5 WAYS TO INCREASE LOYALTY IN THE POST COVID-19
Customer loyalty programs have been proven to be one of the best ways to build strong relationships with customers and attract new ones – making them a crucial part of most viable business plans. This is even truer in a ‘coronavirus world’ – where the loyalty of a business’ customers can be the difference between staying in business and going under.
The pandemic has put temporary restrictions on some of the freedoms that we all used to take for granted, which has had a dramatic effect on the way that all businesses operate. Loyalty platforms are no different and have had to evolve during the pandemic – becoming more efficient and easier to use.
Our team has compiled a list of things that you can do to attract more customers and encourage them to be more loyal...
Communicate with your customers
Every business communicates with its customers in some way. However, many businesses can be surprisingly bad at communicating clear, concise and sincere messages.
It is an essential part of creating a community around your business. In the past, serving a good coffee or creating a rare handbag would have been enough for people to choose a business. However, today, you also need to build a community that will add to the overall customer experience and give your customers a sense of belonging.
For example, Lane Eight, a coffee shop in East London and its owner George published a video of himself on social media to explain why his business needed support, during the pandemic.
The response was overwhelming, ensuring that Lane Eight could survive the unprecedented events of 2020.
They have also been organising ‘run club’ and inviting a variety of interesting guests to take part in their podcast. Thus, when you create a community that people feel a part of it and get inspired by, they will interact with you in both good times and bad times.
He also offered them an easy way to support the business: gift vouchers. So, the customers could buy a gift voucher for themselves or give them to a friend to support their neighbourhood coffee shop. In the meantime, Lane Eight gained access to an immediate source of cash flow, allowing them to maintain financial stability, while also staying relevant to their customers.
Lane Eight sold a ton of gift vouchers on the day that George made his personal appeal to their customers.
Give them an easy way to support you
Gift vouchers have given many businesses a vital lifeline during the pandemic. Loyal customers are willing to purchase vouchers that will allow them to purchase their favourite products at a later date.
Research has shown that it allows customers to be more hopeful about the future and gives them a sense of ‘normality’, while also providing an easy way to support their favourite businesses.
It is also a great way for businesses to generate cash flow and guarantee that their customers will return, once this is all over.
Magic Vouchers were created during the lockdown and have really helped many of our partners out. To find out more about the magic vouchers scheme, contact our team.
Contact with #supportyourlocal communities
Several studies have shown that people’s shopping habits have changed during the pandemic. Instead of shopping from faceless international conglomerates, they want to patronise local businesses that give them a sense of belonging and loyalty.
Many people have started to build community action groups that seek to encourage others to make sure that their neighbourhood cafes, boutiques, and hairdressers would not go out of business.
There are quite a few social media accounts or websites that you can sign your business up to such as –
These are several examples that our partners have been featured and got support; @supportselondon , @croydoneatsout , Camden Council NSW, @_supportyourlocal_
Find Online Solutions
Even though people have gotten used to the new normal and started to go out, there is still a massive demand for online shopping.
Most businesses struggle to make their online offering as enjoyable as their instore ones. Online shopping tends to be impersonal and cold, which makes it difficult to develop loyal, long-lasting relationships with customers. This problem is more acute if customers are used to being given free treats or rewards when they shop in person.
Magic Stamp has created a system that allows people to shop online and be given a code that equates to one stamp. Meaning that you can continue to reward your customers for their loyalty and give them a better online shopping experience.
Create social responsibility campaigns
Social responsibility projects for businesses have never been more important. It doesn’t matter whether your target customers are from generation Y or Z, they will certainly be more willing to patronise your business if you give something back to society.
The pandemic has brought people together and made them want to do good things for each other, so if your company does something good for the NHS, key workers or the environment, your customers will want to support you.
We gathered several examples from our business partners, where they did altruistic things that helped them to attract new customers.