Businesses that are just getting their customer loyalty programs off the ground are prone to making some detrimental mistakes. Most of these missteps stem from the wrongful belief that an intelligent Loyalty Management Software will solve any and every customer loyalty related challenge. Let’s consider some common mistakes that businesses are likely to make:
Betting on the Same Rewards
If businesses keep offering the exact same rewards and discounts on the same set of products, they risk alienating customers. Offers that have shown exceptional engagement and conversion in the past may be reused, but with a dash of freshness and innovation. Betting on the same rewards to drive the customer loyalty management program will not only indicate a lack of interest and care on the part of the business but also make it harder to increase the visiting frequency of loyal customers.
Offering Irrelevant Rewards
If offering the same rewards won’t get a business far, offering rewards that are irrelevant to customers will get it nowhere. Offers and discounts, when doled out without any consideration for the intended audience, can actually prove to be harmful. Picture this, if a male customer in his 30’s is told that there is a 50% discount offered on cosmetics, not only will he ignore the offer, but also pay less attention to any future communication. Studies have shown that customers, especially millennials, expect a high degree of personalization from the businesses they frequently shop at.
Forgetting about the Experience
While designing the processes and steps of a customer loyalty program, businesses erroneously assume that the incentive of savings and discounts will be adequate to keep customers continually engaged. However, games, timelines, CTA strategies, and frequent experience-enhancing activities are required to maintain customer engagement levels. Many programs neglect the ‘experience’ of earning and redeeming reward points, thereby severely limiting the scope and impact of the customer loyalty program.
Making Redemption of Rewards Challenging
Customers are bound to feel discouraged (and eventually disengage with the loyalty program) if the process of rewards redemption is made exceptionally challenging. Customers are smarter than businesses expect them to be, and are able to identify contentious terms and conditions and realize when the odds are stacked against them. Furthermore, studies have proven that if customers come to know of instances wherein ineligible customers are qualified for rewards, their confidence and trust in the brand takes a hit.
Unregulated Updates and Communication
One of the most common and dangerous mistakes which businesses make is using the Loyalty Management Software to send more than the required number of notifications and updates. Right from the moment we wake up, a dozen things start vying for our attention and if something forces its way in, we become more likely to ‘unsubscribe’ from the same. Customers want relevant, timely, and beneficial offers delivered in their inbox or on their phones – not a plethora of irrelevant discounts thrown at them every day.
Loyalty software solutions are powerful tools which can help businesses retain existing customers and engage them more effectively. However, everyLoyalty Management Software needs to be used judiciously and inventively to avoid the pitfalls that come with it. What are some of the other common mistakes that businesses make while running a customer loyalty rewards program? Let us know what you think.