Topics: Inbound Marketing
Every client has a lifetime and hopping it is called customer churn—and we have a whole blog about this. Too many, too often will devastate your ROI.
To minimise your customer churn you simply must reward your loyal customers—and this applies to B2Cs, too.
Pat yourself on the back if you have a respectable loyal customer base as this took hard work and proves you’ve done everything right. But do look after them. Why? Because they are...
—Less likely to listen to your competitorsWhen it comes to appreciation a customer loyalty scheme often pays off and you would be well advised to make this part of your customer care package.
The ideal reward depends on your business model and tailoring the reward to fit individual customers.
When it comes to loyalty schemes, one size does not fit all and, however hard you try, if you lose their loyalty they are going to walk.
You won’t go far wrong if you build strong relationships, get to know your customers inside out and make your company and its products/services essential to the success of their operation.
Loyalty schemes work differently for B2B and B2C.
Whilst a points-based scheme might work for B2C it will flop in a B2B setting. Here, schemes customised to your individual customers—based on your insider knowledge—will generate better results.
When it comes to dishing out the goodies it can get rather tricky as your customers will be at different stages in your sales process. Who gets the reward and why? Be careful as rewarding and incentivising can be seen as ‘influence peddling’, i.e. a bribe.
Who qualifies for your loyalty scheme? It’s a good idea to kick off with the 80:20 marker—circa 20% of your customers = 80% of your sales. These top-graders are the ones you must reward big time.
All customers are valuable so a tiered loyalty scheme that rewards the different levels of customers can have the desired effect, too.
Loyalty schemes tailored to your customers’ individual requirements showcase how much you value them.
Forget generic schemes such as BOGOFF. Be original. Use what you know about individual clients to design a scheme just for them—maybe something to save them time ordering such as a dedicated phone line/email address.
Is there something you can do to give them a competitive edge? Think outside the box and make your offer original and bodacious!
Every good loyalty scheme hinges on giving authentic added value. A generic token doesn’t cut the mustard and will probably end up in the bin—the corporate graveyard for all branded mugs!
Watch out for familiarity—it often does breed contempt. It’s human nature and customers can get used to receiving premium, tailored rewards and expect better and better each time.
How you choose to reward your customers is your decision, but you really cannot beat good old-fashioned relationship building. It truly is the bedrock of customer loyalty and will support your Return on Investment (ROI).
If you really want to nurture your customers, get the inbound marketing nous of a HubSpot Gold Partner / Google Partner behind you...
