In such a competitive market today, it has become a challenge for businesses to retain loyal customers. This is the reason why customer loyalty programs are constantly gaining popularity in every company. Offering rewards and incentives to acquire new customers and retain the existing ones has become a common tradition these days. Many brands have become extremely popular because of their customer loyalty programs in India. Though most businesses are benefiting from these programs, some of them end up being unsuccessful. This happens when a loyalty program is not designed carefully and it doesn’t align with the business objectives.

Running a loyalty program is not enough, you must also ensure that it is being implemented in the right manner. To make your customer promotion program successful, you can use the following strategies:

1. First-Time User Benefits

Providing welcome benefits or first-time user discounts is a great way to acquire new customers. A study has found that four out of every five consumers make their first purchase from a new brand after receiving an offer of a discount coupon. If you are not providing any such offer, you are probably missing out on many potential customers. Welcome benefits can be in the form of a discount coupon, BOGO deal, free gift with purchase offer, or anything else. You should just make sure that it is exciting enough to encourage new customers for making their first purchase. If the beginning of your customer’s journey with your brand is great, they will most likely stay loyal.

2. Loyalty Points After Every Purchase

A standard loyalty program works on the concept of giving a reward after every purchase. You can design a continuous loyalty program, where your customers keep earning reward points after every purchase. They must be able to redeem these points against some useful options, such as gift vouchers, discount coupons of your own brands, or your brand’s products.  These types of continuous loyalty programs help in keeping your customers bound with your brand. If they are interested in the reward points and the respective redemption options, they will be definitely encouraged to earn more and more points by making repeat purchases.

3. Tier-Based Loyalty Programs

Tier-based loyalty programs have also been very successful for many prominent brands. You might have seen tier or level-based customer promotion programs with airlines or premium hotels. In these loyalty programs, there are different tiers with different rewards and benefits. With each higher tier, customers get better rewards and incentives. Generally, the most loyal customers are the the ones on top tiers. As customers spend more with your brand, their loyalty level increases and they get promoted to higher tiers. Running a tier-based program is a great way to motivate your customers for spending more with your brand in order to receive better rewards.

4. Referral Programs

A referral-based rewards program is another powerful way to make your loyalty program successful in customer retention and acquisition. In a referral program, brands reward their existing customers for beginning onboard new potential customers. If you want to attract more and more new customers with minimal marketing expenses, a referral program is one of the best ways to do it. Just ask your existing customers to refer their friends or family members and offer them some rewards and benefits in return. Offering rewards to your customers as well as their friends can make this program even more effective.

5. Gamification Elements for Better Engagement

Gamification is a powerful tool that makes any marketing strategy much more effective and interesting for your customers. Combining your customer loyalty program with some gamification strategies would definitely give you better results. Along with the continuous points-based loyalty program, you can run gamified programs, such as social media giveaway contests, referral contests, spin-to-win contests, top spenders contests, etc. With this, you can make your loyalty program more interesting for your customers to participate in and improve customer engagement.

Make Your Customer Incentive Program Successful

Almost every brand is running some sort of customer loyalty program today. However, not every loyalty program works really well. To make your customer incentive program successful, you need to keep a lot of factors in mind. The loyalty program should align with your business objectives. A program that is working amazingly well for some clothing brands might not be that successful for some airlines. Based on your industry type and customer base, you should design an effective loyalty program that helps you retain loyal customers while also attracting new potential customers.

Rewards and loyalty solution companies like RewardPort can help you run a suitable loyalty program for your customers. Being one of the top loyalty solution providers, RewardPort is already running several customer loyalty programs in India for various successful brands. You can partner with them and get the best program implemented for your brand.