Quikly Blog

After Amazon bought Whole Foods, marketers in the grocery space have been motivated to innovate more than ever before.

This post is part of a series called "A Quick Survey." 

The case for strengthening your brand’s loyalty program just became A LOT stronger. 

The emergence of services like GrubHub and Uber Eats over the last few years has completely transformed the way consumers dine. The appeal is apparent -- convenience, value, and speed. Using Amazon’s 1-click ordering, hungry consumers can repeat their previous orders within seconds and have their food favorites delivered to their door within the hour.

Timing is of the essence when it comes to brands deepening their relationship with loyalty members. In fact, 57% of U.S. consumers will abandon a loyalty program if it took too long to earn points. Failing to promptly engage new members can quickly result in customer lapse. Most brands tack on incentives to boost signup, but have a hard time driving stickiness and long-term program participation. Here are some ways to enhance your loyalty member onboarding strategy.

The REI campaign “Opt Outside” involved shutting down business on one of the biggest, if not THE biggest profitable retail days of the year: Black Friday. The decision rested on value of a different kind, a concept far less tangible but much more rewarding. The company believed it could make up its Black Friday losses through gains in loyalty, by appealing to the emotional and ethical pith of its audience. And it worked.

Developing a loyal customer base is key to creating sustainable brand value. Leaders in Loyalty find success when they master constant growth of their loyalty program by acquiring the right new members. However, it's difficult to continuously find high quality new members efficiently and with scale. Referred customers have approximately 25% higher customer lifetime values than non-referred customers — even when you factor in referral costs (Warton Study). By incentivizing engagement and utilizing urgency marketing, the reach of a campaign can easily be amplified to attract new members and maximize results.

Offering exclusive access or promotions to loyalty members is a valuable strategy that can enhance the retail brand-consumer relationship.

Attracting new loyalty members is a key strategy to ensure long-term program growth. New members represent incremental sales and offset member churn. However, it’s difficult to continuously find high quality new members efficiently and with scale. It’s no secret that a loyalty program’s existing members are its best source of recruiting new members.