The purpose of Convenience Store Loyalty Software solutions is to retain loyal customers, encourage them to visit more frequently, assist in a comprehensive communications strategy, and foster healthy customer relationships. However, empirical evidence suggests that these digital solutions are not falling short, but actually causing damage to the brand and business in certain cases. A recent Capgemini study says that an overwhelming 90% of the customer sentiment regarding loyalty programs on social media is ‘negative’. Let’s examine a few factors as to why customer rewards programs fail, and how can convenience store owners and managers avoid some of the pitfalls.
In-Your-Face Promotions
Overdoing marketing and promotions is one of the surest ways to put off customers and actually risk forcing them to ‘unsubscribe’ or ‘deregister’ from your mailing list or other communication. In an age where attention spans are consistently shrinking, you cannot take up more your customers’ attention than it is absolutely necessary. The best strategy is to maintain a consistent and frequent communication with your customers, rather than bombarding them with offers during festivals and holidays and going radio-silent during other months.
Irrelevant Offers
In an operational sense, it is tempting to offer a token free gift on every purchase and do away with the hassle of personalized offers and discounts. But this might just spell the death knell for your customer loyalty program. Thankfully, intelligent Convenience Store Loyalty Software solutions are really efficient at segregating customers on the basis of their activity, frequency, value, or demographics. This allows a seamless personalization of rewards and offers and helps engage loyal customers more effectively.
Hidden Terms and Conditions
Nobody likes to be outsmarted. If your customers have been loyal to you, and have been pining for going a level up in your loyalty program or getting a massive discount on their nth purchase – you need to follow-up on your word. Being upfront about the rules, terms, and conditions of your convenience store loyalty program should be an essential part of the sign-up process. If all the major features and design of your convenience store customer rewards program cannot be condensed to a two or three sentence pitch, you need to simplify the program.
Lack of Redemption Choices
In a direct extension of the previous point, if the process of points redemption is unduly limited, customer interest and engagement will eventually fizzle out. Furthermore, you need to allow a certain degree of flexibility when it comes to rewards redemption. By giving customers a choice in terms of their reward, you strengthen customer engagement and drive business growth. Thankfully, everyone will be able to find something to his or her liking at a convenience store and that is a great opportunity for owners and managers!
If used effectively, a convenience store loyalty tool can help owners and managers inculcate customer loyalty, improve promotion and marketing campaigns, and drive customer engagement. That’s not all, Convenience Store Loyalty Software solutions, like Loyera, can help you identify customer purchase trends, grow customer relationships, win back dormant customers, and elicit feedback regarding your products and services. Navigating the challenging domain of customer loyalty can become really simple with new age loyalty software solutions; all you need to know is how to make the most of them and offer a rewarding experience to your customers.