Loyalty program setup is not a really popular topic.
Most people dread hearing the words “setup” when it pertains to almost anything, and that absolutely includes loyalty program setup. But it’s pretty easy to get going, if you choose to run a simple program that gets the job done, without a lot of confusing bells and whistles that most customers will never even use.
So this episode’s topic is the loyalty program – how to figure out what you need, the best (cheapest) way to get a good loyalty program that works for you, and how to easily convince your customers to use the darn thing.
The internet loves cats.
Obviously there are many ways to skin a cat, but the bottom line is that customers like to be rewarded for their loyalty to you, especially if you can do that in a way that is not only convenient for them but actually targets what they want to see as a reward for their loyalty to you. This is where getting your loyalty program setup right from the beginning can come in super handy.
What’s in a loyalty program, anyway?
The loyalty program as we know it was really invented by the grocery stores in the late 90s, early 2000’s – there were certainly customer appreciation programs before that, but connecting a phone number with the program and using the phone number as the identifier, that’s truly genius.
First thing, it meant that customers no longer needed to carry around cards or key fob things, and they were always identifiable with something they knew very well, that of course, being their own phone number.
That’s so super genius, I just can’t tell you – it inflated loyalty program usage by multiples of thousands, just a giant stride forward for the concept. Supermarkets were also quick to give out discounts to loyalty program users, and that encouraged more people to shop with their loyalty connection.
Keep your hands to yourself.
How can you translate all this into a loyalty program that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg? We obviously think it’s through mobile wallets and leveraging existing technology on the cheap to build a program that suits your needs and makes your customers smile when they are either saving money or getting a bonus.
We’ll show you how loyalty program setup basics that include mostly mobile notifications and tracking are the best way to get started, and the best way going forward.