Increasing loyalty program participation is high on the priority list for most marketers — and with good reason. Loyal customers can bring in greater profits, heighten brand awareness and strengthen the chances of a brand achieving longevity.
So, how can your brand get more loyalty program participation? These six tips can help.
1. Get the word out about your loyalty program
Have you ever heard the saying, “closed mouths don’t get fed?” It simply means your chances of reaching a desired outcome are limited if you don’t make your desires known.
If your desire as a marketer is to get more loyalty program participation, acquiring more potential participants is one piece of the puzzle. Make sure to get the word out about your loyalty program and let customers know that you want them to join.
There are all kinds of ways to get more loyalty program members, such as tapping into social proof and getting referrals from your existing audience, or adding urgency marketing into your loyalty program promotions. (Read more on how to get more loyalty program members here.)
As you do promote the program, make sure to set the stage up front by telling your customers that you see this as an engagement platform. This will help to encourage participation when they do join.
2. Ask customers to help you shape your loyalty program
Loyalty program participants are dedicated members of your business who should be treated as such. An honorary marketer in their own right, they contribute to the purchasing of your offering, the distribution of knowledge surrounding your brand, and the consumption of your marketing efforts, like your loyalty program.
With customers offering so much of their time to your brand, they deserve a say in what is delivered to them. Collect their feedback as often as you can. Not only does this make customers feel valued, but it also gives you better insight into customer behavior (what sort of incentives customers are attracted to, what programs work best for high customer engagement, etc.).
Having feedback on your loyalty program directly from the group it is meant to serve can lead to innovative ideas, higher customer retention rates and even greater acquisition of new loyalty program members.
3. Keep it simple
Your customers have a lot on their plate, from grappling with a two-year long pandemic to being inundated with marketing outreach from every brand trying to earn their attention. As a result, they're looking for many things from brands, one of which is convenience.
Customers are joining your brand’s loyalty program to experience more of what they love, and they don’t want to jump through hoops in order to see additional perks.
Most people also enjoy feeling accomplished, and earning points through your loyalty program allows for just that. Help customers achieve gratification quickly by keeping the tasks they must complete to earn and redeem loyalty points simple.
It can be tempting to put together a more complex loyalty program in effort to stand out, but sometimes it's the simplest programs that offer the most convenience and, therefore, drive the highest participation.
4. Remind program participants about loyalty promotions
When it comes to any promotions that are specific to loyalty members, promote these using a cross-channel approach. Leverage email, social media, mobile app and any other channels to inform loyalty program members about upcoming promotions or special offers that you believe they would enjoy.
This will ensure that members are aware of ways they can engage with your program and give them an extra reminder if they forgot about a certain promotion. It can be easy to broadcast a benefit one time and check it off the list, but taking a consistent, cross-channel approach can help cut through the noise and boost participation.
5. Allow customers to see their progress
People love to know they’re doing well, and giving your existing customers a first-hand look at how many points they’ve gotten through your program is one way you can use that psychology to your advantage.
Creating a personalized system of measure for your customers helps to ensure the overall convenience and functionality of your loyalty program.
Customers who can easily find out how many points they have in their account will be able to keep track of how many they’ll need to get a specific reward.
Offering your customers a personalized experience filled with their own customer data also adds to the emotional connection they have with your brand. Seeing their progress in tangible ways gives customers something to aspire to, activating certain areas of their brain that will keep them coming back for more.
6. Be generous with loyalty program points
Every brand needs to watch their margins, of course, but being as generous as you can with loyalty program points can help to increase participation.
Don’t be afraid to hand out an extra point or two if a customer makes a purchase or is the first of many participants to opt-in to a marketing campaign. Brand loyalty comes as a result of building strong customer relationships; rewarding customers simply for enjoying your brand is a good way to show them you appreciate their patronage and care about customer satisfaction.
Points are great incentives for purchase and help to build loyalty. Many times, rewards can influence customers to spend more time with your program in order to redeem those points or add more to their account.
Upping loyalty program participation doesn’t have to be rocket science. You can accomplish your loyalty marketing goals by sticking to your brand mission and remaining true to the promises you’ve made to your customers. As you to strive to do both, keep these six tips in mind.
