In management, there is a well-known acronym used as a mnemonic to remember the characteristics of a well-defined objective. It is the SMART method, which reminds every good manager to set their team members goals that are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Accepted
- Realistic
- Time-bound
By extension, a successful customer loyalty program must also follow the SMART principles.
- A tailored loyalty program
- A loyalty card, physical or digital
- A gift card to delight your customers and their loved ones
Your customer loyalty in 5 points:
1. Prioritize Simplicity
Loyalty card, privilege card, advantage card, club card… Whatever name or form you give it, your customer loyalty card must above all be immediately understandable to your customers.
If your loyalty system is too complicated, customers will refuse it or leave it at the bottom of their wallet… What is the point?
2. Promise easily Measurable benefits
Today, French consumers hold an average of between 10 and 20 loyalty cards per person as of 2019. For yours to stand out and play its role in driving loyalty, there is no room for tricks.
You need to be effective: the benefit promised by the customer loyalty card must therefore be easily measurable by the customer.
For your information, loyalty benefit surveys consistently show that consumers prefer cash-based rewards.
3. Offer Accessible benefits and rewards in your customer loyalty approach
It is better to promise a small reward that is easy to reach than a big reward that is too hard to obtain.
Never forget the primary goal of your loyalty approach: retaining customers means getting them to come back to your store as often as possible.
4. Plan Realistic rewards
Your customer loyalty budget must not eat into your overall budget. Loyalty does have a cost, but it must obviously remain reasonable relative to your revenue.
5. Set reasonable Time limits on the benefits you promise
Purchase vouchers, discounts, gifts, private sales… Customers must never feel that the benefits promised by the card will be awarded someday never!
A minimum of one benefit per year seems reasonable to ensure that the benefit in question plays a real role in the loyalty process!
Would you like help with your customer loyalty approach?
Avomark offers turnkey customer loyalty services that can be tailored to every type of retail business.
