How can a loyalty program allow you to increase your company's online sales? What should a loyalty program include in the current conditions? There are several key features and programs that will help attract more customers.
Building an e-commerce loyalty program to increase the number of customers
By 2040, more than 90% of purchases will be made by people on the internet. This is due to the rapid development of e-commerce and the increased interest of consumers in placing orders via a smartphone or computer.
With the continued development of e-commerce, the behavior of buyers is changing. They are becoming more intelligent and have high demands on their time. Therefore, the task of any company that works online is to help customers feel valuable. This can be achieved through a well-designed loyalty program.
Loyalty programs are about more than just sales!
It's important to understand that a competent loyalty program in the field of e-commerce returns more than just sales. They help to get loyal customers and a whole community of brand fans who will come back to you.
A successful loyalty program allows a company to stand out from competitors. Some distinguishing aspects may include:
- New approach to the purchase registration process
- Personalization and increasing the value of customers
- Building interest within communities
- Building trust in the brand
4 steps to an effective loyalty program
Your loyalty program should encourage customers to interact with your brand. This will allow you to collect information about the lifetime value of the client and identify future development opportunities based on that data.
To increase customer engagement, you not only need to offer coupons, but also incentives based on experience. These rewards should be based on a personalized experience instead of standard marketing tools. Then, customers will see your exclusive approach to service and will choose your company over your competitors.
Core criteria for a competent loyalty program that is relevant in the modern online world includes:
- Provide useful content on social networks or your website, such as expert assessments and training videos.
- Emphasize customer support, not a constant push to buy. For example, a business can show sympathy and offer free delivery while participating in a humanitarian action.
- Offer a strong e-commerce experience by providing product recommendations, one-click purchase functions, accelerated delivery, and more.
- Create more points of contact with customers for maximum interaction. Companies should be visible outside of the purchase cycle. You should encourage customers to come back and visit. With additional reminders from your company, they might log into their accounts, recommend your brand to friends, or review items.
4 types of loyalty programs in 2021
The following loyalty program options will help inspire you and your customers to build long-term and promising relationships:
Points
It's important to allow customers to earn points not only when buying, but also when interacting with the brand. For example, filling out a profile or subscribing to an online newsletter should be worth some reward.
A multi-level program
This strategy includes assigning a level to show the status of different customers. Invite people to advance through your program to the VIP level, where top rewards will be available. The presence of tiers encourages people to make additional purchases, which increases your profit and allows you to get new loyal customers.
Benefits
Offering benefits is a good choice for companies that want to increase brand recognition. It's better to introduce benefits if there is a unique product in order to distinguish it from the rest of the assortment.
Hybrid program
If you mix several elements, you're more likely to meet or exceed your KPI metrics by pursuing multiple paths to success.
In order to decide which loyalty program to implement, you first need to understand your customers' buying habits and the data that's driving your company. Our Evinent Analytics tool is the perfect way to assess your current position in the e-commerce market for your respective industry. The Evinent Analytics platform allows you to analyze customer profiles by purchase history and overall user behavior. As a result, it's easy to forecast future sales trends, evaluate customers' interests, and determine the best type of loyalty program for your business.
