In order to decide how best to reward loyalty you will need to evaluate which customer behaviours add value to your brand and which benefits the customer perceives add value to the relationship. You may describe loyal customers as those who spend more with you whereas the most loyal customer may not generate a great deal of direct revenue but are true brand advocates, your best ambassadors – a truly valuable asset.
Is the customer who only visits you once a month sharing their wallet with your competitors? Or, if they only come once a month because they’re only in the area once a month, this is fantastic loyalty – it’s a conscious choice to choose your brand over others; this loyalty should be spotted and rewarded.
Rewarding customers can be undertaken in many ways and knowing what behaviour you want the reward to influence is key. Is it more sales, or is it deeper than that? Brand loyalty, brand ambassador, brand of choice.
Loyal customers bring more value to your business – but what drives their loyalty?
Customers may choose your brand because of location, or because you offer something they want to be part of, or for some it will be about an immediate requirement that they need to fulfil. They may well have chosen you over other brands. Loyalty can be engendered from always being front of mind, brand building, relevant triggers, appropriate offers, a great experience, or fantastic products and services.
The start point has to be how do we define their loyalty?
- Someone who loves and appreciates your product or service.
- Someone who can recognise the difference between your brand and your competitors
- Someone who therefore chooses your brand
Reward does not necessarily need to be monetary
At TIH we advocate just saying thanks sometimes. Verbal recognition, small gestures of gratitude and appreciation can be just as impactful if not more so than getting ‘the next one on us’.
Key considerations:
- Make it relevant, personalised and timely
- Be consistent – think about it as a continuous conversation, not a series of transactions
- Reward advocates, which is not necessarily those who generate the highest revenue
- Choose the behaviours that you want to encourage and strengthen, decide on the appropriate reward for each