Loyalty Rewards Program: Top Myths Debunked (Part – II)
The fact that business owners are wary of setting up a Loyalty Rewards Program shouldn’t come as a surprise. With numerous myths and assumptions associated with the customer loyalty programs, it is not difficult to understand why cynicism regarding their ability to deliver returns persists.

Myth 1: The only goal of a customer loyalty rewards program is to retain customers with discounts and offers.
A Loyalty Rewards Program is intimately connected to the brand image and thus, needs to be more emotional, personal and differentiated. Most successful customer rewards programs have a pivot which sets them apart from others – be it the use of technology, social connection, or tie-ups with developmental organizations. The larger goal should be to build a community of recurring customers, engage with them on a regular basis and offer them relevant discounts and information.

Myth 2: Customers don’t want to be bothered by long forms or with incessant promotional communication.
Research also suggests that as long as the promotional information that the customers are receiving is relevant, they don’t mind getting it. As a matter of fact, a majority do not mind sharing personal information in return for more relevant and personalized offers.

Myth 3: If customers are already loyal to one brand, they won’t want to be part of another loyalty program.
Naturally, businesses with a bigger market share have the customer informational advantage. However, smaller businesses are also likely to thrive in the environment because of the near-steady pricing they offer. Hence, smaller businesses need not worry about problems like price wars, offering discounts by cutting deeply into margins and ceding a significant portion of their market share to rivals.

Myth 4: Simply registering with a Loyalty Management Software will help my business grow.
The success of your customer loyalty program is not contingent on the sophistication of the loyalty management software, but how you use the same. More specifically, it boils down to what customer data and information you collect (and how you do it), and more so, what you do with it.