This last month of the year came at us pretty quickly (even though we kind of thought it would never get here). Here are 4 ways to build revenues through loyalty programs, sharing valuable information, communication and enhancing your customer relationship.
It is not too late to implement these ideas and continue to drive traffic to your store, your restaurant or your service-based business through year-end and keep the momentum going into 2021.
Now, more than ever, it is good to think about how to provide value to customers, both your current ones and new ones alike.
Being nimble and able to adapt as we go forward is essential.
How to Provide Value to Customers
Be the expert and the trusted resource.
Thought leadership is always something that companies can provide that doesn’t require a discount on your products or services. Give them value through information whether in a blog, a video or share important tips with them during their shopping experience.
You and your team can provide information to customers about (for example) the latest nutrition trends if you are a restaurant or a specialty food retailer.
Or, if you are a contractor such as an electrician, window installation company or HVAC expert, you can share ways to improve energy efficiency that leads to requests for services and home improvements.
Our team always brainstorms with clients on how to leverage the skill set you have that is unique and can differentiate your company from the competition. Schedule a short call with us to talk about this.
Ways to Give Customers Value
There are many ways to give customers value, and many do not involve discounting.
The importance of customer value is on everyone’s mind as we all try to approach prior customers and provide the services or the products that they need but not overtly encourage (nor force) them to buy things or services that they do not need.
This will come back to you in many ways.
Create trust, generate a long-term relationship, be fair and be supportive of what your customers need now.
Think about it from this little story we heard from a client of ours recently.
Our client had a customer call them for service on their dryer, which they were able to repair on a single trip. Then, a few weeks later, the same customer called them with a problem. It turned out that another major part went bad. While it had nothing to do with the initial repair, our client didn’t charge them for their service call even though their policy clearly allowed them to do so.
As you can imagine, their customer was not thrilled that their dryer was broken even after being recently repaired, but greatly appreciated and earned valuable word of mouth marketing and an online positive review. Even though our client wasn’t able to bill for those 15 minutes the tech spent on site, the return on “doing the right thing” has already provided benefits back to them. They have earned 5 new clients through those referrals from that customer.
Importance of Customer Value
Maybe this story also highlights the benefits of doing what you can to keep and retain every customer you have today.
Make sure they know you appreciate them. Do not hesitate to tell them how you see value in them.
Thank them for their loyalty. Make it “all about them” and how you can help them with whatever it is that they need.
Make it as easy for them as possible to shop from you.
We have shared a lot of options for adding or enhancing e-commerce and online shopping, making products available for shipment or curbside pick up, and even creating virtual, contactless and click to pay options to eliminate the need to touch a screen, pen or keypad in-store or in the restaurant.
Leverage Communication Tools
Finally, more than ever, it is important to be diligent and leverage the communication tools that you have. In addition to keeping your website up to date, utilize social media, e-mail and text marketing programs to connect with the customers more frequently than you might normally. You need to stay in touch with them and share information that they want and need to know now.
Share how you are staying socially distant, keeping your store clean, your employees healthy and customers safe. Share how your employees are ready for their next visit. Share the latest products you have available in stock or ready to ship. Share specials – whether a feature, a BOGO, a gift card promotion – or how to earn extra points on purchases made now. Share how you and your team are helping the community at this time of the year, with volunteer work, collections for the local food bank, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army or other efforts important to your neighborhood. Share the benefits of your loyalty program and how they can earn points and rewards with current and future benefits from being a loyal customer.
Whatever you can share to remain relevant and in contact with customers can help you keep them thinking of you, your products and your services. Even if they don’t need you now, they will remember the next time they do.
If you would like to connect to learn more or discuss ways to help continue to improve revenues through the end of the year and into next, reach out now to book an appointment with us.
Do you have a loyalty program in place? Maybe you don’t like the one you have. We have custom programs that can be set up quickly and tailored to your business. Let us know.
You can also refer back to some of our other loyalty program ideas in a blog we posted earlier this year.