If you run a small business, it’s extremely important to keep your customers loyal. If you don’t, you could easily become a flash in the pan. Furthermore, building relationships with your customers starts by knowing what it is that they want and showing them that you have a vested interest in giving it to them. This is not only something to focus on with the products that you sell, but you also want to brand your business with a personality they can relate to, and having a personality for your brand starts by developing a relationship with your customers. If you want to form loyal bonds, you have to scratch their backs so that they can scratch yours. Here are five benefits of creating a loyalty program for your business.
- Return customers. Loyalty programs, such as fidelity cards, can now be made through companies like eCard Systems so that you and your customers can track purchases via mobile device. Moreover, they are a great way to ensure that your customers keep coming back. Everyone likes to know that there’s a freebie on the way, and this is the best way to ensure that your customers come back to you, rather than bouncing back and forth between you and your competitors.
- Bigger sales. When you offer incentives for people to spend more money each time they visit, you are limiting the amount of time they have to think about whether they really want to purchase more. And this will help them pull the trigger. The key to every good loyalty program is the incentive to spend more money each time the customer visits. If you offer 20% off on all purchases over $100, your customers will be far more inclined to find one or two more things to buy.
- Better advertising. When you give someone a coupon card to keep in their wallet or on their key ring, they are going to see that card all the time. Every time they rifle through their wallet to find an old credit card, or the business card of a friend, they are going to see your card. If it’s a key card, they will see it every time they go in and out of their car or house. Not to mention, every one of their friends will see that card when they are looking at those keys. In the end, you want your name and logo to be seen as much as possible to keep it on the forefront of people’s minds.
- Closer ties. People tend to have very set routines when it comes to their spending. If they have a habit of buying smoothies on a regular basis, they probably do so during their lunch break or after their evening workout. Likewise, your employees usually have a set schedule that they work. This means that your employees will start to develop a friendly rapport with your most loyal customers, giving them more reasons to come than the promise of a free smoothie at the end of the month. They’ll also just want to say hello to that person they like.
