Promote a rewarding loyalty program that prioritizes personalized value to ensure members feel valued, and appreciated.
In the ongoing exploration of loyalty programs, this article focuses on the next step in the Customer Connection Cycle: Promote your loyalty program.
At the recent 2024 NACS State of the Industry (SOI) Summit, one common theme that was shared in almost every presentation was the need for digital solutions and loyalty for retailers to win customers. According to NACS Vice Chairman of Research and Technology and Chairman and CEO of Coen Markets Inc. Charlie McIlvaine, “Customers are looking for shopping experiences that are enhanced by digital aspects, which is where technology comes into the picture.”
To support that assertion, NACS also shared the latest 2023 NACS Convenience Voices survey which found that 66% of shoppers said they were a member of a retailer loyalty program, up from 43% in 2018.
NACS researchers noted a modest decrease in in-store transactions at convenience stores in 2023. While not alarming, this underscores the importance for retailers to step up efforts in attracting customers into their stores to prevent further declines in sales.
With a robust loyalty program and a sizable member base, now you must work to promote the offers you’ve carefully crafted.
Step 3 in the Customer Connection Cycle: Promote
In the last several “Lessons in Loyalty” articles we explored creating and running a successful loyalty program. Today, we will talk about program promotion.
First, we looked into loyalty program foundations with the 3 E’s (having easy, empowering, and engaging programs) and the 3 C’s (clear, compelling, and consistent promotions and communications). Then we talked about solidifying the customer relationship by giving an overview of the Customer Connection Cycle, covering recruiting members into your loyalty program, and finally into member engagement strategies. Now, we will talk about promoting the program offers.
Strategies to Promote Your Loyalty Program
Ensure your program is rewarding to make members feel valued. It’s not just about acquiring sign-ups; taking care of recruited members is crucial. Prioritize providing personalized and compelling value. Make sure the program is enjoyable and relevant, ensuring members feel appreciated and acknowledged. And of course, promote it!
10 Tips for Promotion Success
- Themes: Establish consistent campaign themes like “Taco Tuesdays” or “Wellness Wednesdays” to encourage regular engagement without relying heavily on push notifications.
- Permanent Promotions: Implement headline promotions with a clear value proposition, such as “Always 50% off,” to create anticipation and attract both customers and suppliers.
- Member Exclusives: Offer exclusive member pricing to incentivize loyalty and make membership special.
- Happy Hours: Create designated “happy hour” periods for targeted coupon usage, optimizing customer traffic during quieter times.
- Consistent Currency: Align promotions with your program’s currency (e.g., points, coupons, stamps) for simplicity and consistency.
- Games: Infuse fun into promotions through gamification techniques to increase urgency and exclusivity while enhancing customer engagement.
- Push Notifications: Harness the power of direct consent to communicate to remind members of their benefits or new offers throughout the customer lifecycle, ensuring consistent engagement and redemption.
- Templatize it: Develop reusable campaign templates to streamline operations and maintain consistency, securing approvals from strategic partners for ongoing use.
- Sharing is Caring: Foster community engagement by enabling members to share exclusive promotions with friends and family, generating word-of-mouth buzz.
- Analyze the Data: Use AI and machine learning to personalize content based on member insights and data, enhancing promotion relevance and effectiveness.
7-Eleven Denmark is a Master of Program Promotion
7-Eleven Denmark is Denmark’s leading convenience retailer with approximately 200 stores and is the 2021 NACS Convenience Store Retailer of The Year. Members of their loyalty program benefit from a wide range of offers, games, and exciting content that engage and reward. Recruiting is primarily done in-store, on social media, and in the app using the recruit-a-friend concept. Additionally, 7-Eleven Denmark uses machine learning and AI to personalize offers to their customers.
The Customer Connection Cycle Explained
This informative video explains more about the Customer Connection Cycle in this edition of the Liquid Barcodes Convenience Retail Loyalty Playbook video series.
Achieve Loyalty Excellence
Large or small, retailers have found that having a functional, sleek, easy-to-use loyalty app is the optimal way to stand above the competition.
Developing a distinctive loyalty program is essential in the dynamic landscape of convenience retail, where challenges abound. The Liquid Barcodes Convenience Retail Loyalty Playbook is your hands-on tool to make this happen.
We developed the Liquid Barcodes Customer Connection Cycle framework to illustrate how to strategically engage customers through various channels, converting them into loyal program participants. The framework uses proven loyalty mechanisms to ensure customers return sooner, becoming habitual purchasers.
Recognizing the significance of a strong customer base in driving revenue, the key principle of the Liquid Barcodes Customer Connection Cycle is simplicity, ensuring your program is easy to understand, join, earn, and redeem. It’s not just a proprietary approach; it’s our shared strategy to elevate your loyalty program and drive your business to success.
Click here to download the first few chapters within the Liquid Barcodes Convenience Loyalty Playbook.
About Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes is a leading global loyalty and digital marketing technology partner specializing in the convenience and foodservice industries. The proprietary, cloud-based technology platform allows retailers to create and manage their digital marketing campaigns with the “customer connection cycle” process to engage, promote, and reward customers’ activities in realtime across digital and media channels.
Liquid Barcodes loyalty platform is powering loyalty programs for industry partners across several global markets, by offering unique subscription and mobile payment programs, machine learning, personalization, gamification, loyalty, and other capabilities.
Learn more about Liquid Barcodes at LiquidBarcodes.com.
About the Author
Carolyn Schnare, Chief Content Officer, Liquid Barcodes
Carolyn Schnare has been involved with the convenience retailing industry for two decades with extensive knowledge of customer engagement and marketing, sustainability, and community outreach. Before Liquid Barcodes, Schnare worked at NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores) in a variety of roles from event production to membership and most recently as Director of Strategic Initiatives and host and producer of the popular industry podcast, Convenience Matters. Schnare currently anchors the popular Future of Convenience podcast, produced by Global Convenience Store Focus media group.
