7 Tips to a successful Loyalty Programme

What makes a loyalty programme a success?

Companies and organisations across the world are adopting loyalty schemes to sustain customer loyalty. We ask ourselves what makes some loyalty programmes successful while others never seem to get off the ground? If you are looking to implement a loyalty scheme this year then take some time to consider the following:

1. Firstly, don’t overcomplicate subscription to your loyalty programme. The sign up process should be quick and simple. All you really need are the basic details for signing up a new member to your loyalty programme; name and postal address, email address, date of birth and an option for them to disclose how they came to hear about your loyalty programme. If you are looking for responses to a more detailed questionnaire this can be done at a later time and will make a perfect reason for you to contact your client to see what feedback they have on your loyalty scheme.

2. Give the client real benefits to being part of your loyalty programme! If the purpose of your programme is simply to capture data then it will never be the success that you wish it to. For a client to truly value your brand and loyalty scheme there needs to be a benefit to taking part, perhaps previews to exclusive or new products, collection of points which can be converted into pounds, monthly prize draws etc. Listen to your clients and see what benefits they truly appreciate.

3. Provide your clients with a plastic loyalty cards. There are many types of plastic loyalty cards available from simple colour print cards to plastic cards with additional features such as barcode or magnetic stripes for use in collecting points and data capture. Plastic loyalty cards will be retained by your clients and presented when they wish to action their loyalty benefits, such as collecting points during a purchase etc.

4. Monitor your loyalty programme and the response that you get to promotions or marketing exercises. Don’t do the same old thing because ‘that’s what you have always done’. If something is not providing the return on investments that you require try something new.

5. Don’t sit on the customer data that you have collected. Keep it up to date, analyse it and use it to your advantage. Many successful loyalty programmes sustain customer loyalty my implementing email or postal newsletters, posting seasonal vouchers with extra discounts or even a birthday or Christmas card. With each of these marketing ideas you are once again reminding the client of your brand and all the benefits that come with been a member of your Loyalty Programme.

6. Keep it personal! When possible personalise all your marketing material with the clients’ name. Email marketing is far more successful when the receiver is personally addressed in the email, this helps to distinguish your mail from unwanted spam.
It’s also a good idea to have the clients name on their plastic loyalty card. This gives the client a sense of ownership and creates extra value with their mind. Plastic cards can be personalised with a printed name or number or could even be embossed like a traditional bank card.

7. Update your plastic loyalty cards each year, a change of colour or design of your plastic card keeps your brand fresh and is once again another opportunity for you to make contact with your clients.

Company Cards have been producing plastic loyalty cards for a number of years and we have seen the hard work that our clients put into making their programme succeed. A successful loyalty programme takes time, patience and hard work, however, when well executed can see great returns on investment.