A Deloitte survey found that businesses with loyalty programs, on average, are 88% more profitable than competitors who do not. But having a loyalty program in place doesn’t mean it will automatically work. With these three steps, you can ensure your customers are participating and excited to come back in the door.

3 Steps To Customer Loyalty Success

April is International Customer Loyalty Month. But here at Fivestars, we celebrate customer loyalty all year. Why? According to Harvard Business Review, customer loyalty is the single most important driver of growth and profitability for your business. Follow these three steps and you will be on your way to driving meaningful revenue to your small business year round.

[Businesses with loyalty programs, on average, are 88% more profitable than competitors who do not. – Deloitte Research Survey]

1. Make customers want to return with a compelling reward to earn

• Set up a reward program that is attractive and memorable to encourage visits.
• Make the first reward easily attainable to delight the customer.
• Build multiple reward tiers to encourage customers to visit frequently save up for bigger rewards.

2. Sign up as many customers to your reward program as possible

• Your biggest asset is your existing customers, so whether you use Facebook, email, text messages, or a simple spiral notebook, make it easy for them to join.
• Train your staff to ask the customers before every purchase if they are part of your rewards club or loyalty program.
• Reward your employees for encouraging customers to sign up.
• For a good customer list to regularly communicate with, shoot for over 1000 customers participating in your rewards program.

[The loyalty punch card, however simple to use, doesn’t allow you to regularly communicate with your customers. Fivestars Loyalty Automation Platform integrates right on your point-of-sale, and allows you to not only track and reward your customers’ frequent visits, but also lets you communicate promotions and specials via email, text message, and Facebook. Visit https://www.fivestars.com/businesses to learn more about how we can help your business drive loyalty.]

3. Stay top of mind by engaging your customers

• Customers will naturally start visiting more often as they get closer to earning a reward.
• Remind them at the point-of-sale, or via email or text message, how close they are to receiving a reward.
• Recognize and celebrate your VIP customers, those who visit most frequently and mention you to the most new customers.
• As customers start experiencing rewards, you will see their visit frequency increase even more!

* THE BIG ASTERISK

You can have a fantastic rewards program for your customers, but that will all go down the drain if you don’t have the fantastic customer service to match it. The most important thing is to continually delight your customers, and as a side effect, they will be willing to spend more time and money with you.

[7 in 10 Americans said they were willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. – American Express Survey]

So show customers that you care and appreciate them, continually get customer feedback, and build long term relationships with every customer.