It’s official –loyalty drives revenue
Leaping off the page at the uber team when we collated the results of our online survey were the confident consumer responses when we asked them to think about loyalty in general: a whopping 93% told us that they would be more likely to spend more with a particular brand if it had a great loyalty programme whilst an overwhelming 86% of respondents said they’d be more likely to visit one retailer over another if there was a valuable loyalty programme to join.
When Tesco kicked off its Clubcard programme back in the mid 90s, one of the top priorities of this major marketing innovation was that it should be used to more closely orientate the supermarket chain around its customers. As we edge closer and closer to Clubcard’s20thanniversary, let’s continue the loyalty trend of daring to be different: uber’s research goes back to the customer to ask what they expect from a loyalty programme in 2011.
The turn-ons…
In a super-austere climate, consumers demand to see value from their favourite brands –if they’re going to choose you and your loyalty programme, they expect to be totally turned on by its benefits…but what do they want to see?
High profile rewards are top of the list, 79% of consumers tell us that they want to feel like they’re getting the best benefits from a brand possible. Second pegging, 75% of consumers who took part in uber’s survey were lovers of the feel-good factor: they want to initiate a bit of jealousy amongst their peers, getting exclusive extras just because they are members of the loyalty programme. This is all about spoiling customers with discounts at other brands that might touch their day-to-day lifestyles or adding value to your product or service by providing special access to advanced services for programme members like complimentary gift-wrapping.
2011 consumers also love a bit of surprise and delight –72% of our respondents said that they want to feel that a brand could surprise them at any moment with a Random Act of Kindness. For your business, incorporating ‘random’ gifts into your loyalty programme means the sky’s the limit –treats like this have the propensity to go viral within minutes and could provide infinite capacity for brand exposure whilst you’re smart spending on your most loyal customers.
But…hang on…don’t points make prizes?
Apparently not. Consumers just aren’t as excited by programmes that involve the collection of points –a luke-warm 50% said they were engaged by programmes which featured the ongoing collection of reward points, with a dismal 11% indicating that ‘collecting points to receive a gift from a catalogue’ would turn them on. It’s the immediacy of redemptions which customers suggest is the issue with the points-make-prizes model: ‘I want something that gives me immediate value –I don’t have to accumulate loads of points to get little back’ noted one respondent.
…and there are more problems with points. Consumers are savvy –ever aware of the market place, their response to your points-based loyalty programme could lead to a points-war: ‘Last weekend, Superdrug offered me a similar scheme [to Boots], though it was quite difficult to build up points as £1 = 1 point, whereas Boots offer £1 = 4 points’.
‘Great offers but the emails are too frequent so often now I just delete them’…
Driving down into programme specifics, communication is crucial…but as seen by the above consumer comment, it’s a very delicate balancing act. Consumers do not want to be hassled by over-frequent communications: 29% of customers we interviewed were happy to be contacted by a brand weekly or more but this figure rose to 64% for ‘a couple of times per month’.
The next step is keeping it relevant: if you’re going to send out mass, generalised communications, just don’t bother! Consumers who completed our survey highlighted that they ‘like relevant, tangible, good communication’ that doesn’t seem ‘invasive’; ‘loyalty is about generating goodwill through customer service’.
Get Rewarding…
Money off vouchers get consumers most excited about a loyalty programme, with 64% of consumers telling uber this is what they love to see…but be careful not to devalue your brand. Your customers want to receive ‘vouchers…which are for a decent amount’ but they know that they’ve got to show their loyalty to qualify for these benefits, identifying a ‘recommend a friend scheme with a large percentage discount off your next purchase’ as a key reward that’s important to them. This is great news for you and your loyalty scheme -customers themselves have identified that you may use money off rewards to drive profitable behaviour. You can orientate these rewards around your core business objectives at any given time, whether it be to drive frequency of visit, frequency of spend and beyond!
When we got consumers thinking about rewards, they gave more support still to the idea of redeeming benefits at other synergistic brands that weave through their lifestyles. 62% of consumers that we interviewed said they’d be more likely to sign up to a programme which offered discounts and benefits at other favourite brands. Just like flashing your exclusive credit card to receive extra benefits at a retailer or bar, your customers want to receive little treats just because they are loyalty programme members –it supports their love to ‘involve multiple retailers’ so they can ‘redeem on lots of different things’.
…it’s Personal!
For consumers, what really shone through as a crucial aspect of loyalty was the level of personalisation of the programme. Almost three-quarters of consumers indicated that they are happy to provide additional personal information to a brand so that they may be contacted personally with reward offers on special occasions. These could be things like a nice gift or card for a customer’s birthday, or contact about their children or pets.
The consumers we interviewed talked about some interesting areas in which they’d like to see –super-personalisation ‘I would like them to remember dress sizes of a customer and styles they are fond of, making it easier for the customer to search through clothes they will like online’.
Remember -consumers are your most precious assets, looking after them means keeping them for longer. Consumers couldn’t have been clearer that the key to capturing their loyalty in 2011 is by making them feel ‘valued’–it’s the ‘personal little treats that make you feel special’. Don’t let points obstruct the intimate view of your customers that makes this achievable.
About uber uk marketing
uber specialises in loyalty, marketing communication and CRM. Offering expert advice, the uber team always seek to push boundaries to develop innovative and edgy loyalty strategy that delivers results.