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Loyalty marketing strategies aren’t new. In fact, the practice of incentivizing customers to make a purchase in exchange for a gift or discount dates back to the 1700s. In 1929, General Mills® brand Betty Crocker™ began offering Box Tops to be collected and used in exchange for discounted flatware. In the 1980s, one of the most famous loyalty programs, the frequent-flyer program, was established. By the mid-1990’s, loyalty marketing programs had become a fixture in mainstream marketing programs.
Today, loyalty marketing continues to be a successful marketing strategy utilized by small, local businesses and large, international corporations alike, offering free gifts, discounts, and exclusive access in exchange for making a purchase, referring friends and family, sharing a post on social media, and more. Here are 5 ways loyalty marketing can benefit your business:
Most marketers today are well-versed in the game of personalized marketing content. For the past decade, we've been told to customize, customize, customize. A reported 86% of consumers say that personalization influences their purchase decisions. So why are we now hearing rumors of undoing those foundations?
The answer is simple: Personalization works, but only if you do it well. The majority of consumers understand that emails, ads, and notifications are sent out automatically and en masse. They will quickly pick up on mistakes like a greeting with their name misspelled or, worse yet, with an [INSERT NAME HERE] still showing. This can have the opposite effect on your target audience and, ultimately, turn them off from your specific call-to-action (CTA).
While it is true that customization works, doing it well is a whole different ball game. Trying to fool your customer base never ends well. Instead, take the following steps to come across more genuinely with your audience.
As the digital age evolves, many words and ideas emerge that leave most people scratching their heads. We could write a dictionary about all the cutting-edge lingo, but today we are going to break down the difference between “Geotargeting” and Geofencing”.
These two terms are commonly used interchangeably, however, this use is incorrect. While both have the prefix geo – meaning earth, ground, global, etc. – targeting and fencing have two distinct goals when it comes to capturing your target audience.
Brand messaging has the power to create lasting connections with consumers. While brand voice is one of the most important aspects of establishing a brand identity, the brand tone is key to executing your message effectively. Unlike brand voice, which should remain constant, the brand tone can and should change. It provides the nuance necessary to appropriately communicate your brand message, in alignment with your brand voice, depending on the context. For example, the way you address a customer complaint should differ from the tone used to announce a new product or promotion.
This year has required a lot of adjustment for individuals and businesses alike. As our daily routines were disrupted, many of us had to pivot in one way or another in order to adjust to the times. The changes trickled down to every aspect of business, marketing, consumer behavior, and more. It's safe to say that we were all affected in some way or another this year.
While some of these shifts were painful, there are some interesting dynamics about the year that we think will continue into 2021. It is never easy to predict the future (2020 has certainly proven that), but we think some of the shifts that were made this year — especially in the world of marketing — may stick around for awhile or, at a minimum, influence consumer's behavior in the new year.
Here are some areas of focus that make sense for your business in today's marketing landscape:
Which way will the holiday shopping winds blow this season? Dare we try to predict a single thing in the year 2020? Will customers be more frugal after a tough year, or will they be elated with holiday joy and rush to complete their lists? There are plenty of things that nobody knows, however, there are factors that are certain this season. Here are our marketing recommendations for the 2020 holiday season that you won't want to ignore!
One-to-one marketing tactics have been proven to be successful across many industries and is a great way to increase engagement across the consume experience. with your business. This strategy allows for a more personal interaction when engaging with potential new consumers, as well as nurturing existing customers' loyalty and positive rapport. There are three major tactics used in deploying one-to-one marketing strategies: personalization, segmentation, and customization.
Personalization is essentially organizing your customer base in order to better understand what their needs they have and how they want to be involved with your business. This means making sure the appropropriate content goes to your desired audience. A great way to gather the information needed to make these organization improvements is by monitoring website traffic to see where consumers are going on your website and where they're spending the most time.
Some business owners are afraid to invest in marketing because they don't want to throw away time and money. Even though we live and breathe all things marketing, we have to agree with this mentality. Marketing should be approached with intention, results should be measured, and performance should be analyzed. Without these important steps, you're really just taking shots in the dark.
No one wants to spend money on something that's not a sure thing. That's where the intentionality of your marketing comes into play. Sure, you could try posting on social media or diving into email marketing but unless you're first analyzing the "why" behind those things, you're less likely to receive successful results.
"When companies allow a deep emotional understanding of people's needs to inspire them — and transform their work, their teams, and even their organization at large — they unlock the creative capacity for innovation." IDEO, "Empathy on the Edge"
Empathy, or putting yourself in another's shoes to more deeply understand how they experience the world, is an incredibly important, powerful tool in marketing. Increasingly, customers want to connect with the brands they use, and while there are more ways than ever to get in front of customers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to build trust. By taking the time to understand your customers on a deeper level — what motivates them, what frustrates them, what are their greatest grievances and annoyances, you can create an experience and craft messaging that truly resonates with them. Nothing happens in a vacuum — understanding the context in which consumers interact with your brand can help spark creativity and innovation and ultimately drive better results. You cannot create an effective solution without knowing what your customers value and having a comprehensive understanding of the problem.
As autumn settles in, it's time to start thinking about next year's marketing strategy. This year was certainly unlike any year we could have anticipated. We can use some things we learned from this challenging year in preparation for 2021.
Above all else, prepare for the unexpected. While we certainly hope the global pandemic is behind us next year, it's best to plan for continued unexpected changes as best you can. What does this look like in your marketing strategy? Consumers will likely still be shopping and doing research online still. This means you MUST have a strong digital presence. Is your website in tip top shape? Are you ranking well on Google? Do you have a social media plan in place?
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