With Britain’s general election happening next week, tensions are running high across the nation. What will the outcome of the election be – and how will it affect you? After the financial crisis Britain has seen a fairly healthy turnaround, with annual increase in the number of new businesses started. The Small Business Federation says small to medium-sized business make up 99% of all businesses in the UK – so naturally they will impact the election, and many issues have been given substantial attention; Read more
Over £170,000 raised in first three days
London – Loyalzoo, the UK’s largest loyalty app for independent retailers and businesses, has successfully launched a second crowdfunding campaign via Seedrs with a view to raising £250,000 (http://www.seedrs.com/startups/loyalzoo1?promo_code=2JHLHGP6). Within three days the company has already raised £170,000 from 62 investors and anticipates that it will exceed the target by a considerable amount. Read more
1. Unachievable rewards
Would you attempt a marathon if you only ever run to catch the bus? Set rewards that feel achievable to your customers. A good rule of thumb is to require the equivalent to between 4 and 12 visits/purchases before a reward can be redeemed. How many depends on the cost and type of product you sell. If you sell low-cost, high frequency items such as sandwiches and hot drinks, a higher required number of visits is ok. If you sell more expensive items a shorter redemption path paired with an in-store discount can work really well.
2. Complicated and complex loyalty programs
If your customers struggle to understand the structure of your loyalty program, they are unlikely to get engaged. Make it easy for them. Having a flat and easy structure; e.g. 1 point per pound/dollar spent, which is easy to understand for customers and easy to run for staff. The more complex you make your loyalty program, the less likely it is to become a success.
3. Fraud or mistakes
Mistakes can always happen, and there will always be an element of trust involved with loyalty cards – some people are put off by the risk that it can be abused. If you choose to use a loyalty app (such as our own, Loyalzoo) you have the added benefit of seeing customer data which can be matched with transactions if something looks suspicious. It can even be fully automated and tied to your Point-of-Sale, in which case it is impossible to abuse, as point-allocation is automated.
4. Not giving your program enough attention
Don’t expect people to automatically join your loyalty program. They need to be informed that it exists, about the benefits they get from it and how they join. Once that’s done – keep reminding them to use it. Chances are they will forget, so make a habit of mentioning it at every transaction. Having some visuals in the till-area also help, a sticker or a tent card work really well in our experience. That’s why we at Loyalzoo send a bunch of each to everyone who signs up, to help them spread the word about their new loyalty program (you can find out more about our app here).
5. Not having the staff onboard
Without the staff being informed and trained, it will be hard to keep it going and get picked up by customers. All members of staff should know how it works, what the rewards are and how people join. If everyone works together, it will be really easy to manage – and much better for customers and staff alike. Think of it as rowing a boat in a team of eight – it would be really hard to move that boat on your own, with the 7 others weighing you down. But if you all work together, it’s incredibly easy.
Shopping locally means supporting your neighbourhood
You may not take much notice of the shops in your local community normally, but can you imagine if they weren’t there? It would not only mean you had to travel to do any shopping, it would mean the same for your neighbours. And in turn, this would mean a outflux from the area. Fewer people, fewer children – less need for a school, medical services and transport links. Less money historically comes with more crime, more vandalism and lower employment rates.
70p per £1 spent goes straight back to the community, compared to 10-20p in a large chain
So the money you spend are put to good use. They are used towards maintaining the premises, paying wages, sourcing and stocking products, suppliers and manufacturers. It is much the same for larger chains – but they have several middle-men in between who all take a cut – meaning less of the money go to the people behind the product. Smaller shops often buy straight from the supplier – and the only stakeholders are the shop and the producer. So you know where your money goes.
Shopping locally supports the economy
More local businesses mean more local jobs, and higher employment is linked to less crime, higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction and of course, higher average income. Having jobs available in an area makes it an attractive place to live – which translates into a growing population and in turn higher demand, more shops, more jobs and higher turnovers.
Thriving local businesses means jobs, income and vitality for an area
Busy shops means busy streets – which attracts more people to live in an area. And the more people who live there, the higher the demand and the need is for nurseries, schools, parks and transport links – i.e. more jobs, more opportunities and better economy.
- Customers love loyalty points
- There’s no mess or forgotten cards
- It creates positive buzz around your business
- You can keep track of which of your customers use it
- And you can reach them directly using push technology
- It puts your brand where your customers are – on their smartphone
- Rewards can incentivise further spend – e.g. an in-store voucher
- Your rewards are flexible and can be changed at any time
- It gives your customers another reason to choose you, every time
- Because it shows customers that you value them
- It gives you a chance to connect with the customer
- And it appeals to our nature – people love rewards!
- Members of a loyalty program spend more
- And they spend more often
- Loyal customers are less price-sensitive
- And have a higher average spend
- You can give points to customers wherever they are
- With whichever method you choose
- You can reward any action – purchase, retweet, share etc.
- And it’s an incentive for new customers too
- More loyal customers increase revenue by up to 70%
- And it saves money on advertising
- Because it gives you free word-of-mouth marketing
- Loyal customers will bring their friends
- And tell everyone about it
- It doesn’t clutter your customers wallets and purses
- A good loyalty program will strengthen you brand
- And makes customers more engaged –
- They become your brand advocates
- It is easy to maintain – it’s all in one place
- You can track results and see how your customers use it
- Unlike traditional paper cards, it cannot be abused
- You can tailor your rewards to your marketing efforts or vice versa
- It is affordable and easy – it takes minutes to set up
If you want to find out more about how you can create your digital loyalty program with Loyalzoo, have a look at what you can do with our loyalty app here.