The web is changing the way companies build loyalty with their customers and how they leverage their most passionate customers to help build their brand.
Creativity is key, so here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:
Embed service technician’s pictures in appointment reminder e-mails or direct mail postcards so customers know who’ll be knocking at their door.
Include review site reminder cards or e-mails in your customer follow-up communications embedded with links to popular review sites like Yelp, tripadvisor, urbanspoon, Facebook or online stores and… include simple directions for how to write a review. AE Door & Windows does a great job of this…
If appropriate, text message appointment reminders, discounts and promotions to customers. Customers will be eager to sign up with you if they know they’ll get first dibs on new products, services or special “loyal customer” promotions.
Personalize communications with your customer’s name using variable data tools.
Automate the process! Manual annual service reminders alone take hours of internal staff time so an automated system pays for itself.
Use mobile offers and promotions that can be redeemed directly from a customers phone. A tactic used locally by companies like Skyline Chili and Proctor & Gamble. Juniper Research predicts redemption rate using mobile devices will reach 8% by 2016.
Geo location tools give customers real time information about a local restaurant, business or their social network.
Pinterest, one of the newer players on the market, is simply a virtual corkboard that lets users create their own collage of cool things they are interested in: photos, websites, videos, diagrams etc… So, as a company you can create your own Pinterest board to promote your “cool stuff” or you can give your customers “pinable content”–content that lends itself to posting to pinterest like a printable coupon!
The holy grail of digital loyalty programs lies in the data. Using digital technology means you can capture customer data and use it to create customized communications. Companies that own the data rule their markets. So, make sure you incorporate strategies and tools for capturing data into your campaigns and marketing communications.
Further Reading:
Inc. Magazine, The New Rules of Building Customer Loyalty
Stay tuned for our upcoming articles:
Gaming Your Brand: How Gaming is Changing Customer Loyalty!
Making Sense of Your Data: How to Capture, Interpret & Use the Mountains of Data at Your Finger-tips.
