Loyalty programs are one of the most effective ways to increase profits for e-commerce businesses. Retaining current customers costs a fifth of what it takes to acquire new ones, making customer retention an essential element for success. An e-commerce loyalty program is an essential tool to reward customers for their ongoing patronage and encourage them to keep coming back. However, many businesses make mistakes when implementing loyalty programs that can lead to a decrease in customer engagement and long-term success.
Here are five common mistakes to avoid when launching your ecommerce loyalty program:
1. Getting to Know Your Customers and Their Needs
One of the biggest faux pas e-commerce businesses make is not taking the time to understand their customers. Let’s say you create a loyalty campaign based on a points system with little to no thought about what other types of rewards your customers might find attractive. Without understanding your customers and their needs, the loyalty program will be less successful than if you took the time to figure out what rewards they really wanted. Surveying customers can help you gain valuable insights into what types of rewards or discounts they would appreciate allowing you to tailor your loyalty program to their needs.
2. Set Realistic Goals that Benefit Both You and Your Customers
Another mistake businesses make when launching a loyalty program is not setting realistic goals. Rewards goals should be achievable for the customer and beneficial for the business. Consider this scenario: you develop a loyalty program with high reward thresholds that would take customers a long time to achieve. If 1,000 reward points equal $1, customers may feel discouraged to continue the loyalty program and abandon it altogether. However, if five or 10 points equal $1, customers might be more likely to return to your store to earn rewards.
From the company’s perspective, a realistic goal is one that maximizes customer retention and loyalty while ensuring the rewards offered are in line with the value of the products/services. So, let’s say you want to increase your loyalty program sign-ups by 80% over a quarter. That goal might be too ambitious if you don’t have the resources to back it up. A more realistic goal would be 25-30%.
3. Offering Attractive Rewards and Incentives
Rewards and incentives are an essential part of any customer loyalty program. You need to offer something customers find attractive. This could be discounts they can use immediately or points they can accumulate over time. Make sure rewards are timely, relevant, and valuable so customers don’t lose interest in your program. You may even partner with businesses outside your ecosystem, such as other retail stores, where customers can redeem their loyalty program rewards for a non-competing product or service.
4. Making the Program Easy to Understand and Accessible
One mistake businesses make is creating a loyalty program that’s too complicated or difficult to understand. Customers should be able to easily and quickly determine how they can earn and redeem rewards. To maximize customer engagement on your e-commerce website, make sure to optimize it so visitors can quickly find and join the loyalty program with minimal effort.
5. Tracking and Measuring Your Program’s Success
Finally, make sure to track and measure the success of your loyalty program. Use customer data to understand the following:
- Which rewards are most popular,
- The impact of discounts on customers’ buying behaviors,
- How successful the program is over time, and
- How to refine and improve your loyalty program.
E-commerce loyalty software is typically designed to help businesses create, promote, track, and measure loyalty programs.
Making The Most Out of Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs can be a great way to reward loyal customers and grow your business. Creating an effective loyalty program that customers find attractive is the key to maximizing customer retention and engagement. Using ecommerce loyalty software solutions can make this process easier and more efficient.
