5 strategies to increase customer loyalty

Building a loyalty program and increasing customer loyalty is one of the most important part of a successful company's marketing strategy.

There are many ways to approach customers, used by major retailers abroad. Some of them are innovative and costly, others are less expensive, but very well received by loyal consumers.

Below you will find some strategies and techniques that will help you build a consistent fidelity program with long-term benefits for your company:

1. Connect with your customers on a personal level

Studies show that over 70% of customers have dropped out of products and services, or have not attended certain stores, when buying experience was negative, and direct communication with the merchant was difficult. People need to connect, communicate permanently, they want to count for their favourite brands and want their feedback to be heard.

VirtualCards is a mobile phone application built extremely simple. It helps you build a customer base and constantly keep in touch with them by using the device which they love and use the most.

Did you know the latest studies show that people are watching their phone on average about 3 hours a day? It's even more than watching television. How to get better with your customers? Use the device they use the most!

VirtualCards offers you several options:

Feedback - you get messages from your customers and you can respond in real time

Direct communication - In the area dedicated to your offers, you are announcing your plans, new collections, thematic or seasonal products

Notifications - you can only target the specific types of clients and can provide certain benefits only in certain periods

Social Media - Facebook page attracts daily App users with common interests, who are interested in shopping, offers and news

Blog - your customers will feel a closer connection, more personal with your brand and will result in a stronger loyalty.

Treat your clients as your family, keep them up-to-date with news inside your company, ask for feedback and keep in mind their opinions. Reply to feedback and apologize if you are wrong. They will reward you with their loyalty and remain with your company for a long-term.

2. Differentiate yourself

Do something special for your clients, something unexpected. Give them, for example, a special gift if they come in store on their birthday. Send them a message for their name day or invite them to use a gift coupon.

Give your customers a reason to talk about your company and put it in a positive light. People need to share their memorable experiences with their friends. Give them a simple and straightforward way to do this. VirtualCards helps you with the share option. Users can send to their friends an offer they liked, a new product or a store opening. The application also helps you to send targeted messages on their name day. They will definitely want to share this with their friends.

3. Provide relevant promotions

Empathy for Clients is Key in Communication. Ask yourself, if you were a client, what would you like to receive? What would make you go back to the same store or buy the product for a particular brand? Too many merchants look at things just from their point of view. Stop and think a bit, if you want to buy coffee, wine, home appliances, movie tickets or go to the restaurant, what would you like? What makes you feel special? Start there! Don’t you know yet?

VirtualCards gives you the opportunity to test several types of promotions and choose what your customers appreciate the most. You can choose to promote only certain products at certain times.

For example, you can increase your sales for decorations during winter holidays, ice cream during the summer, or warm-up products in the cold season. You can use a specific promotion to bring your customers to the store. They will reward you by buying other things they need. And do not forget: always deliver what you promised!

4. Measure, review, adapt

If you can convince a customer of the benefits they can have for a long-term, he will remain loyal. We often don’t return to see what results we had from a promotion, to measuring customer satisfaction and to see where we've been wrong.

Customers must feel that they have more value when they buy from you, you must earn their trust and convince them that you and your products represent the ideal choice. When you get to this point, you'll be able to increase the prices for quality products and customers will understand that what they receive is correct.

With VirtualCards you have many indicators available to see what really interested your customers. You can view the number of clicks on offers, their actions over a certain amount of time, the number of visits to your website each time a customer has viewed your discount card.

Analyze and adjust! Choose to continue promoting only what is relevant to your customers.

5. Do not forget about costs

Remember what the ultimate goal is. A well built loyalty program means that everyone is happy. So even if you want to give as many to your customers, don’t forget that you have to control your costs.

Harness your power of negotiation with suppliers and make sure that you have a sufficient margin to be able to give a discount. Give up your share of profit, give up some of the best sellers products, given that customers will also buy other products to which you have the largest profit margin.

You must calculate everything, including the costs you have to maintain your loyalty program. Overall you have to go out on addition and your customers to be satisfied.

The VirtualCards App is a viable alternative to this. Why to invest in plastic cards, in dedicated departments or complicated logistics, when you can pay a monthly subscription and let the professionals deal? You will receive bonuses and tips on how to reach your goal in the shortest time possible and you’ll have access to the know-how that these people have accumulated over time.

These are just a few tips that you can use to start building a fidelity program. Start as soon as possible to increase the retention of your own clients and to develop your business.