In addition to this, consumers today have greater expectations from brands. This last year has caused many brands to focus on a marketing strategy that improves customer retention while exploring the impact of a strong customer loyalty program. 

Leading brands are turning to customer loyalty programs to differentiate themselves and add more value to their customer relationships. They are successfully using omnichannel loyalty programs as an invaluable source of customer insight and first-party data collection. 

So why customer loyalty, you ask? 

Omnichannel loyalty and engagement programs play a key role in enhancing brand-consumer relationships because of the massive amounts of data and insight they offer into:

• Lifestyles

• Shopping and browsing behavior

• Purchases,

• Channel or payment preferences

Brands look to omnichannel loyalty and engagement strategies to:

• Increase market share

• Entice customers away from the competition

• Retain their most valuable customers

Look at seven reasons brands are increasingly investing in loyalty programs:

1. Loyal customers spend more

Continually acquiring customers to drive sales is far more expensive than retaining and marketing to the customers whose hearts you’ve already won. Add to this the fact that new customers are not nearly as profitable as your loyalists, who, on average, spend 67% more. This means that more than half of your sales are coming from a small percentage of your customers, so nurturing these relationships is important. 

Loyalty programs not only improve customer retention but also provide your customers with incentives to make purchases and advocate for your brand. By leveraging the data you already have on your valued customers, your loyalty program can offer personalized brand experiences that make members feel valued and encourage higher spending and greater brand engagement. 

2. Loyalty programs provide a competitive advantage 

71% of people are active in at least one to five loyalty programs per month, according to research by Oracle, which means if your competitors currently offer a loyalty program, you’re already at a disadvantage. In fact, 62% of consumers agree that loyalty programs make them more likely to shop with a brand. 

A loyalty program allows brands to compete on customer experience instead of price alone. Retailers that continue to compete on price are not fulfilling other critical business objectives—such as customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

With diminishing profit margins in the retail sector, this practice is a surefire way to kill your business. Investing in loyalty and customer-centric strategies can help you truly differentiate your brand offerings, incentivize your valued customers to engage with your brand, and remain top of mind when they are considering a purchase. 

Give your existing customers a reason to keep coming back and attract new customers by providing a loyalty program that rewards customers for every action taken with your brand. 

3. Loyal customers engage more 

Research by Accenture has demonstrated that 57% of consumers spend more on brands to which they are loyal.

Loyalty program rewards that go beyond offering discounts give their members the opportunity to feel part of an exclusive community in exchange for their brand loyalty. From elite rankings to special events, unique experiences, and member-only access, offering one-of-a-kind rewards and experiences can make members feel special, valued, and appreciated. 

In addition, brands can allow their loyalty members to use their rewards towards donations to social causes that are authentic and meaningful to the brand. This reinstates the values of the brand with the consumers and establishes connections at a deeper level. 

4. Loyalty programs offer valuable insights that increase customer lifetime value 

Customer lifetime value (CLV) predicts the net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer. 

A loyalty program can help you calculate exactly what the CLV is for each of your customers and optimize your customer acquisition and retention strategies accordingly. 

Research by HBR shows companies with strong loyalty marketing programs grow revenues 2.5 times faster than their competitors and generate 2-5 times higher returns to shareholders.

A loyalty program can help you understand the behaviors and preferences across all channels of your most valuable customers and market to them more intelligently. This level of understanding also unlocks the ability to attract “look-alike audiences” and invest in campaigns that will drive high-value consumers to your program. 

5.  Loyalty programs create brand advocates 

Brand advocates are the customers who recommend your brand to their friends and family. These customers are extremely valuable for your brand, given that 93% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family.

Loyalty programs with a “refer-a-friend” feature reward brand advocates for customer referrals. This not only helps with customer retention but also helps with customer acquisition. Incentivizing for product reviews is also a great way to encourage high-value members to engage with your brand, products, and prospects. Product reviews provide invaluable and trusted information to potential consumers. 

6. Loyalty programs can help brands become more omnichannel

Businesses are finding value in building out customer journeys that optimize customer experiences at every touchpoint, both digital and physical. Mapping out a customer journey before launching a loyalty program is essential for maximizing the opportunity to deepen engagement and capture customer data at every interaction. For example, some brands reward customers with points just for walking into a store or downloading a mobile app as part of their loyalty program offering. 

Additionally, because loyalty programs enable brands to create a unique yet persistent identifier for their consumers, brands can recognize and communicate with their loyal consumers on different devices and in differing locations. This unique ability transcends the gap that brands face in a multichannel environment. 

By adopting an omnichannel loyalty program, brands can take the customer experience to the next level and strengthen engagement and foster greater loyalty by rewarding customers for each brand interaction. 

7. Loyalty programs can help brands improve the in-store experience 

Research by Oracle finds that while the majority (70%) of consumers prefer to shop online, 41% also enjoy shopping in-store. Consumers still find value in touching and seeing products firsthand, but there are a number of reasons many are avoiding a trip to the mall including long check-out lines, limited access to store inventory, and poor store layout. 

Brands are investing in the in-store experience to alleviate some of these frustrations and also to create unique brand environments that drive customer loyalty. Loyalty programs and the data gleaned from these programs can help brands:

• Create personalized in-store shopping experiences

• Make contactless payments

• Let customers order online and have pickup options for in-store offers 

• Offer better merchandising decisions

• Do more experiential marketing activations

The value of customer loyalty and engagement

By leveraging a customer loyalty and engagement program, brands can fully access and leverage customer insight to drive critical business decisions, gain a competitive edge, and ultimately win and retain loyal customers. 

For more information about customer loyalty, customer retention, and digital marketing strategies please visit:

• Oracle CrowdTwist Loyalty and Engagement
• Oracle Marketing

Build your free WordPress website with Host2.us free hosting today!