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It’s difficult building business, and even more difficult to keep it. Retaining customers is a constant factor, but continuous outreach with a loyalty program can alleviate the stresses associated with ongoing services. Today, business gurus are turning to real-time loyalty programs, and they’re saving money while boosting in-store visitation.
If you want to offer amazing products and services, you need to scale your customer’s interests with your brand’s identity. Below, we check out the hottest mobile loyalty program ideas around, and we cover everything needed to transform a mobile outreach strategy into an intuitive, layered loyalty platform.
The Consumer Connection: Why do a Mobile Loyalty Program Work?
Loyalty programs encourage customer interaction. Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, states that “If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.” Starbucks, itself, operates ongoing mobile loyalty services. Each year, hundreds of thousands of customers swipe, read and redeem the brand’s text offers. Sure, customer retention might be an end-game goal of most mobile loyalty programs, but a few other benefits precede the end rush.
Loyalty Programs are Cheaper
Text-based loyalty programs increase company ROI. Why? Because they save mass amounts of money otherwise invested in paper coupons, in-store loyalty schemes and manpower. Mobile loyalty programs are jam-packed with amenities which would otherwise need incredible amounts of money to ensure sustainability. Digital content is cheap, quick and costs nothing to distribute.
No More Customer Cards
While punch-out cards still exist in 2016, mobile loyalty programs are replacing such “bulky” services. Today, 50.3 percent of all ecommerce traffic comes through mobile. By taking out physical customer loyalty cards, businesses ensure a quick pass from text to website. Customers don’t need to stick to physical redemption offers anymore.
No More Wasted Time
Mobile loyalty programs reveal superior products and services quickly. In the business world, competition is always a factor. It lurks everywhere, and it’s ready to sweep your customers away. Even if you stay ahead of your competitors, your business deserves differentiation. Mobile-based customer loyalty programs benchmark a business’s service. It identifies strengths and weaknesses while constantly boosting customer interaction.
Incentivizing with SMS
To stay ahead with customers, a business must stay ahead with technology. Today, 93 percent of business leaders state that technology has changed customer expectations within the past five years. By using SMS to power a loyalty program, a business can set a trend. SMS-offered solutions reduce competition by raising the bar. Moreover, they offer incredibly tools to access, redeem and achieve new loyalty options. Providers like Cumberland Farms are attaching SMS loyalty offers to app-centric loyalty programs, too, creating multi-access platforms for payment and rewards alike.
What’s in a Loyalty Program?
Having a mobile loyalty platform isn’t enough. To succeed, a business must offer incomparable options. Fortunately, smartphones already make loyalty rewards more valuable than their in-store platform counterparts.
A loyalty program, first and foremost, increases with value as a customer spends money. Loyalty programs “up the ante” with increased loyalty. They reward long-term buyers.
Customized Service Rewards in the Food Industry
For the reason above, the food industry has prospered from mobile loyalty programs. Providers are sending customer-centric deals based upon food preference, and they’re making deals more enticing every week. In doing so, food providers can ensure a completely buyer-centric atmosphere while scaling an overall program. Gone are the days of generic food rewards, service options and customer opportunities.
VIP Opening Options
VIP access, too, can be driven via SMS. Every year, providers like Jamba Juice settle the score with competition by offering VIP-enabled rewards and access to returning customers. Jamba Juice’s My Fruitful Rewards maintains a value-driven rewards platform, dishing out awesome options to VIP customers who return for follow-up purchases.
Reservation Reminders
Loyalty programs aren’t all about coupons and free goods. Many service providers are relying on mobile loyalty programs to send reservation alerts. Airline providers are shooting out text reminders, and restaurants are informing daily customers of their pre-purchased seats. Every year, mobile technology increases in scope, reworking the way providers shoot out weekly reminders. Birthday surprises, too, are a common loyalty program feature. Return customers deserve special treatment, and providers are offering one-time-only extravaganza deals as annual celebrations.
It’s All about the Feedback: SMS Surveys
SMS surveys are astounding data-gathering tools. Really, any company without an SMS-powered customer solution is behind the ball. Because companies like Kroger are driving loyalty programs with redeemable mobile coupons and SMS services, a focus on mobile-gathered data is increasing. Gather your consumer’s information with surveys, send out customized coupons based upon responses and measure follow-up action. In doing so, you can measure your entire company’s deal, good and service viability.
In today’s business world, it’s up to business providers to keep track of rewards. It’s also their responsibility to fuel customer retention. Now, it’s time to enhance your loyalty program, redefine your strategy and reimburse your customers for ongoing support.
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