Loyalty scheme – brand awareness
Several factors contribute to the success of a loyalty programme. The number of participants, their activity as measured by the frequency of their purchases, and the value of the shopping basket they generate are just some of them. However, we must not overlook one of the key criteria: brand awareness of the loyalty programme. It is this awareness that plays a major role in making a given loyalty programme popular and recognisable, and consequently, in attracting an ever-increasing number of participants.
„Too much of a good thing is bad for you” – this saying fits today’s topic perfectly. Experienced marketers are well aware that promoting a loyalty programme’s brand must not bombard potential customers from every possible angle. The frequency, reach and content of loyalty programme advertising should be carefully balanced and well thought out, so as not to overwhelm the audience.
Loyalty schemes and brand awareness – an inseparable pair
Every business owner wants their company to be recognisable in the market. Appropriate marketing activities, including the creation of a loyalty scheme, can help ensure that the brand becomes widely known amongst customers. Some people believe that a good loyalty scheme will speak for itself.
So, is it worth ensuring that our scheme is visible? Of course it is! First and foremost, however, we need to ensure that the loyalty scheme offers attractive terms. We set out the arguments in support of the above points below.
Loyalty scheme – brand awareness
The first argument may seem very obvious: if a customer is unaware that a loyalty scheme exists, they cannot join it. These days, consumers like to have everything handed to them on a plate. If a potential customer does not know that a particular retail chain has a loyalty scheme, they simply won’t take part in it. That is why it is impossible to pay for petrol or groceries without being asked, „Are you collecting points in our loyalty scheme?”. It is therefore important to ensure the right content, as well as the reach and frequency with which potential and existing customers are exposed to the advertising. This ensures that potential customers are aware of the very existence of the loyalty programme and how it works. However, it is important not to overwhelm the audience. The content and frequency of the adverts are crucial here. Why? Because too many adverts will effectively discourage the consumer from taking part.
Loyalty scheme – communication
A high level of awareness of the loyalty programme (or, to put it simply, the visibility of the loyalty programme) is the first key to success. It is also worth ensuring that its terms and conditions are appealing. Not only should these terms align with participants’ expectations and market trends, but the way they are presented on the website and in the loyalty programme app must be clear. Users should be able to find all the necessary information about the loyalty programme without any difficulty. The website’s visual design is also important: on the one hand, it should be modern and appealing; on the other, it should not be overwhelming.
The issues described above may seem trivial, but it is important to bear them in mind. When a potential member visits our loyalty programme’s website, they want to familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions straight away. And they will usually spend just a few seconds deciding whether to join. If they have to search too long and laboriously for the information they’re looking for, they’ll be put off joining the loyalty programme. That’s why a highly user-friendly and responsive website is absolutely essential.
Loyalty scheme – member-get-member
We can also build brand awareness for a loyalty programme through… its users! Introducing benefits for consumers who recommend it to their friends will enable us to easily attract new customers. For many organisers of loyalty programmes, the approach described above may seem unnecessary. This is a mistake! Recommendations from people we trust and are close to us are more likely to encourage others to join a loyalty programme.
Another important issue is the registration process itself. The longer and more tedious the process of joining a loyalty scheme is, the less likely consumers are to participate actively. It is therefore worth ensuring that the process is quick and easy to complete. Many organisers fail to take this into account, which leads to the loss of potential customers.
Loyalty scheme – attractive terms and conditions
Clear rules and attractive rewards are further criteria to be taken into account in a loyalty scheme. Before joining a loyalty scheme, consumers want to know exactly what the main rules are. If they are too complicated or unclear, they will put off potential participants. It is therefore worth ensuring that the terms and conditions and a summary of the rules are written in a simple and easy-to-understand way, so that the reader has no trouble interpreting them. How should loyalty programme participants be rewarded? There are many ways to show appreciation to your most loyal customers. But how can you do this in a way that sets you apart from the competition? It is important to remember to treat every loyalty programme customer as an individual.
Loyalty scheme – rewards to encourage active participation
It goes without saying that the main reason people join a loyalty scheme is the rewards. The organiser should ensure that the rules for awarding them are described in a way that is easy for the user to understand. As well as being attractive, the rewards should also be accessible. The incentive rates should remain at an attractive level. Naturally, these will depend on the profit margins on sales of products covered by the loyalty programme. It is therefore understandable to everyone that the incentive rates for a petrol station’s loyalty programme will be lower than those for a chain of perfume shops. Quite simply, the profit margin generated from fuel sales is lower than that from the sale of luxury cosmetics. However, offering incentive rates below 1% – that is, where for every 100 zł spent, a member receives a benefit worth less than 1 zł – is doomed to failure from the outset. So how can the quality of the rewards offered in a loyalty programme be improved? What criteria should be considered when selecting them? The key to success lies in monitoring and analysing their appeal to participants. Nowadays, this process has become significantly more important. At the same time, it has become even simpler thanks to the rapid development of technology and the introduction of modern software, such as Google Analytics. By analysing which rewards are most frequently viewed by participants, the path a participant takes on the loyalty programme’s website, how much time they spend there, and where they come from, we will gain insights which, when combined with data on the rewards actually ordered, provide a solid basis for the process of selecting and pricing rewards. At the same time, this knowledge will enable us to maintain appropriately higher stock levels of popular rewards to ensure their availability, as well as reduce the number of points required to obtain those rewards that are less popular with customers, or simply remove them from the catalogue.
How to prevent abuse in loyalty schemes, Management of promotional lotteries, „Premium” loyalty schemes and paid membership, Methods of paying out cash prizes
