9 Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Loyalty Program

Did you know that in 2018, 61% of customers would go out of their way to make purchases from a specific brand that they were loyal to? They even made more purchases!

This is a significant number for businesses because creating loyal customers is one of the most important aspects of running a successful company.

If you don’t have a loyalty program already in place or need to make some changes to make it more effective, this will be the motivation you need!

Continue reading to learn about how your company can benefit from a loyalty program.

Why Your Business Needs a Loyalty Program

Creating a loyalty program that both you and your customers can appreciate can be a game-changer in your business and help increase sales. There are a variety of loyalty programs that have been shown to be effective for small businesses.

Not only does having a loyalty program keep your current customers from coming back, but it also gives a reason for potential customers to join because of the benefits.

Below are 9 reasons why you should consider creating a program for your loyal customers to help encourage them to make future purchases with your company.

1. Bank on Emotions and Not Money

Loyalty programs are a great option for all kinds of businesses because they go beyond a discount and create an emotional connection with your customers. Loyalty is something that is earned over time and is based on more than just money.

With all of the online companies, such as Amazon, pricing has become more competitive. Trying to beat online prices may be difficult if you need to pay your bills and aren’t bringing in enough money.

Having loyal customers that you build a relationship with can be beneficial for you and make pricing not as big of a concern.

2. They Will Choose You

Building a loyalty program can help your company greatly because it is motivation for your customers to keep coming back and choosing your business over another. This may take time in the beginning but once you have loyal customers they won’t want to go anywhere else.

The most effective loyalty programs give you the opportunity to focus on those who keep coming back and being able to reward them. Around 79% of consumers say that if they have a bad experience they will go to a competitor company within a week of bad service.

It is important that your buyers are consistently having positive experiences with your company and loyalty programs are a great way to ensure this. This gives the buyer a chance to feel important and a part of the business.

3. Relationships Will Be Made

The main purpose of a loyalty program is to show your buyers that you care about them and appreciate the business they receive to keep their company up and running. Having a program in place gives you the opportunity to encourage customers to return and they build trust with your business.

Creating strong relationships with your customers is extremely important because, without it, there would be no loyalty. Having a positive relationship with your consumers opens up the chance that you will see them again. If they have a good experience they won’t be tempted to leave.

4. Helps with Branding and Marketing

When customers are loyal to a company they are likely to tell others about their experience. Loyal customers are likely to enjoy representing your company if it means something special to them and they will want to see your business succeed.

Wearing or using a product that your company offers will also help get your brand on the street and hopefully catch the eyes of potential buyers. Marketing through word of mouth is necessary for a company and loyal customers will want to help you in any way that they can.

5. They Do Not Have to Be Expensive

The idea of creating a loyalty program may concern some business owners because they expect that it will cost a lot of money and even time to put together. This, however, is not the case. Finding new customers costs much more than maintaining current ones, so use that to your advantage and make money through the loyalty members.

You can be as creative as you would like when creating a loyalty program and don’t necessarily have to break the bank to keep customers coming back.

6. Build Your Reputation

Loyal customers enjoy spreading the word about your company and this can help your reputation in the industry. It also gives the chance for your consumers to use social media and reviews to spread the word of a good experience they had with you.

Many people make purchasing decisions based on online reviews and experiences other people have had that they heard about. Ensuring that your loyal customers have a good experience with your company can benefit you even behind the scenes.

7. Receive Market Research

Loyalty programs are a great source for you to get information from. Many can track the habits and interactions that consumers make. This will give you the chance to review what is and isn’t working with the customers and you can even send quick surveys to those who are a part of your program.

It can be difficult to gather this data without a loyalty program, so take advantage of it when you put yours into action!

8. Easy to Maintain

Loyalty programs are clearly a good idea because of all the benefits your company can receive from them. One of the best parts about these programs is that they are usually easy to maintain and don’t require as much work once they are set up.

It may seem overwhelming to have this program at first but as customers sign up, the job will become simplified. Keeping your customers engaged will be much easier and give you the chance to focus on other areas of the business.

9. Effective Communication

When people sign up to a rewards program, they often give their contact information and an email to you so that discounts and events can be sent directly to them. Having a loyalty program gives you more effective communication with the consumers because you can easily send them information when they aren’t at your location.

Sending emails, texts, and even letters in the mail will be possible with this program because you will have a database full of your loyal customers and their contact information.

Loyalty Makes a Business

Everyone has certain brands and companies that they choose to make purchases from. This can be based on discount programs available for customers, good products, and past experience with other items from the business.

Having a loyalty program can help you maintain your customers and grow your company. There are many reasons why you should consider creating one or adjusting the one you already have to build a loyal customer base.

Without loyalty, a company will likely fail and have a hard time competing against larger corporations. Customers are always looking for the best deals and places that they can get more for their money, and who would blame them!?

Check out our blog to find even more ways to build relationships with your customers that everyone can benefit from.