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Customer Service Information |
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Loyalty Programs May Keep Customers Coming Back - But First You've Got to Earn their Trust
Remember trading stamps? If you're over 40, chances are you will. Every time you shopped at a participating grocery store or gas station they gave you stamps to paste into a book. When you'd accumulated enough stamps, you could cash them in for "free" gifts. These stamps were one of the first loyalty programs. They kept customers loyal to a particular product or merchant because they offered an incentive that encouraged the customer to keep coming back - and spend more money. While trading stamps are a thing of the past, a wide range of industries still use loyalty programs to establish long-term relationships with their customers. By far the most successful and well known is the frequent flyer program. On the surface, frequent flyer programs appear to be all about rewarding customers with free flights just because they choose to fly with a particular airline - the more miles you fly the more free miles you get. But, if you asked the airlines who really benefits from these programs, chances are you'd hear a resounding, "We do." Ask them to explain, and they'll likely tell you that frequent flyer programs allow them to collect data on individual customers, help them tailor their mailings and special offers to the customer's specific needs, allow them to promote higher fares, and ultimately increase their sales. But, as popular as frequent flyer programs have become they only work if the service offered by the airline is good enough to earn the customer's trust. And that means not only offering a quality flying experience but great customer service and on-going communication. For smaller businesses, the benefits of establishing a loyalty program are no different to those enjoyed by the major airlines. And equally, the program's success depends on first establishing the three most important elements of building that loyalty: 1. Treat your customer's right, and they'll be yours for life. Your customers will not only judge your company by the quality of your product, but also by the level of service you offer. Offer one without the other and you may as well give up now. Great customer service includes, among other things: Credibility: Your customers should be able to trust you. No one wants to be on the alert for the small print or hidden charges. They want to know that your company can be trusted and has their best interests at heart. Flexibility: Never use the words, "I'm sorry but it's not our policy." Always solve your customer's problems, even if it means losing the sale. There's nothing worse for a customer than a company that will not go out of their way to accommodate their needs. On-time Deliveries: If you've ever ordered a product and been told that the delivery time is 6-8 weeks, you'll understand the frustration a customer experiences. Unless the product is out of stock, or is an international delivery, there's no earthly reason why a product should take 6-8 weeks to deliver. Similarly, if you promise a certain delivery time, you must abide by it. If you say the product will be shipped within 72 hours, then ship it within 72 hours. If for some reason you find you can't meet the delivery time, notify the customer and give them the option to cancel their order. Accurate Billing: We all know mistakes happen. But when you make a billing error or you overcharge, you immediately lose credibility. Add to that the time is takes for a customer to contact you to complain or get you to adjust the bill, and you may well have lost a future sale - and the potential sales of friends and family they've complained to. Hassle-free refunds: We've all been there. For some reason we change our minds about a product, or it doesn't work properly, or it's not quite what we expected. And we want our money back. Make sure your customers know this is an easy process, up front. 2. Obtain Customer Information If you want your loyalty program to succeed you must obtain background information from your customers. A program that only requires a name, address, and proofs of purchase isn't building a long-term knowledgeable relationship with them. And it makes sense that a customer who will take the time to complete an enrollment form is going to be more interested in the product than a casual purchaser. When designing your enrollment form make sure you get information on product usage, purchasing habits, attitudes etc. That way you can tailor your products and services to your customer's specific needs. And build a database of customers who actually want a long-term relationship with your company. Keep Communicating One of the easiest ways to keep customers loyal is to establish on going communication. This can be in the form of emails promoting special offers, letters announcing new products, electronic or print newsletters or even offering educational materials. Another good way of continuing communication is to send them something useful with your company name on it. These simple, inexpensive gifts keep your name in front of a customer, and help to keep them loyal. Need some help thinking up a loyalty program for your business? Here are some suggestions.
Properly implemented loyalty programs are a long-term marketing strategy that takes a lot of work and commitment. But, getting new customers takes a lot of work too. So, it makes sense to do everything you can to make sure that every one of those customers keeps coming back time and time again, and recommends you to others. About The Author Julia is an independent copywriter and consultant specializing in advertising, search engine optimization and search engine marketing services. To learn more about how Julia can help boost your company's profits visit her site at www.juliahyde.com. You may also like to sign up for Marketing Works! Julia's monthly ezine. Visit www.juliahyde.com/form.html to sign up or email Julia at mailto:info@juliahyde.com for details.
MORE RESOURCES: AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Business Wire Ikea expands integration with assembly services platform Chain Store Age JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList™ for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKiosk™: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: It’s huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net Customer Support | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf 311 - Birmingham’s Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Delta’s annual profit-sharing day spotlights ‘people first’ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Fulton County Recognized as a 2024 National Customer Service All Star Fulton County Government Contact Reverb Support Reverb America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™ PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permits–customer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Transforming Customer Service: How Robotic Process Automation is Reshaping Call Centers IBTimes India Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf How Intercom Achieves 86% Resolution Rates with Claude AI: A Customer Service Revolution - Anthropic Office of Developmental Programs Governor Tom Wolf |
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