Introduction
Loyalty programs have a reason to prevail. They do what businesses across the board desire – to win customers’ hearts so they are loyal to one’s brand. Therefore, as we can widely perceive, more & more shopping malls are offering loyalty programs to win customers’ loyalty through mall loyalty programs. In depth research into the customer-profitability equation reveals the more loyal customers you have the more profitable you will be. When the customers are loyal they will do repeat purchases with a brand making businesses vie to retain the customer base. In spite of business owners understanding the importance of customer loyalty & spending a fortune to win the same, many loyalty programs fail. In this blog, we will go into the reasons why the loyalty programs fail. We at WovVTech, offer a prolific loyalty app to manage & run loyalty programs based on our in-depth expertise which we have learned through experience & customer engagement. That gives us a hawk eye to notice the failures which businesses make in running their loyalty programs. Get all set to learn about the reasons why loyalty programs fail.
Why do loyalty programs fail?
Lack of emotional intelligence
Do you understand the emotions that drive a customer to be loyal to a brand? Only the successful know. If we look at the current trend there seems to be an over-emphasis on the rational rewards. What about the ‘soft’ factors? What about the emotional factors? A targeted research into this issue revealed that emotional factors such as trust, honesty, integrity & brotherhood have a big influence on loyalty in comparison to rational factors which are mostly money-driven. In the retail context, the mall owners who are running successful loyalty programs have recognized this trend & they have inculcated these findings in their loyalty app for shopping malls. Inability to do so will surely result in a failure.
Ineffective customer data use
Customer data is precious. Many customer relationship experts appreciate customer loyalty solutions for one reason – it provides valuable customer data. But having it is one thing & using it to its full potential is another. When used properly, customer data can work wonders for your brand as it will not only help to provide tailored offers but also help to provide enriching experience. This helps in establishing a strong emotional connection with the brand. Despite having access to this valuable data, how many businesses can actually make use of it? Not many, & the result is their customer loyalty program fails to deliver in the expected way.
It does not offer soft perks
The best loyalty apps provide both ‘hard benefits’ & ‘soft benefits’. Hard benefits have to do with money – so they may be discounts, freebies, & other monetary rewards. Soft benefits, conversely, provide welfare such as skip-the-queue, lounge access, quick service, free advice, & relationship associates. Regardless of what types of business one is running & what is one’s customer base, a well-balanced customer loyalty program running both hard & soft benefits in parallel is destined to win. However, not all are privileged enough to find the right balance, & hence their loyalty program fails.
Lack of omnichannel experience
In a nutshell, communication mediums in the recent past have indulged in proliferation leading to numerous channels facilitating conversation between a brand & its customers. Customers are spoiled by this, take this back & they are not going to like it. An enriching experience may be delivered through any channel – in-person chat, email, telephone, messaging, social media & other means which millennials use. Are all loyalty program apps exploiting these channels? Have they become complacent over the years leading to a terminating communication channel? These are the pain points which have to be addressed. A failure to do so means a failing customer loyalty program.
Complicated programs
Simplicity is the emblem of a successful business. Being off-track to it means going into complications. The same formula has to be followed while devising the shopping centre loyalty app. The equation should be very simple – Buy X, get Y free. Anything more than this, at least initially, should be completely avoided. Of course, you can go on & build a big program with many side offerings but that must be done after customers have matured with your brand. Simplicity must be the trailblazer in your loyalty program. The business world is full of examples where marketing managers have failed to realize this simple equation resulting in a failed loyalty program.
Out-dated approach
There are two options – Lead the change or get left behind. Technology is revolutionizing businesses like never before, in this age nothing could be your bigger enemy than complacency. Every time there is no need to be the early adopter, but nevertheless, be at the helm. Loyalty app is one example. Many businesses have launched one to woo customers realizing the importance of mobile & internet. Similarly, there are others. The bottom line is don’t get left behind in the technology race, else, there will be setbacks. Keep an open eye, look at what your competitors are doing, & accordingly update your program. This will ensure the loyalty program business is 100% up-to-date & is ticking.
Conclusion
Inability to serve the customers’ needs is the main reason why retail loyalty solutions fail. But why do companies fail to provide a loyalty program which can fulfil customers’ needs? That’s the real question one should be asking. In a study published by Capgemini, a staggering 80% executives who handle loyalty programs say they understand customers’ emotional needs, but then only 15% customers are satisfied with the emotional relation which they share with the brands. Where is the gap? How to measure it? How to improve loyalty? This is where our OKEN, a SaaS platform powering a mobile app, steps in. We will be able to configure, design and launch your own app within 3-4 weeks into the market. It’s a customer loyalty management app offered by WovVTech – a business productivity SaaS company.
