One of the most fundamental principles of a customer rewards program is to reward loyalty points, or their equivalent, every time a loyal customer makes a purchase. However, rewarding bonus points when a purchase transaction doesn’t take place is an equally potent engagement strategy that many businesses fail to capitalise upon. Let’s take a look at a few ways in which businesses can award bonus points to their customers:
Signing Up
Sign-up or welcome bonus points are critical to start the engagement on an appreciative note. The simple act of joining the customer loyalty program should be reciprocated with a gesture that relays a thank you and shows just how much you value your customers. With this simple strategy, you can prolong the lifetime engagement and value of your loyal customers. A cloud-based Customer Loyalty Program Software system can send real-time notifications to your customers and inform them of a successful registration and the value of bonus loyalty points they have been awarded. If your customer rewards program isn’t points-based, you can consider offering them a flat X% discount or a free product on their joining.
Social Media Engagement
One of the most effective strategies to ensure a healthy social media activity is to reward participation of loyal customers. As a matter of fact, social media campaigns must be designed and planned keeping this in mind. By encouraging your customers to share your marketing and promotional information, you can cultivate several brand ambassadors that will readily amplify your marketing efforts. Rewarding them with bonus points will incentivise them to participate, share, and engage more frequently. If you are able to successfully mobilise your loyal customers, they will ensure that your social media campaigns are a success each time!
Reviews and Feedback
Giving away bonus points in lieu of genuine reviews and feedback from your loyal customers is a win-win for everyone. Since these customers are already fans of your product/service, they won’t hesitate to praise you in their reviews. You can ask your customers to leave you a review on your website, social media handles, or even third-party review platforms relevant to your industry and give them a fixed number of bonus points. However, in order to avoid any legal or ethical challenges, make sure you tell your customers to give their authentic feedback and clarify that the bonus points are being awarded for writing the review – not writing a positive review.
Reaching Milestones
Doesn’t matter if the milestone is for your business or customers – make sure you celebrate them all! In addition to encouraging loyal customers to shop more, these bonus points and offers are also likely to re-engage dormant customers. You can give away bonus points when you complete 10 (or any multiple of 10) years in business, launch a new store, or expand your product offerings. On the other hand, giving 2X or 3X points on customer birthdays, anniversaries, and during the holidays is also common. Similarly, you can award bonus points when a customer completes one year or X years in the loyalty management program. An intelligent Customer Loyalty Program Software solution can help you offer bonus loyalty points to your customers, depending on where they are in their engagement curve in a targeted manner.
Loyera is an intelligent and feature-rich Customer Loyalty Program Software that can help your business cultivate customer loyalty and increase customer retention. Get in touch today to know more about how your business can benefit from a dedicated customer loyalty program!