Gone are the days when businesses would offer discounts to customers in the name of a b2b loyalty program to motivate them to keep coming back for patronage. Recently research on customer behavior has revealed that merely offering discounts to customers or giving them free products after they have bought some amount of goods does not appeal to customers anymore. Those moves are not strong enough to earn customers’ loyalty to your brand. 

Customers want a brand that can understand their ultimate needs and address them when they needed it the most. They want you to show them that you care about them, esteem them and value every penny they spend for your business. 

Every business has competitors. You need to be aware that your competitors want the same customers patronizing your business – that’s the reason you should learn how to make your loyalty program different from others to achieve your business goals.

Unfortunately, customers want to split their income among competitors since it appears they offer similar services. A smart business owner will look for ways to engage its customers to prevent them from smashing their income among these competitors. Consumer engagement is key to the success of an effective loyalty program.

Yes, one of the best ways to retain every customer that knocks on your business door is to establish a simple to use loyalty program. Yet, many loyalty programs have failed because they ignore some key elements that get customers excited about returning to their business. 

Meanwhile, you don’t have to unnecessarily spend big money to make your program enticing to your customers; you only have to learn the tricks. Let’s discuss the five keys to make your loyalty program more profitable without extra cost and complexity to get a better understanding. 

1. Use a simple point program

A simple point program is the most profitable out of every type of loyalty and rewards program. This type of program is the most common because companies find it easy to operate, and it is easy to understand for customers. 

While other types of programs seem more advanced ways to engage customers, offering simple stamp cards or punch cards can help you big in encouraging your customers to remain loyal to your business for an extended period. Though it doesn’t look too modern, it is a simple old trick that works.  

Customers want to join a program that is less complicated and easy to access. When the reward system is too complicated, it may decrease members’ participation and increase the program’s cost. 

More so, the time you will spend explaining how the program works to your employees and customers can be a hidden cost. Choosing a simple point program will encourage your customers to join the program and cost you less money.

2. Combine Loyalty cards with loyalty apps

The primary goal of every loyalty program is to draw customers to your business. If you want to achieve that, you need to ensure your program is engaging and accessible to customers. You should understand that you are dealing with different kinds of people with different levels of socialization. While some customers prefer a plastic loyalty card, others may like to participate in the program through their mobile devices. 

Combining a plastic loyalty card with a loyalty app will increase your customers’ participation. Especially in this new age where people spend most of their on their mobile devices, you can take the advantage to boost your customers’ involvement. 

The bottom line is, your diversified customers should have access to your loyalty and rewards program via several means if you want to maximize the number of your customers’ engagement.

3. Offer appealing rewards

As you seek to build and expand a large customer base, know that your customers are also seeking what benefits them. Your loyalty and rewards program might not get you the loyalty you desire if those rewards you offer are not tangible enough to influence your customers’ behavior. 

For instance, offering reward cards that merely give back some money to your customers after many purchases cannot influence your customers’ behavior. Indeed, they might not even remember that after a while. 

Instead, offer great rewards that serve your customers’ ultimate needs and see how much they flock into your business. Great rewards change customers’ behavior. Hence, sit down with your creative team to analyze what reward you can offer to influence your customers’ buy, why, when, and how often they buy. Great and appealing rewards also help to motivate customers to keep patronizing.

4. Incorporate Automated Email marketing

If you are so keen to influence your customers’ behavior, automated email marketing can be your best bet. Without a doubt, it’s one of the easiest ways to control how often your customers patronize your business. Direct Marketing Association claimed that email marketing brings the highest ROI on the average $40 on every dollar spent. 

Customers feel good when they receive emails from the store where they spend their money. To them, it shows that you recognize them and value every penny they spend on your products or services. 

Meanwhile, you may have to use digital means to get your customers’ contact information and behavioral data. Loyalty marketing involves reaching out to your customers, reminding them of new products, upcoming events, and special offers. You can also utilize automated email campaigns to contact some customers who have not patronized your business in a few months. 

5. Sell cards through your loyalty program.

There’s no better way to sell your gift cards than via a loyalty program. The loyalty program helps you to gather a long list of customers’ contact information. You can take this advantage to sell cards to your customers in November and December when the sales of gift cards are generally high. 

Engaging your customers via an effective loyalty program provides your business with the opportunity to connect with your customers on an intimate level. By offering influential rewards through a simple reward system, you encourage more customer visits and record more profits along the way.