Loyalty will never be the same. Ever since the introduction of the smartphone, brands are still perplexed on how to use sustain or increase loyal customers. With so much information online and brand choices to choose from, people are turning to their mobile devices to make purchase decisions by the millisecond. In this blog post, we’ll reveal why it’s especially important for Retailers as well as Quick Service Restaurants to deploy an integrated loyalty program in order to compete and win customers. With an integrated loyalty program, the marketer can take full control of their overall omnichannel marketing strategy and therefore offer the best customer experiences.
First, let’s state what is important right now regarding customer loyalty. One point to mention is that convenience is still a huge factor that influences the buyers’ journey. A report from Episerver states that “Loyalty beats choice, but convenience beats loyalty.” 37% of consumers voted “speed and convenience” as a key factor. And if it’s too slow to load, 43% they will leave a site even if it’s one of their favorite brands. 27% will fully abandon their purchase and move on to another competitor. Therefore, customers expect seamless, easy and highly convenient experiences on mobile applications. And if that means scanning their mobile app for points or redeeming a coupon, they want the results and the rewards now, on the spot.
Another important point to mention is building rapport with customers. The relationship is not about sending sales/deals or asking customers to participate in an outdated receipt customer feedback program. There are far better ways to build rapport. Rather, brands need to seek out ways that engage and ultimately retain the customer.
Look at Sephora‘s loyalty strategy as a good example. Sephora used location-targeted promotions, daily mobile content and launched a Facebook Messenger chatbot, which allows customers to book an appointment with a stylist. With the Digital Makeover Guide feature, customers take a “before” picture of themselves and upload it to the mobile app. Then she customizes a virtual makeover for herself. After uploading the aftermath of her makeover through her “after” photo, she’ll visit the store bringing her phone. There she can access on the spot her saved list of the products she used to achieve that look. Lastly, she will receive more personalized emails, push messages, rich messages, videos and tips to attract her back to the store and trying new products.
As a result, the blended mix of customer engagement both inside the mobile app and inside the store along with helpful stylists to assist her with the right products to try on creates a meaningful customer experience overall. How Sephora achieved all of this is through the integration of a loyalty program which connects all channels and systems into one place. Therefore, Sephora’s stylists and marketers can better understand their customers’ needs, preferences, buying habits and what she did inside the app as well as inside the store.
Integration of Loyalty Programs
Integration is a fundamental part of designing an ideal, well-tuned loyalty program. With the existing data you already have about customers, whether it’s from your online or e-commerce database, loyalty card program or POS system, integrating those systems with your customers’ mobile activities will help complete your customer profiles.
If you’d like to learn more about customer loyalty, check out the Burger King case study. Find out how Burger King used ‘crowns’ as points, triggered location-aware promotions and integrated their POS system with MobileBridge.
