Customer loyalty schemes can be a boon to small businesses, Marketing Donut’s experts explain.
If you often buy your cup of coffee from the same local café because they stamp your card and the tenth cup is free, you’re not alone. Simple customer loyalty schemes like this are well worth considering because they often make a big difference to a small business’ bottom line, say the experts at Marketing Donut.
Marketing Donut rewards expert Derek Williams, says evidence suggest that up to 68 percent of customers switch suppliers simply because of perceived indifference. Furthermore, a five per cent improvement in customer retention could add between 25 per cent and 125 percent to the bottom line.
Suddenly showing customers you care and rewarding their loyalty makes very good business sense.
“Most small business owners appreciate the importance of attracting new customers. But few pay any attention to customer loyalty in the early years. This is a crazy situation! It is like trying to run a bath without putting the plug in the hole,” says Williams in an article on Marketing Donut.
While there are lots of different options for developing a loyalty scheme, Williams says there are golden rules when it comes to devising one that’s right for your small business. Among them:
• Set your objectives. Do you want more customers? Or do you want to increase your sales to existing customers? Or do you want customers of a particular type?
• Ask a sample of your existing target customers what they think of your proposals and tailor the scheme accordingly.
• Measure your average sales and how often the customer purchases from you. Is the loyalty scheme making a difference? If it’s not working then rethink it.
Marketing Donut is a Google and Royal Mail-backed resource for small businesses. It’s packed with free expert information, advice and resources to help small business people improve their sales and marketing results.
The Marketing Donut is at www.marketingdonut.co.uk
Further information:
>> visit http://marketingdonutblog.co.uk
>> contact Mick Dickinson, BHP Information Solutions, tel: 0117 904 2224 or [email protected]
