How to Start a Customer Loyalty Program That Keeps Them Coming Back

Are you looking for ways to keep your customers coming back? A customer loyalty program may be the answer!

Loyalty programs, also known as rewards programs, are a great way to reward your customers for their business and can encourage them to come back again and again.

In this blog post, we will discuss how to start a loyalty program that will keep your e-commerce clients happy and coming back for more!

Why Should You Bother with a Loyalty Program?

Customer loyalty programs are important for e-commerce businesses because they encourage customers to return and make additional purchases. In fact, failure to guarantee customer satisfaction and customer retention through rewards programs can be detrimental to your business.

For example, a Bain and Company study found that at least 60% of customers fail to do further business with a company (e-commerce or otherwise) that they had a positive experience with.

Maintaining an ongoing connection with customers to incentivize future business is a must. Building customer loyalty is nonnegotiable for most businesses. That’s why so many companies have already rolled out their own rewards programs.

This goes double for e-commerce businesses, which face more competition than traditional businesses. With a more difficult market, it is important to find ways to keep loyal customers coming back.

A loyalty program is a great way to do that. It can also help increase customer satisfaction. In fact, three-quarters of US-based companies with loyalty programs create an ROI.

Loyalty programs help increase customer satisfaction by making customers feel special. By leaving consumers with a positive shopping experience, loyalty programs like this also make customers more likely to do business with you again in the future.

After all, research has found that current customers are 50% likelier than new customers to buy additional products from a business. This should make it obvious that customer retention is a major priority!

Awesome Examples of Customer Loyalty Programs

There are many different types of customer loyalty programs. Some businesses offer loyalty cards, which customers can use to earn rewards for each purchase. Other businesses may offer discounts or free items to loyal customers who have participated in the loyalty program for a certain amount of time. Some companies may offer a unique customer experience through subscription-based loyalty programs.

For example, IKEA’s exclusive program notifies members of special deals, free events and workshops, and additional product assurance. This kind of customer lifetime value means the world to repeat customers. No matter what type of program you choose, make sure it is genuinely beneficial to your customers. If it is not, they will not be likely to participate, and your customer retention will be unlikely to experience any benefit. The best loyalty programs put the customer first.

How to Start a Customer Loyalty Program

Now that you know why loyalty programs are so important let’s discuss how to start one! Here are a few tips:

1. Choose the Right Loyalty Program for Your Business

There are many different types of loyalty programs, so find one that best suits your needs. To find the right loyalty program for your e-commerce business, you will need to think about what type of program would work best for you. There are many different options available, so take some time to research what would be the smartest move for your unique business.

Some customer loyalty programs may require customers to sign up for an account. Others may be automatic, and repeat customers can start earning rewards as soon as they make a purchase. Choose the program that will be the most convenient for your loyal customers.

No matter what type of program you choose, make sure that the rewards are worthwhile and appealing to your existing customers. If you offer too few rewards, repeat customers may become disgruntled. On the other hand, if you offer too many or overly generous rewards, you may be putting yourself at a financial loss.

Try to find a middle ground in your rewards program that will encourage customer loyalty and maintain customer retention without breaking the bank. A good program rewards customers while providing a good ROI.

2. Make Sure the Program is Beneficial and Convenient for Your Loyal Customers

The program should offer rewards that encourage customers to keep coming back.

Shopify data found that over half of consumers ditch a loyalty program if the rewards are not valuable to them or if it takes too much time to actually earn rewards. Make sure your loyalty program offers rewards that will appeal to your target market and can be disbursed in a timely fashion. Some customer loyalty programs offer rewards points for each purchase that can be redeemed for discounts or free items.

Others may offer exclusive access to sales or new products. Choose the type of reward that you think would be most appealing to your specific target market. When creating customer loyalty programs, it is important to make sure that the terms and conditions are clear and easy to understand. Customers should know how long they have to accrue rewards, what type of purchases count towards rewards, and any other pertinent information.

If you make the terms too confusing or difficult to follow, customers are likely to become frustrated and not bother participating in the program at all. Once you have chosen the right customer loyalty program for your business, it is time to start implementing it! The sooner you roll out your customer loyalty program, the sooner you can begin improving your site’s customer experience!

3. Give Your Customer Loyalty Program a Unique Brand

Branding is a key part of ensuring customer loyalty and customer retention. Businesses that take time to make loyalty programs stand out from the crowd to get noticed. For example, Sephora gives the members of its loyalty program, called “Beauty Insider Rewards,” access to a unique online shopping opportunity that includes time-sensitive items for purchase.

Make sure that your customer loyalty program stands out and makes people think of your unique business.

4. Let Your Customers Know About the Program and How They Can Benefit from It

Even with great branding, loyalty programs are only effective if existing customers know about them. You want to make sure as many customers as possible know about and can take advantage of your loyalty program.

You can promote your customer loyalty program through online ads, social media, or even email marketing. You may even want to create a special landing page on your website specifically for your loyalty program. Promote the benefits of the program and make it easy for customers to sign up through your site.

5. Keep Track of Results and Adjust as Needed

Customer loyalty programs are a great way to keep customers coming back to your e-commerce store. Customer retention is the name of the game. However, in order for the program to be successful, it is important to track the results and make necessary adjustments.

Track customer behavior, such as how often they purchase and what type of products they buy. This will help you understand which customers are most valuable to your business and what kind of rewards they would be most interested in.

You should also keep track of your financial goals for the customer loyalty program. Make sure that you are not losing money by offering too many rewards or discounts.

Conclusion

Creating and implementing a customer loyalty program can be a great way to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. By following the tips above, you can create a program that will keep your customers coming back for more! The possibilities are endless when it comes to designing a customer loyalty program that works for your business.

Just remember to keep the customer’s best interests in mind, and you’re sure to create a program that will keep them coming back for more.

Interested in becoming part of the SiteVibes family? Read about how our Next Generation Loyalty Program service can take your customer experience to the next level, or schedule a personalized demo!