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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Focus, Technology and Personalization: A Master Class in Branding from Apple’s Angela Ahrendts

Angela Ahrendts was recognized as a branding and marketing powerhouse well before Apple tapped her as their senior vice president of retail and online sales. Her eight-year track record at Burberry is very nearly legendary — and with good reason. When Ahrendts came to Burberry in 2006, growth at the venerable company had nearly come to a standstill, but within just a few years, she had re-established the brand as a force to be reckoned with in the luxury market. Through a combination of savvy use of technology and some hard-nosed business moves, she rebuilt the Burberry label brick-by-brick, and by the time she left for Apple, had nearly tripled the company’s annual revenue. And while your company’s marketing budget and resources surely are a drop in the bucket compared to Apple’s or Burberry’s, that doesn’t mean we can’t take a page from her syllabus and learn to how to emulate her innovative approach to branding building. So why don’t we all turn our attention to Professor Ahrendts, and let her teach us how to embrace the principles and practices that brought her phenomenal success at Burberry and got Apple’s attention.

Focus, focus, focus

When Ahrendts became CEO of Burberry, she inherited a brand in turmoil. The venerable 150-year old name was no longer synonymous with luxury; instead it had become the label of choice for British hooligans — so much, in fact, that some pubs refused to allow patrons inside if they were wearing Burberry. Outside the UK, the situation was even worse. Burberry had forged licensing agreements with more than a dozen international companies, and those companies were creating their own inferior products, then stamping them with the Burberry label. While Burberry was foundering, the luxury market as a whole was growing. Ahrendts found herself competing against well-established brands in a competitive market where her company had lost all advantage. Her response? Focus.

The brand

She began by finding what she refers to in interviews as her “white space” — the niche in the market that only Burberry could fill. And she found Burberry had two things that made it completely unique: it was British, and it had a history that spanned 150 years back to a single overcoat. These two features have been the touchstones guiding Burberry ever since in every piece of marketing, every fashion show and every story the brand has told — British models on the runway, British music on the website and in stores, and those classic trenchcoats always on prominent display.

The market

With a clear focus for the brand established, Ahrendts moved into market research to find the white space among consumers. Research told her something interesting – something that competing brands had either completely missed or ignored. The demographic group spending the most money on luxury consumer goods, especially in emerging markets, was the Millennial generation. So she landed upon the concept of “democratic luxury” as a way to bring the Burberry brand to a younger generation, avoiding the stuffy image many luxury brands promoted and making Burberry young, exciting and friendly.

The vision

Her final area of concern was all those licenses that were diluting the brand. Burberry bought back the licenses and established tight control over every single item that carried the Burberry label, from products to marketing campaigns. The new rule was simple: anything visible to the consumer passed through the hands of Chief Creative Officer Chris Bailey, the keeper of Burberry’s brand vision.

Digital first

Ahrendts has said that she views digital technology as a force for driving change rather than a marketing tool – a philosophy that is front and center in all of Burberry’s online outreach efforts. Take, for example, the Art of the Trench and the Burberry Kisses campaigns. Neither is designed as a direct-sell campaign but rather as a way to connect with, engage with and delight consumers. Then there’s Acoustic Burberry — a showcase of up-and-coming British musicians featured online and in Burberry stores. This integration of online and physical worlds is another of Ahrendts’ trademarks, and it’s embodied in Burberry’s flagship store, opened under her direction in 2012. Her stated goal was to make walking through a store exactly like browsing the Burberry website, and that goal is more than met. The store leverages cutting-edge technology to create a truly unique experience for customers. One great example is the use of chips embedded into selected products to activate interactive screens showcasing the story behind each item. Even runway shows blur the line between online and physical reality. Burberry now live-streams their fashion shows and allows online viewers to purchase items they see on the runway — well before they’re actually available in stores. It’s this seamless integration of worlds that has made the Burberry brand unique among its peers.

And always personal

Angela Ahrendts has also pioneered the use of technology to truly personalize the Burberry brand experience. In the stores, associates carry iPads with access to an international database of customers that provide purchase histories and personal preferences in order to allow them to provide their clients with a higher level of service. And online, customers are given the opportunity to customize items with nameplates and personalized technology. Orders placed online are even confirmed by a personal call from a Burberry rep.

Your takeaway

Angela Ahrendts has established herself as a branding genius — and Apple stands to benefit immeasurably under her guidance. Take her philosophy as an example, and reap some of the same benefits in your own market and on your own scale: Keep a clear focus on your brand story. Maintain control over your brand. Find your audience and learn to speak their language, which Ahrendts would say is digital. And discover ways to differentiate your product through presentation and personal service.

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Ten Secrets to Must-Read Copy

If you’re counting on your website to help you grow your business (as well you should be), then you must accomplish three goals:

• You must get them there. That’s traffic building disciplines such as SEO and extending your content to places beyond your own website.
• You must engage them. That’s great design and user interface.
• You must persuade them to stay and, ultimately, to buy. That’s where razor-sharp content comes in.

The myth of web copy

The often-used argument, "no one reads anything" is true, but it’s only half the story.

The fact of the matter is that no one reads anything that doesn’t hold their interest or isn't a pleasure to read.

You have only seconds to make the case for visitors to stay on your site and give you their time and attention. Overcoming the burden of proof that your content is interesting and relevant is a formidable challenge but one that can be conquered, if you know the tricks of the trade.

Here are the 10 secrets to writing copy that demands to be read:

1. Start strong.

Grab readers' attention and make the case that what follows is relevant to their interests.

Your headings are your first make-or-break point in determining whether a reader will continue to delve deeper into your site or give up and look elsewhere to find what they need. They must grab attention and make the case that what follows is relevant to their interests.

In this way, your copy should flow like runners in a relay race. A great headline will motivate your readers to continue to the first sentence below. A strong first sentence will keep them hooked as they move to the second sentence and so on.

You must start strong and then maintain sharp, focused writing throughout to lead readers inch-by-inch down the page.

2. Break it up.

If you have only one heading on a page, you have only one opportunity to sell your content to the reader.

Don’t put all your eggs in that basket. Instead, divide your copy into sections by topic and cap them off with subheads. In doing so, you create multiple chances to grab the reader’s attention as they scan the page looking for information that is relevant and interesting.

Each subsection should have a main idea and a distinct purpose. Breaking up your text into bite-sized bits is not a band-aid for lazy writing that doesn’t get right to the point.

Prioritize and make your most important points first to minimize your chances of losing the reader before they reach your key sales message.

3. Keep it short, sweet and scannable.

No matter who your target reader is, you can be sure of one fact: their time is a precious  and limited resource. You’ll never have more than a minute to show the goods, make your point, build your case or speak your mind.

The tendency of readers on the Web is to scan down the page to identify interesting information or answers to their questions.

They aren’t likely to read more than a few sentences at a time, so make sure your key points are easily identifiable. Use call outs and sidebars to say, “Hey, you, look at this!”

Bullet points are your friends. So are periods. Short, concise sentences are easier to process while scanning.

Forget what you learned in school about paragraph structure. If a paragraph needs to be one sentence, so be it. It’s better to make sure your most important information doesn’t get overlooked than to please your sixth grade grammar teacher.

4. Choose your words carefully.

Every word on the page ticks down the clock on the window of opportunity for you to convert a visitor to a customer.

Naturally, you have great passion for what you do, and you want to share as much information as possible about your product or service with anyone who will listen.

Unfortunately, in today's culture of the Web, you just don't have that luxury.

Every word on the page ticks down the clock on the window of opportunity for you to convert a visitor to a customer.

Channel your enthusiasm for your business into making sure that your content is concise yet powerful. One fantastic sentence that hits the bullseye will serve you better than a mediocre, rambling paragraph any day of the week.

Challenge yourself to pare your text down to only what's absolutely essential. Be ruthless in writing and rewriting to ensure that there are no wasted words.

Edit, edit, edit. And when you think you are done, edit again.

5. Don’t forget to qualify and quantify.

Broad statements raise red flags of mistrust for readers.

Brevity is not a license to write in sweeping generalities. Broad statements that aren’t supported with facts or evidence immediately raise red flags of mistrust for readers.

It’s important to be specific. Don’t write excessively flowery prose like you’re describing menu items at a restaurant. Do provide meaningful details.

Statistics and customer testimonials are great assets that add credibility to your key sales messages without wasting words.

6. Write like a human.

When writing for your website, don’t turn into a keyword-spewing robot, and don’t stuff your copy full of jargon and big words to make yourself sound like an expert.

Write like you would naturally talk so that you come across as a real person and not a product brochure from the 1950s. Allow your personality to shine through. It’s better to err on the side of informality than to alienate readers with stiff, lifeless writing.

Don’t think about addressing an audience. Instead, approach your writing as if you were having a conversation with one person. What would you say if they were standing in front of you?

7. Know your audience

Knowing your audience is key to knowing what to leave in and what to leave out. You don’t have to start at A if your readers are already at K.

We’re not just talking demographics here. You must think about the typical person who would land on your website, their level of sophistication with the subject matter and where they are in their decision-making process.

Is the type of product or service you provide something that is already familiar to them? If so, skip the basics. They already know they need what you have to offer, so get down to the business of demonstrating why yours is superior to the other guys’.

Are you bringing something new to the market? Then you’ll need to take a step back and educate your readers about your product (no rambling, please!) as well as why they should trust you.

8. Focus on the reader.

Answer the questions that are present in your reader’s mind.

Good writing is not about telling readers what you want them to know.

It’s definitely not about stroking your own ego.

It’s about answering the questions that are present in your reader’s mind:

• Will this solve my problem?
• Will this save me time?
• Will this save me money?
• Is this company trustworthy?
• What if I’m not happy with the product or service I receive?

As you address these concerns, think less about features and more about benefits:

• What value will they receive from your product or service?
• What do they already use or possess, and why is yours better?
• What is not having your product costing them in terms of time, money, efficiency or even happiness and life satisfaction?

Demonstrate how your product or service pays for itself. Anticipate sales objections and address them directly.

9. Don’t answer every question.

You don’t have to introduce yourself, make your pitch and close the sale all on one page. It’s okay to leave them wanting more.

Your job is to start the conversation.

If you can hit the sweet spot between providing just enough information to pique your readers' interest and not putting all your cards on the table at once, you open the door for them to call you, e-mail you or complete a contact form.

10. Bring in the designers.

Wait a minute – I thought this article was about good writing!

Technically, it’s about good content, which goes hand-in-hand with good design.

Good content goes hand-in-hand with good design.

It’s classic a chicken-or-the-egg scenario. If your writing is Pulitzer-worthy but your design is lackluster, you’ll turn away customers. If your design is beautiful but your writing is dull and disorganized, you’ll send them heading for the hills just as quickly. You can’t have one and not the other.

Design is the packaging for the delivery your content. If a reader lands on a page and sees nothing but a disorganized sea of text, they’ll be immediately overwhelmed, and they won’t even begin to try to make sense of it.

You need the help of a designer to paint your content on the canvas of your site. By augmenting your text with beautiful photography, illustrations, diagrams, infographics and pull-quotes, you’ll create a wonderful reading experience every time.

Need help?

While each of these tactics is simple and straightforward in theory, they are challenging to put into practice.

If you are writing your own content, it’s important to sharpen your writing skills and discipline yourself to keep your text brief but powerful.

If you’re not confident that you’re up to the task, don’t hesitate to call in the professionals. Fame Foundry’s copywriters are masters of the art form of crafting your sales message so that it is both comprehensive and to the point, while addressing the key motivations and concerns of your readers.

The investment you make up-front in ensuring that your copy is sharp, concise and well-designed is a drop in the bucket compared to the sales opportunities you’ll be guaranteed to lose as a result of dull, disorganized content that sends visitors running to Google to find a more appealing option.

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