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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Is Your Content Classic?

Epiphanies and pop music

Epiphanies – those magic Aha! moments that change our thinking – often occur at the most unexpected times.

I had an Aha! moment of my own recently as I sat in my favorite diner, eating nachos and reading a challenge from Fame Foundry's Tara Hornor to return to tried-and-true marketing tactics. As a writer, I was naturally prompted to think about that challenge in terms of how it pertains content development.

In today’s Information Age, the best way to build trust with and win over new customers is to go above and beyond in giving them value, and content is one of the most effective tools we have to deliver that value. Indeed, content is king, but in the push to fill every corner of the Web with our "thought leadership," videos, photos, posts and tweets, we've created such a vast cacophony of information that it’s simply impossible to take it all in. So – it begs the question – how can your singular voice rise above the din to be heard by your clients and prospects?

Suddenly, my thoughts were disrupted by heavenly tones descending from the speaker above my table and into my psyche. It was Roy Orbison singing "Only the Lonely."  In that moment, I had an epiphany.

More than 50 years after he recorded it, Orbison's pop-music masterpiece – his form of content – is still loved by masses. He and so many great artists like him poured themselves into a few dozen songs, a handful of which have become classics that continue to be discovered and adored by new audiences decades later.

What if the content we produce as marketers had that kind of staying power?

Here are six key strategies that can help you create classic content that resonates with readers and stands the test of time.

Keep calm and carry on.

There's a lot of pressure these days to produce content at breakneck speeds for an increasingly diverse array of mediums. If you cringe when a hot new social media network emerges because you dread having to master and manage yet another touchpoint, you are not alone.

So give yourself permission to hit pause on the content-o-mattic. Take a breather, set aside the “How much?” for a moment and reflect on the “How?”.

There's no denying the value of producing content. We're going to keep doing it. But let's think about how we can do it better. How we can make more of our content classic?

Know your stuff.

There's an old saying among writers: "The best writers are prolific readers."

The idea here is that consuming a steady diet of the thoughts and talents of others will inspire and enhance your own. Essentially, you're standing on the shoulders of others as you reach for even greater ideas and insights.

We can easily apply this principle to our marketing content. It's important to have a broad understanding of the greater conversations that are taking place in your industry as well as a keen awareness of the primary players and messages that are buzzing about your own market niche.

Keeping up with what others are saying is often a great source of inspiration for new perspectives that haven't yet been considered. Alternatively, you can also avoid rehashing subject matter that has been entirely overdone so that you don’t waste your time developing yawn-inducing content that seems unoriginal and redundant.

Balance timeliness with the timeless.

Providing commentary on current trends is a proven content strategy because it shows that you have a finger on the pulse of your market.

The problem with this type of hot-topic content is that it can have a short shelf-life. So to stretch the value of this content, find a way to tie trends to timeless principles. Demonstrate to your readers where these “of-the-moment” opportunities fit into the bigger picture. This kind of insight can still be valuable weeks, months or maybe even years after the market has moved on from the news that inspired it.

Call in the experts.

It takes time to get input from experts, but the payoff in credibility is huge.

Your company probably has a good many subject matter experts (SMEs) already on the payroll who can provide valuable insights for prospects and customers – and can do so from the perspective of your company.

Identify the SMEs in your company, and invite them to lunch to chat about the pieces you're working on that relate to their specialties, and if possible, give them credit as contributors.

And don’t forget to venture outside of your organization to seek the input of other resources, such as university professors, journalists or consultants. These individuals are usually happy to have an outlet to share their expertise and advice on the subject matter that they’re most passionate about.

Focus on substance and style.

Making your content classic is as much about style as it is substance. Roy Orbison built a hip, sophisticated look with his shades and suits that complemented his brand of smooth songwriting.

When it comes to your written content, following the basic principles of good writing will help your content resonate with the greatest number of people and for the longest period of time possible.

First, write well. If you don't have writing talent on staff, pay someone. If you have a decent writer, pay an editor to give you feedback and guard the voice of your brand.

Second, avoid hype, clichés and stereotypes. Don't simply squawk about your products and services. Making unsubstantiated, too-good-to-be-true claims is a sure-fire way to kill your credibility. And nothing says "lazy and unoriginal" like expressing concepts using the same examples and references as everyone else.

Speaking of which, illustrations and examples are important to helping your readers understand complex concepts, but don't use ones that may be irrelevant in six months. For example, a story that draws parallels to the philosophies of Martin Luther King will be relevant long after one that references whichever celebutante is making tabloid headlines today.

Third, don't use obscure references that the majority of your audience won't understand. The effect you create by doing so is very off-putting to readers, like being in the room when someone makes an inside joke and you don't get it. You feel out of the loop at best or left out intentionally at worst. The exception here is if you’re writing for a niche audience that you know will get the reference (for example, jokes about what Klingons eat in an article written for a Star Trek blog), as this can show your audience that you’re really one of them.

Finally, proofread. Sure the culture of the Web has made casual writing the norm, but punctuation errors, misspellings and poor word choice will diminish the perception of expertise and professionalism you want to convey. A tweet with a typo is no big deal, but a white paper riddled with misspelled words is quite a different matter. Never publish content that hasn't been proofread by someone else. Better yet, keep an editor on retainer for that purpose.

Be a Buffet.

Inevitably, when it comes to content marketing, there are demons to battle, such as writing to advance your SEO objectives at the expense of reader experience or producing "fluff" pieces that deliver little real value just to keep the insatiable content machine fed.

We can learn a valuable lesson here from the world of investment, where there's a lot of energy wasted on getting in early and growing by building buzz. However, this kind of Bernie Madoff behavior will eventually catch up with you and undermine your relationship with your readers.

Instead, you’ll always be better served by taking the Warren Buffet approach: focusing on the big picture, building on what you know and refusing to sacrifice long-term gains for a quick payoff.

So when you find yourself facing the temptation to take shortcuts or chase trends, remember which approach has been proven to be the most influential over the long term. After all, which of these men will be remembered as a fly-by-night shyster and which a luminary?

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Check it Out: 10 Ways to Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment

It’s not over until the cash register rings

A customer has found your site, browsed your store and added several items to their cart. You’re home free, right? No so fast...until they’ve confirmed their purchase, you’re still at zero, and you still have plenty of opportunities to derail the sale. Fatal flaws in your checkout process can not only cost you the potential sale at hand but also drastically decrease the likelihood of that customer ever returning to your site to buy from you in the future. If you’re experiencing a high occurrence of shopping cart abandonment, here are 10 ways to fix the obstacles and annoyances that are driving away customers and crippling your conversion rates:

1. Eliminate all chance of unpleasant surprises.

Make sure customers have all the information they need upfront to make a confident buying decision. This includes confirming the availability of the item; calculating promotional pricing or discounts; mapping out shipping options, costs and timetables; specifying whether or not sales tax applies to the purchase and clearly defining your return policy. If a customer reaches checkout only to discover that the particular item they wanted is out of stock, ineligible for an advertised discount or costs more to ship than they are willing to pay, odds are good that will be the last you see of them.

2. Display relevant details in the cart.

The shopping cart itself should provide a clear overview of the pending purchase at a glance so that customers do not have to navigate away from the checkout process to confirm the details of their order. Keep in mind that by this point in the process, your shopper may well have clicked to and from the cart numerous times as they selected multiple items, browsed various categories of products or compared one item to another, and they may be fuzzy on the specifics of everything they’ve chosen. Without the benefit of being able to glance down into a physical shopping cart to review their selections, they need reassurance that the package that lands on their doorstep will contain exactly what they intend, so be sure to provide thumbnail images, descriptions, quantities, sizes, colors, prices, availability and applicable discounts for each product in the cart.

3. Allow changes within the cart.

Every time your customer navigates away from the cart, you’re running the risk of losing them, so make sure that they can edit details such as quantity, size and color without having to locate the product page a second time.

4. Offer multiple payment options.

If you’re conducting e-commerce business online, your site should be tied in to a secure payment gateway. However, offering the option to complete the transaction through a third-party processor like PayPal or Google Checkout can put some customers – especially those who may not shop online often – at ease because they don’t have to release their credit card number and billing information directly to you. Conversely, PayPal and Google Checkout shouldn’t be the only options you provide. If a customer does not already have an account established with one of these payment processors, they may not want to create one just to do business with you.

5. Don’t require customers to create an account.

Without a doubt, it’s awfully tempting to require customers to create an account to complete their purchase because it will allow you to collect valuable data from them for future sales analysis and marketing. However, given the sheer number of social media and e-commerce sites that your customers likely interact with, they may very well have account creation fatigue. They may not want to establish yet another user account and password just to make a purchase, especially if they don’t necessarily anticipate ordering from you again in the near future. The best approach is to offer two options: checking out as a guest, which will expedite the process, or creating an account, which offers conveniences appealing to those who do shop with you often, such as eliminating the need to re-enter their shipping and billing information every time they make a purchase and allowing them to check on the status of an order. The key is to let your customer make the choice that suits them best; don’t force the issue and lose a sure sale in pursuit of future marketing opportunities.

6. Simplify and streamline.

Online shoppers are notoriously impatient, so don’t ask for more information than you need to complete the transaction, and don’t break the checkout process into more steps than necessary. Make sure as well to display a breadcrumb trail that indicates how the checkout process will progress. If a customer can see at step one that they only have three steps left to complete their order, they won’t get impatient or frustrated as they move from one screen to the next, not knowing what’s coming next or when the process will be done.

7. Cater to the on-the-go shopper.

When evaluating your checkout process, don’t forget about mobile users. A customer may be standing in the bricks-and-mortar store of your competitor and comparison shopping on their phone. If you offer the better price, don’t you want to make it as easy as possible for this customer – who’s clearly ready to buy – to order from you on the spot instead? This is another reason why it’s critical to streamline the steps within your checkout process as much as possible as well as to ensure that form fields can be easily completed on touch-based devices. Walk through your checkout process on as many different types of mobile devices and platforms as you can get your hands on, and don’t waste any time in eliminating any obstacles or road blocks that you discover.

8. Don’t give up too soon.

In the age of multitasking, sometimes a customer will simply get distracted before they have a chance to complete their transaction. The phone rings, the baby wakes up from her nap, the computer freezes, the pizza delivery guy arrives, etc. Or sometimes, they just need some extra time to make a decision while they continue to do research, get opinions from friends and the like. While you can’t do anything to mitigate this type of offline interference, you still have a chance to save the sale. A persistent shopping cart retains the items your customer has selected for a set period of time, whether that’s a few hours or a few days. When your customer has a chance to return to their computer, they can pick up exactly where they left off rather than facing the hassle of tracking down each item again, even if they had closed their browser window.

9. Never underestimate the importance of the human element.

If your customer has a question as they are progressing through checkout, the easiest, most reliable way to ensure they don’t lose momentum is to display your customer service phone number prominently at every step along the way. A simple question should have a simple resolution, and usually that is best provided in real time by a human being. If you leave your customers to their own devices to find the answers they need, you’re running the risk of allowing them to become distracted or frustrated and losing all interest in completing the order.

10. Reinforce trust at every turn.

As with all elements of doing business online, trust is key. In the absence of face-to-face human contact, you must rely on your website to build trust for you if you want customers to choose to spend their hard-earned dollars with you rather than with your competitor. Some elements of trust-building in e-commerce are obvious. Do you display your SSL certificate to reinforce security? Do you feature customer testimonials or reviews to boost confidence in your reputation? Is it easy to locate your company’s phone number, physical address and return policies so they feel assured that they can resolve a problem or obtain a refund without hassle? Other elements are less tangible. Does your site have a polished, refined look and feel overall, or does it look dated or sketchy? Do you offer value-added content like how-to videos or blog articles that convey to your customers that they are doing business with experts who are knowledgeable and passionate about their products? Thanks to the proliferation of Internet scam artists, the burden of earning trust with online shoppers is steep, but it is surmountable with careful attention to detail.

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