Introduction
Customer loyalty programs are a new beginning after acquiring customers. Even after you have begun by launching mall loyalty programs, it’s just the tip of the iceberg – a lot is still left to be done. First & foremost, you need to gear up to get across this program to the intended audience. And for that you will have to put in place the right promotion strategy. Even though it is in their best interest, you need to convince customers to get on-board, this way both – your & your customers’ interest will be served. But how will you win the game of promoting the customer loyalty program? Being a shopping mall loyalty program expert, we at WovVTech, will, in this blog, provide five winning formulas to promote your program. But, before that go through this customer loyalty program promotion matrix to understand what should be your program’s objectives & communication strategy in various stages of the program.
| Loyalty Program Promotion Matrix | ||||
| Introduction | Development | Maturity | Decision | |
| Program Stages | Implementation | Reinforcement | Optimization | Expansion, Re-building, or Exit |
| Program Objectives | Drive awareness Make Enrolments | Connect loyalty to brand preference. Upsell by offering new rewards. | Replicate program success with a new solution. Ponder over launching a different loyalty program. | Launch the program in other geographies. Re-launch the program in a new skin. Look for an exit strategy. |
| Communication Strategies | Communicate Frequently Elaborate program value (WIFM – What’s in it for me?) | Segment audience for effective communication. Re-convey program benefits | Create a new communication plan for a contemporary audience. | Create a relevant communication plan. |
How does the promotion work?
Train your employees for promotion
Your employees are at the cornerstone of customer engagement. They can prove to be a very worthy touchpoint; if you can convince them about the usefulness of the program, sooner than later, they will get the word across. These are the points which have to be kept in mind while training your employees for offline/online loyalty programs.
- Choose the ones who are willing to be a promoter, don’t be forceful.
- Ensure they completely understand the program & are fully convinced about its utility.
- They are fully through with the functionality of the software like mall loyalty app & gadgets which are being used in the program.
- Employees will have to be on top of the sales pitch. They got to be convincing & enthralling.
- They need to be an expert in clarifying doubts & nullify all seen & unforeseen barriers in the process.
Provide sign-up incentives
Freebies are free for a reason – people love them. So, why not wield this proposition for a noble offer. Provide free stuff to incentivize joining, it’s a big lucrative idea to get people on board without hurting your pocket. The sign-up reward should be big enough to break the inhibition which comes in joining even the best loyalty programs. There are many ideas to follow, for example, you can provide attractive belongings from your store, it may be a showpiece, a cloth, or food items like cold drink, tea, & coffee. You can even provide loyalty points which may be encashed or spent in turn of a beautiful purchase.
Advertisements kick in loyalty programs
We are fighting to get people’s attention, you need to work out a way of doing that for your customers. Visual cues are a great way to ignite curiosity, have it in your mix. Take help of displays, electronic ones are more contemporary, put them at the most appropriate places to draw your customers’ attention. Here’s an example how the display in loyalty programs for small businesses should look like –
Get lucky today!
Sign up for our customer loyalty program & earn a lot of freebies. There are precious prizes to be won on sign up & the loyalty program also has recurring benefits. Here’s the deal –
Earn 1 loyalty point for every $1 you spend.
- Sign up today – Free Blazer.
- 10 points – Free Trouser.
- 20 points – 20% off on next purchase.
- 40 points – Free gift worth $50.
Spread the word through email & SMS
Being a customer-centric business, you are likely to have a database ready with the contact details of your customers. Use it to your advantage, get it on the table & get it ready. You can wield it to get a ‘me time’ with your customers, make the best of it by explaining your loyalty rewards program. Upon receiving the message your high-purchase-making customers are likely to be excited & turn out in big numbers to join your loyalty programs & make purchases. These comparatively-loyal customers are 60-70% more likely to be upsold. Even though you have got their private time with your message, be concise & straightforward – explain the joining incentives, loyalty structure, redemption, & benefits right through.
Meme up on social media
Right from Gen Z to Boomers everybody is finding social media hot, so it is surely a great way to promote your retail loyalty programs. The thumb rule in this case will be to play around your customers – add them as friends, make them follow your page, make them listen to you, & make them see you. For example, Twitter is text based & allows fewer words to be exchanged, so only include the most crucial information. Here’s an example tweet –
Want to jazz up your life? Stop by The Blue Bar, Taj Diplomatic Enclave & we will hook you up when you join our loyalty program.
An image is worth a thousand words – social media stands true to it, so many visual ads may be seen trending on social media. You too can garner engagement through a very attractive image, post it on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, & others.
On a winning streak with OKEN App
OKEN Loyalty App is a customer experience & loyalty management app which can prove to be your best experience partner. Many shopping malls & retail outlets around the globe are using this app to drive customer engagement with efficient loyalty management. The app has a lot to offer in comparison to other apps in its category – we are saying this on the basis of the way this app is turning around things at the places where it has been implemented. Here are the prominent features of the app –
- A single app to manage all malls in your portfolio across geographies.
- Use this smart app to manage loyalty & rewards for check in & shopping.
- You can even gather customer feedback to measure customer success & optimize your program.
- It goes beyond the mandate of a loyalty management app for indoor mall navigation & smart parking.
- Enhance customer experience by managing ques & analyzing footfalls.
- You can even manage bills digitally.
Conclusion
There is no doubt innovations in customer loyalty technology can help come around contemporary retail marketing obstacles. The question is – can you find the right software which can show you the day in retail marketing. In this blog, we have taken you through five resounding ways to promote your customer loyalty program. But that’s only half way through, once the program is in place you will need a technology trailblazer to manage the program & even act like your experience partner. That’s what WovVTech’s OKEN App does – it is available in absolutely FREE-FOREVER format for free evaluation, to solve retailers’ pain points for free, & provide ideas for future apps. So, don’t miss the chance, get on board, it’s free, & will always be!
