Editor’s note: The information in the post is extracted from our “Loyalty: Up close and personal” report, It shares how to create a loyalty program for your top customers. Download your copy below:
In a fast-paced world, customers don’t have time to figure out the complexities of signing up for a brand’s loyalty program.
78% of customers said they would join a loyalty program if the sign-up process was easy and simple. Drive sign-ups and retain customers by providing a loyalty experience that is seamless, engaging and easy-to-navigate.
Not only does that process need to be easy, but the benefits of the program also need to be obvious. 77% of customers said that they would be motivated to join a loyalty program if the benefits were clearly communicated.
Creating an enjoyable user experience is key to retaining customers. Some studies placing abandoned cart rates as high as 80%, which can have a huge
Creating a fun and dynamic user experience can aid your reputation too. 63% of US customers concluded that they enjoy shopping with brands that exceed expectations across the customer journey.
There are myriad ways to put in place an enjoyable and easy loyalty experience for your customers.
Pre-purchase
Encourage customers to sign up to your loyalty program before they make a purchase by making the benefits of doing so clear. It’s annoying for a customer to find out the benefits after they’ve made a purchase, realizing they’ve missed out on points they could have earned if they were better informed.
Advertise your loyalty promotions in on-site banners and pop-ups as soon as the customer lands on your website, communicating the benefits customers can get by signing up.
Provide an integrated experience
Once you have a customer signed up for your loyalty program, you need to make sure their ongoing experience is simple. There’s no use in the program being a dream to sign up to, but it being a nightmare to locate or use when they return.
An integrated loyalty page creates a destination for your customers to keep updated and engaging with your program.
This is a great way to show your loyalty program as an integral part of your brand rather than an add-on.
Keep the benefits of your program clear and easy to see with members’ names at the top of the page, how many points they’ve accrued and what tier they’re in. If all information is in one, easy-to-access location, it will make them more likely to return to it.
After-sales care
Try not to forget about the customer once they have purchased. There are many opportunities to motivate even more sign-ups and increase interactions even after they have checked out.
Send an email prompt to ask them for a review of their most recent purchase. Reviews also provide social proof and encourage other customers to make a purchase. Offering loyalty points if they refer a friend is a great way to incentivize referrals. Finally, you could send an updated point balance to remind them of their status and how close they are to their next reward.
Incentivize sign-ups
Incentivize account creation with attractive sign-up perks such as a free gift or a percentage off. This demonstrates the immediate benefits available to them by becoming a loyalty program member.
It’s important that your customers know your loyalty program exists – don’t assume that they know if you haven’t made it obvious. Fashion brand, Never Fully Dressed gives shoppers multiple opportunities to engage with their program across various touchpoints.
When a new customer lands on their website, they display a pop-up that shows customers the points they’ll get for becoming a member. This gives the customer a clear incentive for signing up right away. We live in a busy world, so it can’t ever be difficult or hard for the customer to sign up.
Make it memorable
Make the user experience even more memorable by littering loyalty components across the customer journey. This could include points balance reminders or the customers’ name at the top of the page. This will make your loyalty program a natural part of the brand experience.
Offer rewards
In-cart rewards allow customers to claim loyalty rewards as they shop. Shoppers can redeem accumulated points against free products within the cart and without the hassle of voucher codes. This creates a seamless shopping experience for the customer whilst encouraging shoppers to increase their order value.
If a customer sees how close they are to their next reward while in the cart, they’ll add more to their basket to unlock it. This will increase their average order value.
Make it personal
In post-purchase emails, encourage customers who used a guest account to sign up and become a member. Include a pop-up that tells them they’ll get points if they refer a friend or leave a review.
Never Fully Dressed use post-purchase as an opportunity to tell their customers about their loyalty program. In post-purchase emails, the brand thanks customers for their purchase and shares the benefits they’ll miss if they don’t sign up.
A complicated or long-winded sign-up process will drive away customers quicker than you can blink. Create a simple-to-use and engaging loyalty program that will keep customers engaged and returning to you.
This can be done through regular prompts to sign up, a personalized experience and in-cart optimization.
To learn more about creating a seamless and dynamic loyalty experience, download the full “Loyalty: Up close and personal” report.
This article originally appeared in the LoyaltyLion blog and has been published here with permission.
