How a Business Can Save Money with Loyalty Programs

If you own a brick-and-mortar business, you know how hard it can be to win and retain loyal customers. To stand out in the competitive crowd, entrepreneurs need to constantly come up with new and innovative ways to attract prospects’ attention.

However, there is still one traditional and quite simple way to acquire new clientele – Loyalty Programs. In case you are new to the world of business or are looking for affordable methods of keeping customers happy, this is an article for you.

What is a Loyalty Program?

In a nutshell, a loyalty program is a technique entrepreneurs use to encourages customers to return to their brands. Some of the loyalty programs include advanced access to new products, exclusive discounts, hot deals, free merchandise, or any other reward-based scheme. To choose the best strategy, start with analyzing the nature of your business.

If you earn money by selling luxurious products, it won’t make any sense to give them away for free. However, for a coffee shop owner, offering a free cup of coffee after the 10th order sounds like a good idea.

Benefits of Loyalty Initiatives

According to the analysis made by SumAll in 2013, every time a customer makes a purchase, the chances that this person will buy again from the same store significantly increase. More than that, from 25% to 40% of a company’s revenue is coming solely from returning customers. With loyalty programs, you will entice your clients to come back and buy your products or use your services even more.

Besides winning the trust, loyalty programs are an excellent way to save money on acquiring new buyers. Statistics show that getting a new customer is 25 times more expensive than retaining an old one. Keeping in mind that 68% of Millennials claim that they won’t stick to a brand if it fails to provide them with good deals, it is critical to come up with an effective loyalty strategy. If your current customer retention rates are low, investing time and resources in developing a loyalty program is necessary.

How a Business Can Leverage Loyalty Cards to Increase Sales

The easiest and the most cost-effective way to start a Loyalty Program is to order printed loyalty cards your customers can use every time they order something from you. By giving away a free service (or a product) from time to time you are likely to get more advantages than disadvantages.

A loyalty card can have different features. If you want to reward a customer for making a certain number of purchases, use empty slots you can fill out by putting stamps or stickers. If you are giving away a free product or offer a discount, you can use a regular or QR Code.

If you have your business card design saved somewhere on your computer, it will be easier to create a Loyalty Card as most of the time they share the same size. A simple and very traditional ploy, Loyalty Cards bring the element of gamification to the buying process, making it fun and exciting.

Using this technique, you will be able to monitor if the customer is coming back to your store or a cafe more often.

Offer a Discount on the Next Order

Another way to make the customer come back is to offer a discount (around 15%) on the next purchase. Now, even if your clients do not really need your product or service, the mention of a discount will stay at the back of their minds.

However, do not make it a one time offer; keep enticing your returning customers with Seasonal Promotions and hot deals. This will create an image of a generous brand that cares about its clientele.

By stimulating your existing customers, you can increase Sales by 25% without putting too much effort into it. Find your ideal way to retain customers and your performance will skyrocket.