Going the Distance: Four Ways to Build a Better Customer Loyalty Program for Your Brand

It’s easy enough for a customer to join your loyalty program, especially when you’re offering an incentive such as discounts. All your customer has to do is give out some basic information, and voila! They’re in the fold, a brand new loyalty member with your company. From there, it’s happily ever after. You offer the perks; they stand solidly by you, bringing you their continued business. Simple. Or is it? In reality, just how many of those customers are act ively participating in your loyalty program? Do you know? Sure, loyalty program memberships are on the rise according to market research company eMarketer, having jumped 25 percent in the space of just two years. However, that figure may be a bit misleading. The truth is that, while loyalty program sign-ups may be more numerous, active participation in such programs is actually in decline. At the time of the study, the average US household had memberships in 29 loyalty programs; yet consumers were only active in 12 of those. That’s just 41 percent. And even that meager figure represents a drop of 2 percentage points per year over each of the preceding four years, according to a study by loyalty-marketing research company COLLOQUY.

When discounts just aren’t enough

So what’s a brand to do? How can you make your loyalty program worth your customer’s while—as well as your own? After all, gaining a new loyalty member doesn’t mean much if your customer isn’t actively participating in your program. Consider this: Does your customer loyalty program offer members anything different from what your competitors are offering? Chances are your program includes discounts. That’s a given. And what customer doesn’t appreciate a good discount? But when every other company out there is providing this staple benefit in comparable amounts, it becomes less and less likely that customers will remain loyal to any one particular brand. Frankly, it’s all too easy for customers to get lost in a sea of loyalty member discounts. They’re everywhere. In fact, just under half of internet users perceive that all rewards programs are alike, according to a 2015 eMarketer survey. The key to success, then, is to differentiate your business from the crowd. If you can offer your customers something unique and valuable beyond the usual discount, chances are they’ll be more likely to stick with your brand. Here’s some inspiration from companies who get it.

Virgin: Reward more purchases with more benefits.

That’s not to say you need to get rid of discounts entirely. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Customers still love a good discount. The goal is to be creative in terms of the loyalty perks you offer. Take the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, for example. As part of its loyalty program, the airline allows members to earn miles and tier points. Members are inducted at the Club Red tier, from which they can move up to Club Silver and then Club Gold. Here, it’s not just a discount. It’s status. And people respond to feeling important, elite. Still, even where the rewards themselves are concerned, Virgin is motivating loyalty customers with some pretty attractive offers. At the Club Red tier, members earn flight miles and receive discounts on rental cars, airport parking, hotels and holiday flights. But as members rise in tiers, they get even more. At the Club Silver tier, members earn 50 percent more points on flights, access to expedited check-in, and priority standby seating. And once they reach the top, Club Gold members receive double miles, priority boarding and access to exclusive clubhouses where they can get a drink or a massage before their flight. Now that’s some serious incentive to keep coming back for more. Discounts are still part of the equation – but they are designed with innovation and personal value in mind, elevating them to more than just savings.

Amazon Prime: Pay upfront and become a VIP.

What if your customers only had to pay a one-time upfront fee to get a year’s worth of substantial benefits? It may not sound like the smartest business idea at first glance. But take a closer look. Amazon Prime users pay a nominal $99 a year to gain free, two-day shipping on millions of products with no minimum purchase. And that’s just one benefit of going Prime. It’s true that Amazon loses $1-2 billion a year on Prime. This comes as no surprise given the incredible value the program offers. But get this: Amazon makes up for its losses in markedly higher transaction frequency. Specifically, Prime members spend an average of $1,500 a year on Amazon.com, compared with $625 spent by non-Prime users, a ccording to a 2015 report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

Patagonia: Cater to customer values.

Sometimes, the draw for consumers isn’t saving money or getting a great deal. The eco-friendly outdoor clothing company Patagonia figured this out back in 2011, when it partnered with eBay to launch its Common Threads Initiative: a program that allows customers to resell their used Patagonia clothing via the company’s website. Why is this program important to customers? And how does it benefit Patagonia? The company’s brand embraces environmental and social responsibility, so it was only fitting that they create a platform for essentially recycling old clothing rather than merely throwing it away. The Common Threads Initiative helps Patagonia build a memorable brand and fierce loyalty by offering its customers a cause that aligns with deep personal values. OK, so their customers get to make a little money, too. Everybody wins.

American Airlines: Gamify your loyalty program.

If you’re going to offer your customers a loyalty program, why not make it f un? After all, engagement is key to building a strong relationship with your customer. And what better way to achieve that goal than making a game of it. American Airlines had this very thing in mind when it created its AAdvantage Passport Challenge following its merger with USAirways. The goal: find a new way to engage customers as big changes were underway. Using a custom Facebook application, American Airlines created a virtual passport to increase brand awareness while offering members a chance to earn bonus points. Customers earned these rewards through a variety of game-like activities, from answering trivia questions to tracking travel through a personalized dashboard. In the end, participants earned more than 70 percent more stamps than expected – and the airline saw a ROI of more than 500 percent. The takeaway: people like games.

Stand out from the crowd.

Your approach to your customer loyalty program should align with your overall marketing approach. Effective branding is about standing out, not blending it. Being memorable is key. To this end, keep in mind that loyalty programs are no longer a novelty. That means that yesterday’s strategies won’t work moving forward, so look for ways to rise above the noise, setting yourself apart from the cloying drone of countless other cookie-cutter programs.

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The Six Types of Website Visitors – And How to Serve Each of Them

Every website’s audience is comprised of different kinds of visitors, and those people can almost always be broken down into one of 6 distinct categories. Visitors in each of these categories share similar needs and goals on the website, which means that by understanding the needs of each category and ensuring that your website does what it can to meet those needs, you can better serve those individual users. In this article, we will take a high-level look at the 6 categories of visitors common to almost all websites. We will also explore some of the characteristics of each of these categories and what you can do on your website to cater to each of them.

1. The Browser

The first group of visitors we will look at are those that are “just browsing” the site and in their earliest stage of research. These visitors may have need of the products or services that you offer, but they are far away from the point of purchase. Currently, they are seeing what is available so that they can learn what their options are. These visitors are looking to be educated and there is a prime opportunity for you to establish a strong, early-stage relationship with these visitors. To serve the needs of this “early stage research” group, your site should include content that educates visitors. By offering this content, you answer your visitors’ questions and become a trusted source of information. This is a great way to begin building a relationship with people, one that you hope will eventually turn them into customers! Many companies do not like to accommodate this early stage research group because they are so far away from the point of purchase and many visitors in this category will never turn into actual customers. Those companies prefer to focus their efforts on some of the categories which we will cover shortly, those where people are closer to making a purchase and therefore much easier to sell to. This is another reason why this group of visitors offers you a unique opportunity. Not only can you establish an early relationship by offering helpful information, but many of your competitors may have elected not to cater to this group, setting your company and your site apart for these “just looking” researchers. Make basic information easy to find on your site. Consider including some kind of “search tool” that allows these early stage researchers to query the information that they are looking for and find the exact pages of your site for that content. You can also consider adding a “101-style” page of a “FAQs” page that contains the basic questions and information this group of visitors may be after.

2. The Comparison Shopper

The next group of website visitors are those that are further down the road of being ready to make a purchase. They have been educated and largely know what they are looking for in terms of the product or service they need, now they are trying to determine who is the right company to provide that to them. They want to know what sets your company apart and why they should work with you instead of with someone else. In a way, these visitors are also looking to be educated, but not on the general aspects of what you do. Instead, they want to know about your company specifically. These people are motivated and will likely make a commitment soon. Now is your chance to show them why that choice should be you. To cater to this audience, consider adding pricing to your website. This is not always appropriate or even possible, but price is one of the deciding factors in almost all purchasing decisions, yet many companies elect to leave pricing off their website because of fears that they will show their hand to competitors (more on that later). If you can add pricing to your site, do so! Even if you are not the lowest, adding pricing has value because so few of your competitors have pricing on their sites! This sets you apart and, for some visitors, it may immediately answer a major concern for them (“what is this going to cost me?”) and, if that price is what they were hoping for, you may be able to seal the deal right then and there. Besides pricing, other helpful information that you can consider adding could be warranty or service information, average timelines for the work that you do, or any other content specific to your organization and offerings.

3. The Decider

The next logical group to cover are those customers that are absolutely ready to buy. They have been educated on both the products or services that you offer as well as on what sets your organization apart. They have decided that you are the right fit for them – now you need to make the purchasing process as easy as possible so you can close this deal! If your website actually coverts business online, meaning you allow for online purchasing or registration and that is how you gain customers, then make sure that the check-out or registration process is simple and working! I am always amazed when I see a website that does a great job educating visitors and differentiating their company, but a technical glitch prevents visitors from taking that final step and becoming actual customers! Error messages that come up during checkout or registration will destroy the relationship you have been working hard to forge, so be sure that your site is up and running as intended! You should have some kind of “regular checkup” planned for your site. Waiting for customers to report to you that something is broken is waiting too long, because many customers will never report that problem to you - they will simply take their business elsewhere. This is why your site needs to be working as intended always – and you need to have a process in place to review the site’s functionality regularly. If you do not allow customers to convert online, but they instead need to call to schedule an appointment with your company, then make sure that it is obvious that they need to do this and make sure your contact information is easy to find! Furthermore, consider doing away with automated phone systems whenever possible. A motivated buyer who picks a phone and is greeted with a too-long, robotic welcome message is often as much of a deal-breaker as a website that throws errors. You’ve convinced this person that your company is the right fit for their needs, now greet them with a human touch and stay away from the automated systems.

4. The Familiar

So far, we have looked exclusively at net new customers, but one of the best sources of new business for any company are their existing clients. While your site needs to appeal to new customers, it should also speak to existing ones who are familiar with your company and happy with your services. In many cases, customers may work with you for one specific product of service, unaware of other services you offer as well. Your site can make these customers aware of your full range of offerings and strengthen the relationship you have with them. Your website also allows you to inform existing customers about important updates or announcements that may affect them. These could be simple hours of operation changes for your company or other updates that they should be aware of. Remember, if you started out a relationship by being a thought- leader and provider of useful information, that should not stop once you are engaged with those customers. Consider adding an ‘Existing Customers’ section to your site with this type of information. You do not necessarily need to password protect this information, assuming it is not client-specific and sensitive, but rather allow anyone to view it. In this way, you can give existing customers useful information and show other visitors your commitment to long term relationships with your clients!

5.The Applicant

Stepping away from the ‘customer’ side of your website’s audience, there are other visitors to your site that you should consider. One of these is potential new employees. If you site has a ‘careers’ or ‘job openings’ page, then this is likely where potential new employees will be looking. You do not need to give these pages front-and-center, top-level billing - most job seekers are motivated enough to find this content even if it is not given the same level of prominence that you give you customer-oriented content (and if that job seeker is not motivated enough to find the link, you probably don’t want to hire them anyway). In addition to the actual job listings, however, you may also want to consider adding some content about what life is like at your company – your ‘company culture’, for instance. When you are looking to recruit the best talent out there, they will want to know more about your company than just the hard facts covered in a job listing. This is where a little information about your company culture can really come in handy and help you appeal to the best of the best.

6. The Competitor

Earlier I mentioned that many companies do not put pricing on their website for fear that their competition will find it. This doesn’t end with pricing. I have seen companies “hide” content behind registration systems, or elect to leave it off a site altogether to prevent competitors from gathering that information. In almost all cases, this is a bad idea. After all, if you make your information difficult for competitors to find, you also make it difficult for actual customers to get that same information. Yes, there are times when the information you provide to customers is so individualized or sensitive that you could not make it public on your site, but that is an edge-case. For most businesses, the only reason they elect to leave this content off their site is that aforementioned “fear of competitors getting it”. Here’s the reality, however – if your competition wants that information, they will get it. If they are motivated to get that info, they will jump through the hoops you set up. Customers, however, will not generally go to those lengths. So by “hiding” content from competition, you really only keep it away from the very people you want to speak to – new customers! Do not be afraid of your competition. Be bold and put your content out there for all to see. One of two things will happen. Either your competition will follow suit and put their info out there as well, which allows you to compete on a level playing field, or they will continue to hide it away, which shows customers how open you are and often makes you the more appealing choice. Either way, by making your content easy to access for all categories of visitors to your site, to do the best job of serving the ones that matter to you most.

Appealing to all visitors

By understanding the needs of the visitors your website has, you and your web or marketing team can make the right decisions to best meet the needs of all visitors.

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The Cult of Personality (Part 1)

Word-of-mouth advertising has always been a marketer’s most powerful tool. It is the original form of viral marketing, offering all the key elements required to win a new customer:

• Attention
• Need fulfillment
• Trust
• Trial and testimonial
• Credibility
• Memorability
• Honesty (in other words, the absence of a company or salesperson’s motivations)

Now that social media has become a staple of our culture, word-of-mouth advertising has been catapulted from a nebulous ideal to an essential element for success. Whereas once it represented a one-to-one interaction, today's consumers are armed with a virtual megaphone to reach far-flung groups of friends, family and colleagues instantaneously via major social networking sites. A mention of your brand on the Web is broadcast in real time, delivered to countless phones and inboxes, forwarded, marked, tagged and cataloged on permanent record. Information, misinformation and opinion can make or break your brand at the speed of light. Sounds scary, right? It can be. But you can also choose to use these platforms to your advantage and become part of the dialog rather than social media roadkill.

Traditional marketing and PR are not equipped to survive in the social media jungle.

The practice of public relations has been transformed from representing brands and generating “buzz” through third-party media organizations to a meaningful, direct and ongoing relationship with the public. Ironically, traditional marketing has never faced the challenges inherent in interacting with the public directly. It thrives on comfortably interfacing on its own delicately crafted terms –pristine, airbrushed ads, cinematically perfect commercials, scripted speeches and thoroughly edited press releases. Even traditional PR – whose primary function is theoretically to garner attention through a non-biased press – is regarded as a joke. In our media-savvy times, people are hip to the fact that much of the press is bought and sold. Editors and producers are hungry for stories to balance out the “hard news” which, if left alone, would either bore or depress everyone to tears. The passing along of favors between PR agents and the press leads to the perpetual spinning of cotton-candy puff pieces under the guise of reporting the news. There’s a lot of back scratching going on, and the result is a hands-off, sterile approach to the public that is devoid of integrity. What’s amazing is that traditional marketing companies still think that these news outlets hold the same kind of reverence they did in Paul Harvey’s time. And the media wonders where their credibility went, along with their advertising dollars, as they fight to stay alive and relevant.

PR done right: It’s about people.

People do not follow companies. People follow people. Until this is understood and represents a fundamental principle that drives all of your PR efforts, credibility through social media cannot be attained. People do not follow companies. People follow people. Effective word-of-mouth engagement is, by nature, anti-corporate. The public has no affection for the face of corporate America. No one wants to see standard form-letter responses and press releases on Facebook, Twitter and the like. Yes, you should plan your PR goals and resources with as much care and attention to detail as any other part of your business. A qualified Internet marketing advisor can help you develop a strategy that is business-oriented and aligns with your marketing plan. However, once you have those clearly defined goals in place, you must stop being corporate and start representing your brand on a personal level. Social media is all based on interaction between people, a requirement for the ever-so-valuable word-of-mouth advertisement to exist and spread. The company that takes the lazy or safe road will fabricate a personality that shows the world the face they want the public to see, but this artifice will be found out quickly. No one will invite them back to the conversation. In fact, they will be banned from the conversation. The effect is similar to an uninvited party guest. The only difference in this case is that the uninvited guest is a programmed corporate mascot who has no familiar personality, tells bad jokes and is oblivious to the fact that the brand it represents is a joke.

Be real, flaws and all.

If you’re representing your brand in a personal manner, then be prepared to be honest through and through. The very idea of this is enough to scare a traditional marketing firm to death because there’s no control, and in the absence of control flaws will emerge. Consider the potential PR disaster that could result from this comment:

“XYZ company didn’t get my order right and they suck.”

What to do? A good Internet marketing firm advises the honest approach. People are willing to understand and forgive those that have maintained an honest face to their public. The Internet marketing superstar responds, “We absolutely messed up, and we’re so sorry. Sometimes things get ahead of us, and we make mistakes. Let us make it up to you; we want our customers to be happy and satisfied.” Granted it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, but you can turn negative feedback into renewed customer loyalty if you have laid a foundation of being yourself. Take for instance what Flickr wrote to its community when it messed up: http://blog.flickr.net/en/2005/07/21/sometimes-we-suck/ This is where Main Street businesses, who value and cultivate relationships with their community as a whole and each customer individually, can ultimately triumph over corporations, who rely on form letters and canned responses that hold no value in the public eye.

Have a reputation for giving.

Being a friend and building a relationship demand more involvement than merely being present. You must participate and give. Share your time, your action and your help. Answer questions. Lend a hand. Be funny. Reveal your passions. Offer a smile and a pat on the back. If you are a dentist, offer free tips and answers to questions about regular dental care. If you make custom stained-glass windows, then take pictures of your art and share them with people. If you’re a real estate agent, offer advice on beautifying your landscaping to add value to your home. Earning a friend online is no different than earning a friend face-to-face.Your most meaningful personal relationships tend to be with people that are unique, interesting, consistent, funny, helpful, honest and witty. To successfully use social media as a PR tool, you must identify these same qualities in your company or your people and engage with the public in ways that demonstrate these strengths. Earning a friend online is no different than earning a friend face-to-face. Also, be consistent with your participation. You, your people and your Internet marketing agency need to be there every day – accessible and responsive – without fail. If you can’t be a friend to the public, then they won’t be your friend in any online relationship. They will not know you, you will not earn their trust, and you will be banished to the world of paid advertising on the sidelines of the conversation.

Develop your personality.

As with all relationships, people will get to know you better as time goes on. Your public persona will grow and mature. Familiarity will develop among everyone connected to you. Inside jokes will form. Achievements will be celebrated. Memories – good and bad – will be carried in the circles of people you interact with in your community. As your public comes to know more about you, your levels of meaningful interaction will increase. As time goes on, more of your personality will shine through as you relate to people who share similar interests and situations. Don’t force your personality into something it isn’t. Let things happen naturally.Your audience will continue to grow as well. You will interact with more people and at different levels of interest and engagement. A core fan base will begin to form. As your audience grows, you will have different types of interaction with your public based on how long they’ve known you and the level of engagement they have with your brand. This is an important step in the development of your voice. Don’t force your personality into something it isn’t. Let things happen naturally. Meet regularly to discuss what’s happening and how things are evolving. If you have multiple people or departments interacting with the public, then everyone must be organized and allowed to be themselves at the same time.

Get started now!

Websites do not magically generate traffic. Brands do not develop a following because they exist or because they simply fulfill a need. You must invest in relationships outside of your site for your public to begin interacting with your site, its content and then your direct offerings. Once you’ve proven that you can build relationships in other places, your followers will begin to want to hear from you directly and join in the conversations taking place on your site. However, even when they become regular subscribers, your relationship-building efforts should not stop there. Manage the conversation on your site as you do within your social media circles. Your commitment to interacting with the public who are engaging with your site must grow to match your commitment to building your site’s content and reputation (read more on the Web Marketing Universe). What does all this hard work and earnest effort yield? Genuine and memorable relationships – both with individuals and with the community at large. A word of caution: Rarely in the beginning will your efforts result in direct sales. However, you will build a solid, long-term foundation in awareness, trust and loyalty for your brand. When someone asks your subscribers if they “know a guy,” they’ll have an answer, a brand, a name they trust, a site address and a link to forward. In time, you will have a great reputation within your community. Competitors will be playing catch-up and struggling to compete against a trusted name – a difficult and expensive endeavor.

Shift your investment.

If this seems daunting – it is. However, much of the traditional advertising budgets of old are being cut and redirected to more productive ends. Consider realigning your marketing dollars to channels where the people are. Social media is a long-term investment.As with all Internet marketing and development, social media is a long-term investment. Success requires hard work, patience and commitment – all things that traditional corporate thinking with its penchant for straightforward, quick fixes doesn’t allow. However, that’s also why stodgy corporate diehards will be relegated to the antiquated methods of carpet-bombing, interruption-based advertising as the penalty for not allowing real people to engage real future customers. Using technology is important, but not at the sacrifice of the personal touch. This is where a good Internet marketing agency shines. Its goal is to help you evolve the ways in which your brand is represented to the public. In addition, a good Internet marketing plan allows for quality interaction at many different levels. A national brand, regional chain or the local bakery must differ in their approaches. Again, social media is never a one-size-fits-all solution. If you are going to take control of your fate with the public, you cannot cut corners, or you will be found out and exposed. No matter the level of business planning behind the scenes, stick to your fundamental principles: be real, be consistent and give generously. If you start today, years from now you’ll be glad you did. The decisions consumers make today are based on relationships forged years ago. Remember, real relationships create fans. Fans are more than loyal customers; they are people that do your marketing for you. In part two of this series, The Cult of Personality, we’ll be sitting down with Eliza Metz of Lime & Violet to learn how a simple idea grew into a yarn empire.

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