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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How 3 Big Brands Went Hard Core With Content Marketing (And the Lessons You Can Learn From Their Success)

In spite of all the hype that surrounds content marketing these days, many businesses still have lingering questions about exactly how to use content as a viable marketing strategy:

• What exactly is content?
• How do I know if this approach is right for my business?
• What resources do I need?
• How do I measure the return on our investment?
• My company sells widgets, so why would we need it?

In the face of such uncertainty, it's human nature – and therefore the nature of business – to look to those around us for guidance and inspiration. This is especially true for brands that have earned our respect. We may not always have access to the carefully guarded data behind their decisions, but where and how those organizations invest their marketing dollars is telling.

So let’s look at how three top brands – a lifestyle products company, a professional services association and an e-commerce behemoth – are investing in content to build relationships with customers and drive sales.

Cooking up content with Williams-Sonoma

Known for its high-end kitchen products, Williams-Sonoma has crafted a customer experience that’s far different from buying discount cookware off the rack at big box stores. Instead, the company has built a lifestyle brand around the idea of just how rich life in the kitchen can be.

As a result, it's no surprise that Williams-Sonoma's website is well stocked with content about the food-lover lifestyle, including recipes, wine, entertaining ideas and gardening tips.

The brand, however, has taken content-as-marketing-strategy a giant leap further by developing a website dedicated solely to kitchen design and remodeling – Cultivate.com – with features like premium photo galleries for design inspiration and a database of remodeling professionals aimed at helping readers create their dream kitchens.

Cultivate content partnerships Williams-Sonoma style

With Cultivate, Williams-Sonoma has done something noteworthy by forming strategic partnerships with both premium brands and remodeling professionals. As a result, they've created both a high-quality remodeling resource for consumers and a powerful sales tool for business.

It's a win/win/win scenario.

First, Williams-Sonoma wins because these partners, incentivized to provide great content for the site, bring additional expertise and value to readers while simultaneously easing the resource burden of producing so much high quality content. Williams-Sonoma can equip your kitchen with gadgetry, but "A Shopper's Guide to White Marble Counters" is outside the brand's focus. Fortunately, premium tile company and Cultivate partner Walker Zanger has the expertise and credibility with customers to fill that content void.

Second, the partners win because William-Sonoma has created a micro-marketplace and platform for engaging with customers already primed for their products. The site's powerful photo gallery feature lets users search kitchen designs by color, layout, style and cost, and all of the content is professionally produced by design and architectural firms eager to feature their services.

Last and most importantly, readers win because they get a better resource for kitchen remodeling, with professionally written content, expert advice, special offers and carefully curated products – all in one convenient package.

Even if you don't have a Cultivate-sized budget, your business can still take advantage of content partnerships and the benefits they provide. The key is to identify other companies that compliment – not compete with – your products or services.

For example, a business law firm could partner with both a CPA and management consultancy to create an advice blog serving local business owners.

Or, as a starting point, consider having other businesses provide some guest posts for your company blog. This toe-in-the-water approach allows you to test how well their content resonates with customers and which potential cohorts are the right fit, all before diving into a content partnership.

Just like cooking, gardening and most other things in life, it's often wise to start small, learn from both your mistakes and your success, and then grow from there.

Content from REALTORS that really hits home

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) has long positioned itself as the foremost authority on home ownership, and its impressive credentials back up that message. It's the largest trade association in the U.S. with over 1 million members and its own political action committee.

So it makes sense that its brand message to potential clients is that Realtors, as experts on everything from property values to legal issues, are essential to navigating the complexities of buying or selling a home.

The challenge when selling professional services, however, is that you are, according to best-selling marketing author Harry Beckwith, "selling the invisible." There's no product to return for a refund if the customer is dissatisfied, and the stakes are often higher, both in cost and risk. So building trust with your clientele before they sign a contract is critical.

NAR is using content to build this trust and reinforce the perception of its brand as a network of specialized experts through HouseLogic.com, an exhaustive information resource dedicated to all areas of homeownership, including:

• DIY home improvement and maintenance
• Working with contractors
• Outdoor and green living
• Understanding insurance, home financing and taxes
• Education about home ownership legislation and causes
• Working with a Realtor

Want to gauge whether to tackle a home improvement project yourself or hire a contractor?

What's the difference between a standard home equity loan and an FHA 203(k) loan?

Who are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

HouseLogic holds the answer. So what key content lessons does HouseLogic hold for the rest of us?

Build content the REALTOR way

First, build to your brand. HouseLogic draws visitors in with content about curb appeal and customized kitchens, but it doesn't stop there. Rather, it moves beyond these themes common to thousands of other sites and addresses issues more critical for homeowners – issues only the NAR could speak to. This depth and breadth reinforces the REALTOR brand as the definitive information resource for homeowners.

If you're a product company, create content that mirrors the space where your products intersect with your customers' lifestyles. If you provide services, make sure your content approach supports the emotions that you want customers to associate with your brand, whether trust, enjoyment, security or convenience.

Second, hire pros as much as possible. Realtors want you to rely on their professional expertise, so HouseLogic follows that thinking by using experienced content creators who are knowledgeable about the topics they're covering. For example:

One writer covering home decor and improvement, is a "HouseLogic contributor and builder of luxury homes in McLean, Va. She’s been a Homes editor for Gannett News Service and has reviewed home improvement products for AOL."

Another who writes about DIY repairs and remodeling, "has written or edited over 60 books on home repair and remodeling for The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset, and Reader’s Digest. He's a former contractor with decades of hands-on experience."

Your organization may not have NAR's resources, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't invest in creating as much great content as your budget allows. In these freelance-friendly times, there are writers and editors aplenty. Or save yourself the hassle and outsource your content entirely to a trusted digital marketing firm that understands the intersection of the Web, content and customer experience.

And don’t forget about photography and video production – two other content areas where it's typically better to hire a pro than to do it yourself. For some brands, a slick video may seem to sales-y while a more amateur style video could come across as more genuine.

Keep in mind, the main objective is not to simply to look professional but to build your reputation as an expert in your field, and hiring a professional can help you find that focus.

Content to cart with Amazon.com

While Amazon.com has built an e-tail empire hawking content such as books, movies and music, the brand's approach to connecting with customers through content is just as impressive.

Unlike Williams-Sonoma, NAR and probably 99 percent of other companies using content to grow their businesses, Amazon has chosen to buy rather than build, to purchase a stake in pre-existing communities and their rich content rather than producing their own. And boy have they picked winners.

IMDB.com (Internet Movie Database) is essentially the Wikipedia of film and television. The content is entirely created by the user community, covering cast lists, photos, trailer clips, script overviews, production notes, trivia, industry news and much more. It's the destination site for lovers of film and television.

Similarly, DPReview.com (Digital Photography Review) has been providing in-depth reviews of cameras and photography equipment for years, building a large and engaged community of pro and amateur photographers who share their questions and insights in forums and their photos in galleries.

It's not difficult to see why Amazon would want to tap into these content communities. Ads and obvious calls-to-action allow site visitors to easily move from an article about a movie or camera to the corresponding product page on Amazon.

But Amazon has very impressively exercised much restraint here, choosing to be present in the content but not dominate it. In other words, Amazon didn't start meddling with what the community had built. To do so would have meant a breakdown of user trust and therefore site traffic and sales. They don't care which camera or movie you buy, as long as you're buying it from Amazon.

Connecting with content communities

Amazon is a trail-blazing company in many ways, and their decision to to plug in rather than publish on their own is a path worth considering, especially for organizations just starting out with content marketing.

You don't have to build a great content site if you can buy one that's already providing great content and has a loyal following. If that sounds too expensive, then look for a small but respected blog in your niche market to use as a test project.

If you can't buy at all, you can still make the most of other people's content by growing your own presence in their communities. Engage in forums and contribute content to their sites.

If you do buy a site, stay out of the way. DPReview's press release about being acquired by Amazon includes a reassuring "we-won't-break-it" quote from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: “DPReview.com is by far the most authoritative source anywhere for straight talk about new digital cameras. We at Amazon.com have been their fans for a long time, and we extend a big welcome to the dpreview.com team.” The release goes on to reassure everyone that the site "will continue to function as a stand-alone operation."

It will be tempting to try to bend the conversations and content in your favor and promote your products extensively, but such heavy handedness is a quick way to kill an online community. Don't ruin the trust that's already been created between the site and its followers.

These themes of building trust and providing value are the common threads that connect Amazon, the National Association of REALTORS, Williams-Sonoma and every other company that's doing content marketing well. It is without a doubt the most important lesson we can learn from their examples.

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Playing the Stock Market: Seven Tips for Choosing the Right Images for Your Website

In a perfect world, every image on your website would be meticulously staged, lit and captured for you by the professional photographer of your choosing. But more often than not, budgetary realities don’t afford the luxury of being able to commission a photo shoot to fulfill every visual need on your site. Fortunately, advancements in digital photography have allowed amateur shutterbugs to create images that can stand shoulder to shoulder with those produced by the pros. As a result, the availability of excellent, high-quality stock photography has increased dramatically in recent years, and following the rule of supply and demand, the cost of these images has decreased. Whereas once major players like Getty dominated the market and commanded top dollar for every frame, today there is a proliferation of stock image sites that offer vast libraries of eye-catching images for very reasonable prices. The incredible selection of stock images available to us today is both a blessing and a curse. It’s amazing to have so many choices, but the sheer magnitude of the selection can prove daunting at times. How do you choose the right photo for your project? What should you be looking for in a stock photo, and conversely, what should you seek to avoid? Here are seven simple dos and donts that will help you master the stock market and find the best images to represent your brand and create an appealing visual tableau on your website.

1. Do: Know where to look.

In terms of cost, the stock photography market can be broken down into three basic classes: Free: Compfight and morgueFile are two examples of sites that feature images that fall under the Creative Commons license, which means you can use them for free. When dealing in these types of images, make sure you read the fine print because some are approved for commercial use while others are restricted to personal use only. While the price tag may seem appealing, many of the images you’ll find on these free sites are low-resolution and poorer quality than those you would find on other stock sites. The selection is also much more limited. After all, you do get what you pay for! Low cost: Veer, iStock and Bigstock are three excellent stock sites that offer a great selection of images in a variety of sizes. Photos on these sites range in cost from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars a piece, depending on the source and the size. Another very low cost (almost free) option is Dollar Photo Club. A one-year subscription to this site costs $99, but that membership includes 99 image downloads, with additional downloads costing just $1 each. The selection on Dollar Photo Club is on par with other stock photo sites, and all images are large, high-resolution files. Premium: The top echelon of stock photography sites – which includes industry stalwarts like Getty and Corbis – are much more restrictive in the selection of their contributing photographers. While they command much higher license fees for their images, the benefit to paying top dollar is that their photos are not as widely used as those found on lower-cost alternatives, so they have a more unique feel.

2. Do: Know your rights.

The process of purchasing a stock image is not necessarily as straightforward as buying your average widget. Because these images are the intellectual property of the photographer that created them, there are usage rights attached to them that govern the length of time, medium, size, format and location of use. Again, there are three categories you’ll need to understand: Royalty free: This is the most common license type you’ll find in today’s market, and it is also the most ideal, as it is the least restrictive. This license allows you to pay for an image once and use it without limits across multiple projects. Rights managed: This type of license allows you to use the image for a limited period of time for a specified medium or application. If you want to continue using the image after this time period expires or for a different purpose, you must pay more to renew the license. Extended: Some sites allow you to “extend” the license on an image in order to use it in ways not typically allowed under a rights-managed license structure. This is often done on a case-by-case basis and it usually applies to using an image on tangible goods (t-shirts, posters, etc.). Such a license is rarely, if ever, needed for the images you will be using on your website. Try to stick with royalty-free images as much as possible, as they are the easiest to manage for long-term use on the Web, and there’s no lack of excellent quality photos that come with this option.

3. Don’t: Be afraid to dig deep.

When searching for stock images, you’ll naturally start by querying a term or keyword that relates to the type of image you need. When reviewing the results of your search, however, don’t be too quick to select images that appear on the first few pages. These are undoubtedly the most popular images because many searchers that have come before you have already downloaded them. This means that the early results are also images you are most likely to see used (and perhaps overused) elsewhere. Don’t be afraid to jump ahead in the results pages to see what images you can uncover deeper in your search. Often, there are amazing photos that are far less popular, and using these hidden gems minimizes the risk that your selection will show up elsewhere – like your competitor’s website.

4. Don’t: Fall into the “handshake photo” trap.

We’ve all seen the “handshake photo” – the bland, uninspired image of two men in suits (or at least shirts and ties) shaking hands that is universal visual shorthand for “doing business.” Generic stock images like these make your website look like it’s straight out of the template factory. Because these images are so very commonplace, if you decide to use them on your site, you all but guarantee that the impression you leave with your visitors will not be a memorable one. Besides the aforementioned “businessmen shaking hands” image, other terribly overused and cliched stock photos include:

• The smiling customer service representative wearing a headset (“We’re here to help!”)
• Chess pieces (meant to illustrate “strategy”)
• A group of businesspeople (with the appropriately diverse representation of gender and ethnicity, of course) sitting around a conference room table doing....business of some kind? (representing “collaboration”)

Undoubtedly, you’ve encountered photos like theses many, many times in your travels around the Web, although you probably don’t recall them – exactly the reason you want to avoid these utterly forgettable images at all costs!

5. Do: Be mindful of people problems.

If you decide to use a stock image of a person on your site, keep in mind that this person is becoming the de facto face of your company. It may sound crazy, but I have seen testing sessions where users react negatively to a company due to a stock image of a person. “I don’t like the way they look” or “I don’t trust them” are two comments I have heard. While you and I know and recognize that this is a stock image and that the person in the photo has nothing to do with your company, many casual users don’t think this way. They see a photo of another human being, and they instinctively react to it. If that reaction is a negative one, then they will naturally come away with an unfavorable impression of your brand as well. Whenever you use stock photos of people, realize the impact of those decisions. Whoever graces the front page of your website is welcoming your visitors and representing your organization by default.

6. Don’t: Forget about orientation.

Photos come in two orientations – portrait and landscape. As its name suggests, portrait orientation is like a portrait, with the height of the image being greater than the width. A landscape image is just the opposite, with the width being greater than the height. When reviewing stock image options, it’s important to be mindful of where this image will be used on your site and which orientation is best suited for that space. If you select the wrong orientation, the image will need be cropped to fit the space, which can sometimes result in an awkward and unattractive end result that negates the effect you were hoping to create.

7. Do: Check the price tag

While the price of stock images on the whole has come down significantly from where it was many years ago, photos can still vary quite widely in cost – especially when you are dealing in rights-managed images. Fortunately, many sites allows you to limit your search to a specified price range and to royalty-free images so that you don’t find the perfect photo only to discover that it’s a major budget-buster. I personally really like using Dollar Photo Club for the simple fact that all images on the site are just $1, so I never have to worry about an image being out of my price range, because I know what I will spend before I even start my search! If you are using a stock image site that does not offer this type of flat-rate pricing, just be mindful of the prices of the images you are considering, and remember that you will probably need many images to complete your web development project, so don’t blow your budget on any one photo.

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