For the love of loyalty

Wether you want to launch a business, or have an existing business that is performing well and gets results, loyalty can accelerate your rate of growth. As a small business coach consultant that has worked with many small businesses, I am the testimonial for loyalty programs. A marketing inititative that can, and should be added to your marketing strategy to increase your customer retention and capture more of the market share away from your competitors. Year over year a loyalty program will get stronger and stronger and pull more and more business away from competitors, keeping you a leader in your industry.

Loyalty programs are effective for both goods and service based small businesses in Canada and globally. Maybe you have pursued this path before and had immediate results but dropped the ball along the way, or maybe you have resisted while waiting patiently for the perfect platform to ignite your loyalty offers. Either way, now is a better time than any to consider and reevaluate your existing loyalty program and CRM solutions that offer this value added process.

Here are a few tips to think about as you go.

1) Think long-term. If you have not committed to a loyalty program, then be sure to do you research to find a platform, CRM, or POS solution that offers you everything you need, and that the price point is fair, as it will likely continue to rise year over year. You do not want to tie yourself to a loyalty program that you find doesn’t suit you as you grow and becomes more of a liability in the process. It will be very hard to make a seamless switch a few years down the road when clients have accumulated points that you may not be able to transfer. It could alienate the customers that you have worked so hard to keep satisfied.

2) Do the math. If your existing CRM tool provides a loyalty program and you are already paying into it, then would it make sense to add another program to run your loyalty, both financially and for the convenience of your buyers? Be sure to consider all that before committing or making a switch.

3) If you already have a loyalty program that is working but you know can generate more revenue if it offered more options, then consider negotiating. Discover who would you like to switch your business to, and gather up pricing. Ask your current provider to offer a better price to keep your business with them, only if the savings are strong enough to make up for the loss from other features on a new platform.

4) Be sure to get creative with your loyalty offers, and make 100% certain that they offer real value. If you offer $10 off on every $1000 of groceries (yes, I have encountered this), then consumers are not motivated to stay loyal and you risk losing their business. Offer tiered discounts, or gifts to keep the margins high and increase the spending power of every possible client. Align your offers with sale season, or slow periods to get the most out of them.

5) Finally, think outside the box and test new offers that can retain more margin eg- Gift cards in dollar value vs. percentage off offers. Gamify your offers to engage your clientelle.

Every business is different and so are their business goals. One thing we all have in common is our need for growth. Loyalty can help you grow, so consider leaning into it.

Ofra Nissani provides business coaching services for small businesses who need support running and growing their business. From systems to generating revenue. Reach out for a free consultation call.