Beating A Slow Economy With Customer Loyalty

By Author: tjweb techs
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If You Start It They Will Come Back :

Loyalty programs are often a complicated undertaking for small businesses. Many small businesses decide to avoid these programs because of the time and effort associated with implementation, but the benefits of rewarding customers for staying loyal are far too great to ignore.

Tap Into The Power of Daily Deals :

mobile loyalty program Groupon and Living Social are two daily deals websites that small businesses can utilize to increase the exposure of the business. These websites are ideal for businesses that have experienced a lull or for those that are just starting out. The concept is that the company works with a sales representative from one of these daily deals websites to formulate a deal that will be offered to the public.

Now that small businesses understand the benefit that daily deals sites have to offer, here's a word of warning: Do not keep using daily ...
... deal sites after initially pulling customers in. The reason is the simple fact that continuously offering deep discounts means a significant loss of profits. Daily deals sites are perfect for attracting new customers in the beginning, but the goal is to impress these customers with exceptional goods and services during that discounted visit enough to make them want to come back.

The bottom line is to understand what Groupon and Living Social are meant to do, and utilize the exposure abilities that these websites offer. Reel customers in with the deal and keep them coming back by providing high-quality products or services that are appealing to the target demographic. Remember that sales representatives from Groupon and Living Social are trying to offer the small business what would be best for the deal site, not for the small business. Research adequate price points and offerings, and make it a point to see if the competition has offered a similar deal before settling on the details.

Competing for Customer Retention :

Customer retention Competing with large companies often seems impossible because small businesses do not have the resources and connections that larger businesses do. How do small businesses remain competitive in a world of big business? The answer is loyalty programs.

Customer loyalty programs have been around for decades. Beginning with stamp programs offered in the 1950s where consumers would receive stamps at various retailers that could be traded in for rewards from a catalog, airlines picked up the concept by introducing frequent flier programs in the 1980s.

Small businesses can offer a loyalty program that rewards repeat customers based on either the number of visits or the amount of money spent in total. These programs entice customers to continue patronizing the same business in order to earn rewards. Studies have found that not only do customers enrolled in a customer reward program frequent stores more often, but these repeat customers spend more at each visit.

It may seem that offering a customer reward program is obviously the right choice for any small business. However, there are some risks associated with offering rewards to customers. Problems typically arise when employees are given sales goals or are allowed to process a customer's benefits. These employees may either falsify customer loyalty program applications, or they may decide to use their personal rewards card when customers are rung up so that they can reap the benefits. This will clearly negate the benefits of a rewards program since the customer will not be earning rewards on these transactions.

Keeping a firm policy regarding termination in the case of fraudulent use of reward program benefits is the key to implementing a rewards program while avoiding the risks of dishonest employees.

Get Your Business in the Hands of all SmartPhone Users :

mobile loyalty program While offering a customer reward program can give a small business the edge needed to stay competitive, implementing the program can be a difficult undertaking for companies with limited resources. Processing customer applications and issuing rewards cards may be time consuming, and it is especially frustrating for both the customer and the business when customer reward program cards are lost and need to be replaced. Fortunately, there are mobile phone applications available that can make customer rewards program easier for customers to utilize.

Small businesses can offer customers the benefits of a rewards card in a convenient mobile app form. Merchants simply register their company's customer reward & loyalty programs with the application, and customers are able to track their rewards and purchases in the app. Customers enjoy the convenience of being able to track rewards in real time from their mobile phones while staying informed about current rewards promotions that are available.

Using the right methods at the right time is the key to drawing in customers and keeping them loyal over the long term. While daily deals are a way to attract new customers, offering a program that rewards the loyalty of customers is how a small business can stay successful.

Tjweb Techs is United States author. Web technologist and creator of Blu Core Technology which was established to help small businesses and entrepreneurs use the latest trends in web technology to market their businesses and assess which applications can be used to improve its day to day processes. If you are looking for any information on Best Customer Loyalty Programs than please contact us.