willing to pay for these benefits!
Through its experiential focus, Lululemon’s premium loyalty program offers an engaging value proposition and awards members curated events and workout classes.
This in addition to transactional benefits like free shipping and a free pair of pants upon signing up.
The concept of brand authenticity is clearly top of mind at Lululemon.
If you don’t know your customers and address their pain points by offering relevant and attractive program benefits, they won’t see the value and will look elsewhere.
In fact, 87% of consumers who are satisfied with the special benefits offered by a retailer’s paid loyalty program will likely choose that retailer over a competitor that is offering a lower price.
What Do Your Customers Find Valuable in a Loyalty Program?
There are a lot of things that your customers find valuable, many of them unique to your brand (like in the Lululemon example).
But there are a few universal things that everyone wants.
Convenience is an increasingly important aspect of customer loyalty.
Consider that 83 percent of consumers say convenience while shopping is more important to them now compared to five years ago.
Convenience offers retailers a competitive advantage. Ninety-seven percent of consumers have backed out of a purchase because it was inconvenient for them.
Personalized customer service is another big one.
41% of retail loyalty members say that being recognized by the customer care agent makes it much more likely that they will make more purchases in the future.
And 55% of retail loyalty members are more likely to purchase from that retailer again when given multiple return options.
Premium loyalty is the perfect solution for consumer seeking these things because it offers an elevated experience that traditional loyalty programs can’t touch.
Enhanced experiences differentiate your brand from the competition and makes your best customers exponentially more valuable.
Premium loyalty program members engage more often than members of traditional loyalty programs and spend more when they do.
These programs, like Lululemon’s, establish your brand as top of mind through a convenient shopping experience, exclusive offers, and cash back savings.
Things like free return shipping and VIP customer service make that experience even better.
They give members valuable benefits that make their lives easier 24/7.
Learn more about premium loyalty here.
How Do You Demonstrate the Value of Your Loyalty Program?
An important part of any loyalty program is getting your customer excited about it.
Brands have to make loyalty programs relevant and valuable for members. One way this happens through your store associates.
You can have the greatest loyalty program in the world, but if it isn’t effectively marketed by your store associates, you have a big problem.
When engaged store associates spread the message of your loyalty program through personalized interactions, success follows.
Emotional loyalty is a lofty goal for brand officials. When store associates efficiently explain your loyalty program to customers on a regular basis, acquisition and retention will follow.
Store associates are your frontline employees need to be well trained and versed in all aspects of your loyalty program. Creating those personalized moments with customers leads to elevated brand loyalty.
What Does Customer Loyalty Boil Down To?
If brands don’t offer loyalty programs with value and engaging benefits, customers will not become members and look elsewhere.
Value drives the entire loyalty equation.
Consumers crave convenience and premium loyalty fits perfectly into this equation because of its annual fee model and access to immediate 24/7 benefits.
These are the types of benefits that members engage with regularly and the types of programs that become part of consumers’ daily lives.
Educating, training, and incentivizing your store associates will seal the deal and create more loyalty members.
What components of your loyalty program add value and help retain customers?
ebbo
ebbo helps brands achieve their customer loyalty goals with full-service, end-to-end solutions and also creates original educational content straight from the experts to help loyalty marketers stay on the cutting edge of customer engagement.