At its core, a customer rewards program is set in place to achieve these overriding goals:
- Engage loyal buyers on a regular basis, by providing incentives for them not to take their business elsewhere, and
- Let them know that the company appreciates their business.
Here are five simple questions that help sales managers determine whether their rewards program is achieving those goals, and — if not — why not?
- Would your customer base benefit from a tiered membership program? You may be able to increase your rewards program ROI by offering tiered membership based on years of business, volume levels and/or frequency of purchase. Tiered rewards programs don’t only encourage customers to do more business with your company, they also shower your most loyal buyers with more rewards.
- What type of rewards would your buyers value most? Survey buyers to determine what type of incentives they value most, and let them know how you plan to satisfy those requests.
- How can you use rewards to encourage referrals? Give buyers a good reason to bring more business to your front door.
- Can you partner with any other companies in your region to create a win-win? Rewards programs that allow customers to reap benefits from two or more companies are twice as valuable.
- How can social media help the program or campaign thrive? It’s a viral universe out there.
Source: “Five Questions to Help You Beef Up Your Loyalty Program,” by Stephanie Miller, SocialMediaToday, 7/4/12.
