Traditionally the biggest revenue generating opportunity of the year for retailers is around the corner! This period should be leveraged to maximize revenues and profitability. Sales volumes during the holiday season has been booming year-on-year, yet the competition for customer attention keeps getting fiercer. Our previous blog talked about leveraging a rewards program to boost margins. We covered how loyalty points work better than cash discounts. We also briefly touched upon how data sciences can be the game changer in designing loyalty-based marketing campaigns.
By: Mihir Barve
This blog further elucidates the importance of other key features in a loyalty program that will ensure your sales volumes go through the roof!
Focused Loyalty Marketing Campaigns
Earning more loyalty points is always lucrative for a customer! Any campaign with which customers have opportunities to earn more loyalty points, is sure to create a big hype. This tactic, if used wisely, has the potential to create a massive surge in sales. Yon-ka Paris, a New York based beauty and cosmetics brand, did just that. They provided 2X points on random promotion days. Customers were purposely notified of such promotions at the last minute. This suspense kept the members guessing and engaged with the program. At the end of the month-long campaign, Yon-ka Paris saw a 2.26X increase in their revenue. Similar campaigns would be effective this holiday season without the need to provide cash discounts. Such campaigns will help you stand out, thereby attracting customers to your brand against your competition. Such campaigns should be configured on the fly using a loyalty platform that can be administered on the web. These notifications encourage customers to make their next purchase. Such promotions and triggers boost customer engagement and retention.
Think Beyond Discounts this Holiday Season!
Building on customer engagement, a tiered loyalty program can allow brands to be loyal back to their top customers. A simple way to do this can be early access to exclusive events or offers. There would be minimal cost implications for the brand, but customers attach a huge perceived value for such gestures. Everything boils down to improving the customer experience.
Brands need to spoil their customers and make them feel special! Customers should have a gamut of rewards to choose from, including but not limited to discounts. In the holiday season people will be shopping for numerous items. If customers have the freedom to choose a gift card to aid these other purchases it will enhance their overall holiday shopping experience. This goes a long way in improving brand loyalty.
All these nuances of loyalty programs work in tandem to provide fantastic results. Some features work better for customer engagement while others improve the customer experience. Only in conjunction, can these features deliver all round growth leading to higher profits. Marketers strategizing for this holiday season should not focus only on boosting overall sales volumes — they should also focus on delivering a great experience. The holiday season is an opportune time to drive increased traffic through loyalty promotions. If customers have a great overall experience this season, he/she will be hooked to the brand. If a brand can earn such loyalty, this holiday season will prove to be a stepping-stone to the brand’s future success.
Mihir Barve is a copyrighter and content strategist with Zinrelo. He has over 10 years of marketing experience in different fields. In his free time, Mihir strives to make a positive impact for wildlife conservation.
