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5 Tasks to Ensure Success for your Customer Loyalty Program
FEBRUARY 14, 2024 BY TOM CUSTER – Establishing a loyalty program requires two major components. At GSP, we’ve worked with many clients to develop the branding and marketing of their loyalty programs. There are several excellent vendors who specialize in the information technology platforms for loyalty, but we’re here to discuss branding and marketing.
Our experiences include both building programs from scratch and revamping existing programs. It’s normal for retailers to revamp programs because as we know, the only way to survive in retail is to respond to the market and make changes. This can include product offerings, customer preferences, vendors, etc.
Before you embark on a loyalty program launch or update, here are five things you must do:
- Define Your Objectives: Clearly outline the goals and objectives of your loyalty program. Set some priorities for what you want to achieve, whether it’s customer retention, increased sales, or customer engagement.
- Know Your Customers: Understand your target audience and their preferences. This will help you tailor the loyalty program to meet their needs and expectations.
- Select a Loyalty Platform: Choose a loyalty platform. Make sure it’s easy for shoppers to participate.
- Promote Your Program: Develop a marketing strategy. We leverage multiple channels, including social media, email marketing and web sites. Don’t forget signage in-store, at the pumps and the fleet. Clearly communicate the benefits of joining the program and use continuity in the messaging.
- Train Your Staff: Ensure your employees are well-informed about the loyalty program. They should be able to explain the program to customers, assist with sign-ups, demonstrate the app, and answer any questions. Your retail associates play a key role in the success of your loyalty program.
Once launched, your work on your new loyalty program is far from over. It will create more data for your team to analyze. This will include shopper enrollment, participation and redemption. You’ll be able to use this data to fine tune marketing and sales. Be prepared to adapt and evolve your loyalty program.
It’s a big project for your teams in marketing, IT, logistics, human resources and more. Starting a retail loyalty program requires careful planning and execution, but when done effectively, it will significantly enhance customer loyalty and enhance your sales.
