The bar has never been higher when it comes to customer loyalty. Today’s digitally native consumers are sophisticated buyers and in addition to expecting quality and competitive pricing, their hearts can be won with brand benefits. Research shows that loyal customers spend 67% more than new ones through repeat purchases, larger cart sizes and frequent upsells. It’s no longer enough to provide the basics and operate on tried-and-true business principles. Considering that 84% of customers who leave do so because of poor service, and that a typical business only hears from 4% of its unhappy customers (the other 96% simply leave – 91% for good!), businesses need to meet their customers where they are. Competition is fierce, and with the ability to shop via a keystroke, today’s organizations must focus on customer loyalty program efforts and create compelling reasons for their customers to want to stick around and spend. Every opportunity needs to be availed upon to differentiate your program, and speak to your customer’s heart, mind and soul.
When analyzing your customer loyalty program, some smart questions to be asking are: Do your customers feel understood and believe they are receiving great value? Do your business practices align with your customers’ views? Is your program user-friendly and are your customers motivated to visit frequently?
Since these dynamics are a process, not an event, it’s important to realize that the onus is on you, the business owner, to create experiences that will “train” your customer to expect appealing benefits from your brand, which will encourage them to spend – thereby building their ability to earn and redeem loyalty points. And since the value of any loyalty program lies in how it can influence profitable consumer behavior, understanding some of the psychology at play is key to maximizing your program.
Certain dynamics such as positive reinforcement (the learning process involved in encouraging new behaviors) are at the heart of every loyalty program. If your rewards are exclusive and valuable, they will help to reinforce permanent, consistent behavior patterns since the user perceives their actions as personally rewarding. Another great dynamic is that of goal anticipation and incentive. With a goal gradient effect in play, users will be motivated into making more frequent purchases (or other profitable action) in order to achieve their reward goal. Other effective motivators include reminding your customers how close they might be to a reward goal, adding scarcity / urgency to your rewards structure, utilizing the appeal of exclusivity (i.e. a VIP program), and a somewhat obscure psychological phenomenon known as “escalation of commitment”, suggesting that the more work you put into something, the more value you attach to it.
When it comes to customer loyalty programs and identifying the KPI or changing the NPS, it can be a highly strategic move to involve a customer service outsourcing company like Anexa. Our customer-centric teams have the training and experience in building long-term customer loyalty for your brand. Whether you execute a points program, a subscription program or both, Anexa can be a key participant in the development and administration of these efforts, and our twenty years of experience in the demanding field of customer service strategies is a significant benefit. We collaborate with our clients to plan, execute and monitor robust loyalty programs that will move your business to the front of the ecommerce race.
Contact Anexa today to see how we can enrich your customer loyalty programs.