2015 was a year of hard lessons for brands and marketers who sought new ways to earn and keep their customers' loyalty, according to loyalty and marketing agency Customer Communications Group (CCG), which here suggests ten ways to turn loyalty marketing mistakes into profit in 2016.
The company's president and CEO, Sandra Gudat, has compiled a shortlist of the top loyalty marketing errors and slip-ups made in 2015, and here summarises the best approach to solvin each and turning them to advantage or profit going forward:
- Ignoring the Big Picture
Take a step back and conduct an in-depth customer communications plan review to ensure a cohesive message that upholds brand and programme promises.
- Focusing Solely on the Sell
Special offers grab attention and pull customers in, but overused, get marketers tuned out. Leverage data - yours and third-party appends - to find relevant reasons to get in touch.
- Not Using Data to Maximize Loyalty
More loyalty marketers need to sift through big data and act on it to impact the bottom line. Start by focusing on best customers.
- Taking No for an Answer
Convince management that the right content works with research and relevant statistics, including consumption and behavior statistics.
- Letting Good Rewards Go Bad
Weakening loyalty redemption rates and uncomfortably high outstanding liability are early warning signs for customer engagement and profitability. Fixes include: Analysing breakage (the amount of points that are rewarded but never spent); Rampin up redemption with the right messaging; and using data to keep rewards fresh.
- Breaking Badly?
Know the difference between good and bad breakage. Good breakage occurs when those members who passively participate in your programme do not receive rewards. Bad breakage happens when customers get frustrated with programme complexities or insufficient rewards. Fix this as quickly as possible with member research.
- Ignoring Millennials
This largest US generation and fastest growing group of consumers is changing marketing rules. Offer tailored, exclusive content, use responsive design, and make rewards entertaining.
- Under-Emphasizing the Reward Moment
The moment when customers redeem a reward is a big deal; make it feel like that. Make the reward delivery special, recognise the moment, help them share the funsocially, and sustain the excitement.
- Assuming Your Customers Will Shop with You Anyway
Some CEOs thinking loyalty programmes don't enhance margins.Wrong. The U.S. is the most over-banked and over-stored country in the world. Loyalty makes the difference for both frequency and spend.
- Not Giving Status Updates
When consumers don't know where they stack up in a rewards programme, they stop paying attention - and more importantly, they're not motivated to change their shopping behaviour.
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