In a competitive marketplace, such as the hospitality industry, customer loyalty is a pivotal step in growing your business. Since it’s more difficult to acquire new customers, you should put a lot of effort in keeping existing ones. One way to accomplish this is by having a solid understanding of what customer loyalty solutions are available to you. Focusing on loyalty will help reduce churn while also creating evangelists for your business. In this post, we will outline three foundational elements to help you build a successful loyalty program.
Deliver Exceptional Customer Service
“Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after an experience with you becomes your trademark”
– Jay Danzie
Step one to finding the right solution to customer loyalty is having exceptionally good customer service. High-quality customer interaction is the foundation of any successful business. In order to avoid an embarrassing customer service disaster, you should be sure to do the following:
- Listen: Nobody likes to be interrupted.
- Maintain eye contact: Don’t be distracted by what is going on around you.
- Show Empathy: Try to understand their situation and offer to help.
- Remain Calm: Don’t let criticism make you angry, keep a cool head.
For more in-depth information, read this article on essential customer service skills.
Offer a Rewards Program
In the past, many loyalty programs required the use of a punchcard that the customer had to keep track of. In recent years, the emergence of mobile-based payment platforms has helped businesses ditch physical punchcards altogether. One type of customer loyalty solution that makes this possible is a mobile rewards app. Below are three offerings to consider.
Belly – Belly offers three different pricing and plan options depending on what features you want to integrate into your business’ loyalty program. It requires the use of an iPad that a customer will enter their information into. Belly will track purchase history and reward the customer accordingly.
Punchcard – Punchcard is a loyalty app that is available for customers on their mobile phones. It helps you acquire new customers because it allows you to communicate with other consumers shopping nearby.
Perka – Perka is centered on enabling small businesses to communicate with users that use a mobile check-in. They also offer a mobile app that replaces the typical paper punchcard. Perka tracks a customer’s purchases and gets them on track to start earning rewards.
Be Accountable Online
Be proactive in seeking customer feedback in the form of online reviews. If you’re already sending out emails or directing customers to a survey URL printed on a receipt, you’re headed in the right direction. However, there is a more effective way for you to invite customers to review your business.
The preferred communication channel of many customers is text messages. Did you know that approximately 90% of text messages are opened and read within the first three minutes of delivery? That number is high when compared to email which has an average open rate of 24%, and it blows receipts out of the water since they see less than 1% response rate.
We encourage you to invite your customers to leave a review from their mobile phone. It might be useful to implement an online review management platform to help you track your company’s reviews across all of its business listings. Not only is it a great way to boost your SEO, but it’s helpful in acquiring new customers as well.
Improve the online reputation of your business with RAY
Do you want people to speak well of your brand online? With an adequate strategy you can improve the user experience and with it, the online presence of your business.
The best: you don’t have to spend all your time on homework. You only need the right tool.
