Loyal. Secrets of new generation loyalty programs

LOYAL

LOYAL

LOYAL , -th, -th, -flax, -flax. Keeping formally within the limits of legality, within the limits of a benevolently neutral attitude towards someone or something. L. man. Loyal attitude.

Dictionary Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949-1992 .

Synonyms:

See what "LOYAL" is in other dictionaries:

- [fr., eng. loyal letters. faithful] keeping formally within the framework of legality, within the framework of a benevolently neutral attitude towards anyone to anything, law-abiding. Dictionary of foreign words. Komlev N.G., 2006. loyal (French, English loyal letters. true) 1) ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Loyal, devoted, trustworthy, benevolent, well-intentioned, well-meaning, well-meaning, loyal, neutral Dictionary of Russian synonyms. loyal trustworthy, well-intentioned, well-thought, prudent (obsolete) Dictionary ... ... Synonym dictionary

Franz. accessible, merciful, humane, philanthropic, affable, noble and truthful, benevolent. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dal. 1863 1866 ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

loyal- oh, oh. loyal, eadj., eng. loyal. 1. Faithful to the current laws, regulations of the authorities (sometimes only outwardly, formally). ALS 1. Such a system of politics is recognized as the only honest (loyale) and natural. I. Aksakov 1 667. On the motive ... ... Historical dictionary gallicisms of the Russian language

Keeping formally within the limits of legality, within the limits of a neutrally benevolent attitude towards someone or something Dictionary of business terms. Akademik.ru. 2001 ... Glossary of business terms

loyal- oh, oh; flax, flax 1) Outwardly faithful to state power holding formally within the bounds of legality. loyal opposition. Loyal politician. Antonyms: hostile / bny, disloyal / lazy 2) Testifying to such fidelity. ... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

loyal- ▲ hostile non-loyalty correct attitude to what l; lack of hostility. loyal. | in peace (let go of # whom l). tolerate. tolerant. ▼ trustworthy see tolerant… Ideographic Dictionary of the Russian Language

loyal- Loans. in the second half of the 19th century. from English. lang., where loyal "loyal" "faithful" French. loyal, dating back to lat. legałis "legitimate, correct". See legal… Etymological dictionary of the Russian language

loyal- English - loyal (true). French - loyal. Latin - legalis (legal, correct). The original source is a Latin word, translated meaning "legitimate, correct." From Latin, the French word loyal was formed. In the middle… … Etymological dictionary of the Russian language Semenov

LOYAL.- From English. lang. to the second floor. 19th century English loyal loyal loyal is a gallicism: fr. loyal lat. legalis lawful, correct, derived from lex law ... Etymological Dictionary of Sitnikov

Books

• Loyal client. How to Turn an Angry Customer into a Satisfied Customer in 1 Minute (MP3 Audiobook), John Schole. An angry client is ready to wipe you and your company off the face of the earth - and all because you served him badly. Yes, you are not an angel and sometimes you make mistakes! .. However, the client who came with ... audiobook
• Loyal Customer: How to Turn an Angry Customer into a Satisfied Customer in 1 Minute by John Schole. An angry customer is ready to wipe you and your company off the face of the earth - and all because you served him badly. Yes, you are not an angel and sometimes you make mistakes!.. However, the client who came with…

Today's consumers are members of an average of 13.4 loyalty programs. At the same time, only 24% of them admitted that they are completely satisfied with the bonus products that they use.

Dmitry Kholomtsev, Executive Director of KUPIVIP e-commerce services, explains why it is important for businesses to create a convenient and understandable loyalty program and how to successfully implement it.

A convenient loyalty program can increase the share of repeat purchases

Customer retention is one of the most important tasks modern business, be it retail, service connection or any other business. Today, technology allows you to attract new customers so effectively that, in fact, letting them try your service or product is not such a difficult task.

But how to interest the client to return, how to keep those who are not the first time making purchases from you - questions of the next order of complexity.

According to statistics, repeat orders from loyal customers account for more than 60% of the total business turnover of any major retailer.

A user-friendly and user-friendly loyalty program is one of the key ways to increase repeat purchases and reduce churn, of course, along with good service and high quality products.

Natalia Zhuchkova

Director of Media and CRM "M.Video"

Of course, the loyalty program should be convenient for customers and mobile - no one is ready to carry packs of cards with them, especially if purchases are not made every day, for example, as in the household appliances segment. A few years ago, we switched to "digital" customer identification.

It is enough to indicate the phone number at the checkout to receive bonus points upon purchase, and it is convenient to track the balance and pay with bonuses for new products in your personal account on the site. We offered customers access to all information on the bonus card and from a smartphone - using a mobile application.

Three Classic Types of Loyalty Programs

• Cumulative

A program based on the accumulation of points that can be used to pay for subsequent purchases. This is one of the most common types of incentive programs, the key to success of which is ease of understanding and use.

The accumulative loyalty program is widely used in the service sector, especially in the tourism sector: as a member of a hotel or booking service loyalty program, you will earn points for every trip, every ruble spent.

The second common area of ​​application is retail of any format: today the so-called cash-back reward systems are used by every second store.

Example. Major North American retailer Nordstrom launched funded program loyalty along with their debit cards, which double the accumulation of bonuses when paying in the brand's stores.

According to Nordstrom representatives, more than 40% of their consumers already use the bonus debit card. The goal of the retailer is to increase this number of loyal customers.

A similar loyalty program was launched by KUPIVIP last September: for each redeemed order, the client receives 3% cashback, which can be used to pay up to 100% of the cost of the next purchases within 90 days. More than 20% of customers already use bonus rubles regularly, and this share is growing every month.

• multi-tiered

The more the buyer uses the product, the more points and benefits - this is how the principle of this program can be described in one sentence. Often such programs are used in the service sector.

The versatility of multi-tiered loyalty programs is that they can combine different mechanics: increasing the number of purchases, stimulating communication with the brand online, promoting a certain category of goods or services, gamification.

Example. good example A multi-tiered loyalty program launched in Russia is the updated Vkusomaniya from Azbuka Vkusa. In addition to the classic accumulation of points for each purchase, club program offers personalized discounts based on the user's previous purchases, the opportunity to purchase tickets for master classes, celebrations and tastings, as well as the opportunity to donate your bonuses.

A multi-tiered loyalty program is difficult to implement in terms of calculating efficiency. It requires a close study of its client audience, its segmentation and identification of preferences.

But such a bonus system allows you to reach the widest audience.

A mix of the first two types is possible - this approach is used by M.Video. Customers receive points for every purchase, and they can spend them both on equipment and on services, for example, on "gold" in World of Tanks and other game content.

Thus, program participants save an average of about 20% on purchases. According to the retailer, the program already has about 20 million people, over the past year the number of regular customers has grown by 15%, which indicates the popularity of the proposed mechanics.

• coalition

The most common type of loyalty program for: today, almost every bank can offer a number of co-branded cards. Besides, affiliate program can bring together several partners from different fields.

A coalition loyalty program for retail is of particular interest if your brand is striving for cross-channel (promotion of online and offline channels). After all, a partner in an online loyalty program can be, for example, a brand’s own offline store.

Example. Children's clothing retailer Carter's launched a cross-brand loyalty program in the fourth quarter of 2015. Rewarding Moments customers earn one point for every dollar spent at any US Carter's, Oshkosh B'gosh, or online stores.

For every 75 points, the customer receives a $10 credit, which they can then spend at any of the brand's stores. According to the company representatives, the loyalty program allowed to increase the volume of online sales by 20%.

A Russian example of an omnichannel loyalty program is the Karen Millen brand offer. The bonus system was launched in offline stores of the network a long time ago, and in 2015 the brand decided to implement an integrated approach.

Discounts are now accumulated for online and offline purchases, while discounts within the loyalty program are also taken into account cross-channel.

It should be noted that the bonus program for online purchases is automatically registered: each user who registers on the site automatically becomes a member of the loyalty program, which greatly simplifies understanding and working with the program for users.

How to Implement a Successful Loyalty Program

• Formulate an offer

It's simple: answer the question, what benefits will a customer participating in your loyalty program receive. At the same time, try to analyze whether you want to work with all your customers or highlight the most profitable segments by offering them an exclusive bonus system.

The second approach, although seemingly limiting, works for many brands, especially in retail, because often 20% of customers provide 70% of income.

• Define Infrastructure Requirements

This component defines the inputs for the implementation of the program: what tools do you need, what resources will be required? At this stage, it may be worthwhile to involve experienced contractors who will help calculate the economics of your project, because often the brand does not have enough own resources to implement a complete cross-channel solution.

Infrastructure in different cases may include:

1. Main sales channels: website, mobile app, Retail Stores
2. Service departments and issues: call center, delivery, information using POS materials
3. Back-end: loyalty database, implementation of the program mechanism, analytics and efficiency
4. Additional Items to Consider: Management Tools social networks, interaction with online marketing

• Determine the best way using your loyalty program

Try to make the most of any client analytics that is available to you.

The market is rapidly developing, today's consumers are accustomed to the highest level of service and a completely personalized approach. The more interesting "chips" you can offer for your audience, the better.

At the same time, don't over complicate things. Gamification, quests, questions and answers, and constant communication with clients on social networks will suit you if your audience is at least in the age category that understands the meaning of these words.

Eldorado's experience

Natalia Balashova, head of the Eldorado loyalty program group

Our loyalty program has a simple and understandable system for customers to accumulate and write off bonuses from each purchase, increased bonuses for the goods of our clubs and the possibility of receiving closed offers for promotional goods. More than 85% of buyers use a bonus card when making purchases: enough mobile phone to spend or accumulate your bonuses.

The main objective of loyalty programs for electronics retailers is to stimulate the frequency of customer purchases, because on average customers return to our stores twice a year. In our experience, any promotions with bonus mechanics perfectly cope with this task.

Unlike household appliances and electronics stores, fashion industry stores prefer loyalty program discount schemes. The higher margin of this business allows you to offer customers a direct discount or discount depending on the status of the customer.

Fashion retail, especially in the premium part of the segment, has absolutely amazing image programs to stimulate customer loyalty. The brand, having learned what is really important to their customers, offers them a value that is not expressed in financial terms.

An example of such a story can be the Worn Ware on Patagonia program, when the client is offered not bonuses or discounts, but the repair of their favorite clothes so that they stay with them forever.

About trends in the online retail discount system

Konstantin Gorshenev, AKIT Onedaysale project manager

The consumer today is increasingly looking at prices and wants to buy goods here and now. Gathering together great amount promotional offers, we were able to identify certain trends that have a significant impact on online retail and consumer behavior.

The main one is the system of discounts in online retail in general.

It continues to gain popularity and, of course, will develop further.

More and more cashback services appear on the network, services joint purchases, aggregated loyalty cards of several online stores and others.

These savings trends are gaining popularity online, because by receiving additional bonuses and discounts in addition to the convenience of home delivery, the consumer remains in a double benefit.

Online stores today more often choose marketing tools - digital and interactive promotions, rather than advertising.

Large companies, bringing a product to the market, create special sites, increasing interest in it. Plain contextual advertising is gradually being replaced by new interesting formats that are becoming extremely convenient and familiar to the consumer.

You will learn:

• The essence of the loyalty program on the example of a dialogue with the buyer.
• Popular types of customer loyalty programs.
• Development and implementation of a loyalty program in stages.
• What to look for when creating the conditions for a loyalty program.
• 6 ways to evaluate the effectiveness of a company's loyalty program.
• Examples of unusual loyalty programs from around the world.

Marketers are well aware that it is much more profitable to retain an existing customer than to attract a new one. The difference in costs for these activities can be up to 10 times! In addition, statistics confirm that a regular customer spends 67% more than a new one. Therefore, all efforts should be aimed specifically at retaining customers and stimulating repeat sales. To this end, the vast majority of companies implement loyalty programs in their activities, but few people know what is really important for consumers.

Expert opinion

The essence of the loyalty program on the example of a dialogue with the buyer

Egor Chemyakin,

Both executives and employees of marketing departments are constantly thinking about how to prevent their client from becoming a buyer of another company. The most common solution that comes to their mind is the use of discounts. Moreover, according to many, their regularity and significant size - the only way keep the client. At the same time, the losses that accompany an incompletely thought-out discount policy are often not taken into account. As a result, such a system can hardly be considered effective and, most importantly, beneficial for the company.

For example, let's analyze the model of interaction between the seller and the buyer, when the client expects to receive a discount and unambiguously makes it clear that otherwise he will turn to another supplier of goods or services.

Bad option:

What discount will I get?
- There are no discounts for this product.
- In this case, I will order from your competitors!
- Okay, I can arrange a 5% discount for you personally, but this is between us.

A good option:

Can I get a discount?
- Of course, if the purchase amount exceeds 10 thousand rubles, your discount will be 5%.
- Well, such conditions suit me.

The best option:

Will there be a discount?
- Oh sure. Moreover, your personal discount will grow along with the number of your purchases. If you purchase goods for 10 thousand rubles, you will receive a 5% discount, and if the purchase amount exceeds 20 thousand rubles, the discount will be 10%.
- That is, if the price of this coat is 22 thousand rubles, I will pay 19,800?
- Yes, that's right.

These dialogues fully reflect the essence of the loyalty program for customers, which is widely used by small businesses throughout Russia. If you want to radically differ from your competitors, it's time to think about how to do it.

The loyalty program includes a whole range of activities, each of which is aimed at retaining existing customers and creating long-term mutually beneficial relationships between customers and the company.

The goal that the seller seeks to achieve using loyalty programs is repeat sales. Such programs are invariably included in the marketing strategy of organizations and are aimed at increasing profits, increasing sales, retaining old and attracting new customers. The effectiveness of a set of measures is measured using indicators such as:

• acquisition of new customers;
• increase in revenue from repeat sales;
• increase in the frequency of purchases (increase in the number of receipts);
• expansion of the list of goods purchased by one consumer (diversification of purchases);
• decrease in the level of customer churn;
• a shift in the interests of buyers towards more expensive goods.

So if you have not yet thought about implementing a customer loyalty program, now is the time to start using this powerful tool to take your business to a new stage of its development.

• Restaurant loyalty program: practical recommendations from a practitioner

8 Popular Types of Loyalty Programs for Customers

Discount Loyalty Program

By far, the most common way to retain and attract customers, not only in Russia but throughout the world, is to provide discounts. They can be both one-time and cumulative. The client receives a discount card, the presentation of which, with each subsequent purchase, entitles him to a certain discount - either a fixed amount or increasing over time.

The essence of a cumulative discount is that by crossing a certain threshold set by the company, the consumer has the opportunity to save even more, that is, the size of his discount grows along with his loyalty. Some firms even "punish" customers who visit the store irregularly, lowering the percentage of the discount and returning it only at the next purchase.

The advantages of such a system:

1. Everyone loves discounts, especially Russians in the context of a protracted economic crisis and a decrease in purchasing power.
2. This type of loyalty program is simple in terms of organization and control of its implementation.

Cons of the system:

1. Discount cards of two or three competing companies are in the wallet of each buyer, and the amount of discount that he can count on, as a rule, does not differ. Therefore, it is a stretch to assume that this tool really works.
2. The client is interested in constant purchases only as long as his discount has not reached its maximum value.
3. Any discount is a reduction in the company's net profit.

This is easy to verify with a simple example. Imagine that the price of one of your products is 9,000 rubles. The markup you made is 30%. By implementing it under the loyalty program with a 5% discount, you lose 450 rubles. At first glance, compared to the amount of the sale, this is a small part of it. But not everything is so simple.

Each product or service has a cost that you cannot change. The discount you give to the customer is subtracted from the profit you could have made. Let's say in this example it is 2700 rubles. Minus the discount, you will be left with only 2250 rubles.

Thus, giving the buyer 5% of the retail price, you yourself lose 17.5%. As you can see, not so little. Well, if you can afford a markup of 100-200%. What if we increase the discount?

Remember this point, we will return to it a little later. In the meantime, let's look at what loyalty programs exist for customers, in addition to the discount one.

Loyalty bonus program

Discounts in this option of customer retention are not provided, they are replaced by bonuses. The fundamental difference is that, by leaving a certain amount indicated by the company at the checkout of the store, the consumer receives a certain amount of bonuses that can either be used as a partial payment for the next purchase (for example, up to 20% of the cost), or be exchanged for goods valued in the number of bonuses. Various companies use bonuses in the form of points, stickers, rubles or local currency that is in circulation within the same trading network.

The advantages of such a system:

1. The loyalty bonus program is effective where it is possible to make regular purchases.
2. A client can become the owner of a decent amount of bonuses if he constantly purchases and for impressive amounts.
3. As a mandatory condition, the company may put forward a requirement for a certain period of validity of bonuses, after which they expire, which will encourage consumers to make an unplanned purchase.
4. Having received bonuses, not all customers will use them, therefore, the company does not lose anything, and the product is eventually sold at full price.

Cons of such a system:

1. When it comes to a very expensive, and therefore rare or one-time purchase, implement bonus program loyalty makes no sense. The client is unlikely to return to you again, despite the benefits offered to him.
2. If the rules for accumulating and using bonuses are too complicated, consumers simply will not understand them, and as a result, the loyalty program will not perform its function.
3. Bonuses are a more complex option than discounts. To control the correctness of their accrual and use, as well as compliance with the validity period, a special program will be required.

There are two ways to quickly increase the profits of any company - to raise prices for goods or services, or to replace the discount loyalty system with a bonus one.

Let's return to our example about a 5% discount for a product worth 9,000 rubles. Let's see how it works for bonuses. The client made a purchase, for which he was awarded bonus points in the amount of 5% of the value of the goods. He can spend them when he completes the next one.

• 1st purchase - 9000 rubles.
• 2nd purchase - 9000 rubles.

Bonus from the first purchase (located on his card) - 5%, or 450 rubles.

So 2700 (your net profit on the first sale) + 2700 (second sale) - 450 (first purchase credits written off) = 4950 (your net profit minus the discount).

Thus, with the loyalty bonus program, the profit discount was 8.5% versus 17.5% in the first case.

Of course, you can argue that the customer is entitled to another 5% on the next purchase, which again adds up to 17.5%. However, practice shows that not everyone will return for the next product, but someone will come when the validity period of the accrued bonuses has already expired. And only after the completion of the next transaction, the buyer will receive bonuses for the next purchase.

It is quite possible that you will have a question, will you lose all your customers by replacing discounts with bonuses? You shouldn't be afraid of it. Probably, some share will refuse your services, but in return you will receive an increase in profits.

So you have nothing to fear. The small number of customers who leave due to a change in the loyalty program would never become your loyal customers. There are always people who are constantly looking for the best advantageous offers and therefore do not fall into the group of main consumers for any company.

Nevertheless, we will make a reservation that, of course, the choice of a loyalty program must be approached, taking into account many different factors. There is no one universal recipe that suits absolutely all types of businesses.

And one more piece of advice. Do not ask customers what suits them more - bonuses or discounts. The answer is so clear - a discount. The benefit that can be obtained here and now is always better than the one that will be in the distant future. Therefore, choose a loyalty program based on the interests of your company.

Tiered loyalty programs

This customer retention system is simple in essence, but rather difficult to implement. It is based on a direct relationship between how much a client spends on paying for goods and services in your company, and the privileges that he receives as a result. These include additional services such as delivery or a longer warranty. By demonstrating loyalty to your firm, the consumer secures a higher status for himself. Such a system works effectively in the banking and insurance sectors, and it is also a favorite airline loyalty program.

System advantages:

1. The engine of this loyalty program is ambition, the desire to take a more advantageous position compared to ordinary customers, so a person is ready to spend more and more.
2. It is in demand in areas where there are clients of the VIP and Double-VIP segment.

Cons of such a system:

1. It makes sense to implement this program only for goods and services of a high level of value.
2. Bonuses must be very significant.
3. Since the system requires an individual approach, it may be difficult to implement it. Naturally, one cannot do without a computer program specially written for these purposes.

Paid loyalty program

In this case, the client simply buys the right to receive any bonuses and privileges. Usually it looks like a fixed subscription fee, for which access to additional features, limited resources, special terms of service is provided.

The advantages of such a system:

1. Easy to organize.
2. Ideal for regularly purchased goods and services.
3. Customers willingly pay for access to such a loyalty program, but do not always actively use it (that is, the company receives money, but does not give anything in return).
4. You can calculate the cost of bonuses in order to fully comply with your interests.

Cons of the system:

1. If, from the point of view of customers, the benefit of a paid subscription is below the price they have to pay, such a model is doomed to failure.

It should be recognized that this is the most effective loyalty program for individuals, because it allows customers to receive tangible benefits compared to buyers who do not participate in it. But in order to bring it to life, you must reach a certain level of development in your segment. As an example, consider large retail chains- "Okay" and "Tape". The cards they offer to their customers are inexpensive, but the difference in price between some items for cardholders and non-cardholders can be very significant.

Loyalty programs with intangible rewards

When you understand what is truly valuable to your customers, building a long-term motivational model will not be difficult.

It is possible for almost any company to launch a loyalty program based on discounts or prizes, but one that can offer its consumers privileges that cannot be measured in money will move to the next level of customer relations.

The coup was conceived by the marketers of Patagonia, an outdoor clothing brand. Outdoor equipment is often in need of repair. It was this service that was offered to customers instead of points and discounts. The concept is called "The Stories We Wear" and connects extreme sports enthusiasts with clothing from this trademark on an emotional level.

Affiliate Loyalty Program

As in the previous case, we are talking about the need to find out the needs of your customers that are not among those satisfied by your company, but no less important to them. Your task is to find partners for whom your consumers are also customers.

Loyalty programs based on strategic partnerships can enable rapid business development and growth client base. For buyers, they serve as an indicator that you understand their needs well and are doing everything possible to help them.

An example of advanced affiliate marketing is American Express. The company cooperates with Macy's, AT&T, Rite Aid, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Hulu. By participating in the loyalty program, customers receive points that can later be used to pay for the services of a partner company. By renting a car at Enterprise and earning a certain amount of bonuses, the buyer can use them to pay for communication services at AT&T.

Loyalty programs with elements of gamification

The use of gaming mechanisms in the loyalty program allows you to interest customers and achieve significant results.

The first thing that comes to mind in this case is the holding of various competitions. This technique, of course, has the right to exist, but the programs must be very carefully designed so that customers treat them with the proper level of seriousness and enjoy participating in a show that brings variety to the daily shopping procedure.

To achieve this, it is important to offer consumers benefits that are really in demand and at the same time realistically achievable. The conditions of the competitions must be worked out to the smallest detail - this will minimize the interest of prize hunters. Launching a new game program detailed informing of all departments must be preceded, so as not to create a situation where customers know more about the ongoing promotion than store employees.

An example of a company that successfully uses the element of the game as a loyalty program is GrubHub. Since 2011, this food delivery brand has been giving customers the opportunity to win a dessert or drink during the order, and every fourth buyer has a real chance to do so.

Natural Loyalty Programs

Since loyalty programs are very widespread today, come up with new trick customer retention is not an easy task. However, the lack of a system for attracting and retaining customers can also be considered an innovative approach.

It can be afforded by those companies whose product or service is distinguished by its uniqueness. And the point is not in the high price category or undeniable quality, but rather in the direction of the industry as a whole. In this case, there is no need to encourage customers with loyalty programs, because they receive a product that has no equal.

Let's take Apple. With millions of devoted fans of her products, she does not consider it necessary to give prizes or discounts to anyone. This brand's top priority is unique product that best meets customer expectations. It is this loyalty program that is considered natural.

Examples of loyalty programs

Family Team (Rosneft)

Anyone who purchases a bonus card can become a member of the loyalty program for gas stations that are part of the Rosneft concern. Its cost may vary slightly in different regions, but the maximum figure is 250 rubles.

Bonuses are credited as follows:

• for the purchase of petroleum products - 1 bonus for every 10 rubles;
• for the purchase of related goods and services - 3 bonuses for every 10 rubles.

After accumulating a certain number of bonuses, you can exchange them for products with company symbols (t-shirts, baseball caps, bags, and similar items). You can also purchase fuel for bonuses.

The biggest prize of this loyalty program is Formula 20 - 20 liters of any fuel. It can be obtained by those clients whose bonus account accumulates 3999 points. This can be achieved:

1. When buying fuel: you need to spend 39,990 rubles. As a result, the loyalty program card will return to the member 1.7% of the total cost of his purchases.
2. When purchasing related products and services in the company's mini-markets: you need to spend 13,330 rubles to get 20 liters of bonus fuel. In this case, the refund will be 5.1% of the purchase price.

Thus, by participating in the Rosneft filling station loyalty program, customers have the opportunity to return from 1.7 to 5.1% of the purchase amount in the form of bonuses.

Other examples of loyalty programs see the article in the magazine "CEO".

Development of a loyalty program in stages

Stage 1. Analysis and segmentation of the customer base (for wholesale companies) or target audience(in retail). This stage involves making adjustments to the standard loyalty ladder depending on the specifics of your company's business processes. It is necessary to check the client base for relevance. Among those consumers with whom there is no interaction for more than two purchase cycles, it is necessary to single out lost ones (passed over to competitors) and closed ones.

Stage 2. Distribution of customers by loyalty levels, clarification of their needs and expectations from interaction with your company at each stage. Identifying consumer concerns at each rung of the loyalty ladder.

Stage 3. Monitoring the actions of competitors. What are the offers coming to customers from other companies at each stage of interaction? Definition strengths your organization and competitors. The purpose of this stage is to find out how stable your position in the market is, due to what advantages competitors will be able to lure away your customers, and, conversely, what will allow you to get other people's buyers.

Stage 4. Development of an interaction plan with each customer segment. At this stage, the formation of loyalty programs for a particular group of consumers is carried out, taking into account the forms of encouragement that work in your market and are typical for your type of product or service. A separate action plan is being developed to return lost customers identified during the database audit. For the most attractive customers, special forms of incentives are introduced.

What to look for when creating the conditions for a loyalty program

To launch a truly successful loyalty program, company management must have a good idea of ​​what customers really need, what conditions will make them stay loyal to your brand, and not look for profit from competitors.

What does that require?

Put yourself in the shoes of your client. Let's say you run a company that deals with wholesale trade. What is more important for your client - to accumulate bonuses in order to receive in return some special conditions service or it is more important for him to buy at a discount in order to be able to sell at retail with more profit? Put yourself in the place of your customers and the answer will come by itself.

Analyze competitors and act completely differently. For example, competitors apply a progressive discount. So, in contrast to them, you should choose a bonus program, and prepare very good prizes that will attract customers.

Take as a basis the loyalty program of competitors, but make your own improvements to it. However, you should first make sure of its effectiveness by analyzing the state of affairs of rivals. It is quite possible that it does not bring the desired result, so copying it is pointless.

• 3 Examples of Unusual Loyalty Programs for Loyal Customers

Tip #1: Offer something really useful.

A loyalty program will only work if you offer customers what they really need. A useless gift will simply be thrown away, and your goal of motivating customers will not be achieved.

Let's take the Raspberry bonus program as an example. Its participants were offered to accumulate points by making purchases in various outlets. Subsequently, bonuses could be exchanged for some cheap trinket. Of course effective this program loyalty could not be named, and it was on the verge of extinction. But after some time, the organizing company managed to understand the needs of customers, and buyers had the opportunity to exchange their accumulated points for useful goods and services.

Tip #2: Gently Remind Your Loyalty Program

To be successful in achieving your goal, keep your customers informed by letting them know marketing promotions. Today, there are many convenient ways to do this - from Email to messengers like Telegram, Viber and WhatsApp.

True, marketers disagree on what frequency of sending informational messages is considered optimal. Someone thinks that twice a month is the limit, while others are sure that it is permissible to send three messages daily.

Following two conditions will help to establish the most acceptable touch frequency:

1. The point of view of the subscribers themselves: how often would they like to receive information?
2. The frequency with which customers use your product.

If we are talking about beauty salon services or consumer goods, mailing lists can be quite frequent. When offering a non-standard product or b2b service, you should not be too insistent.

Tip #3: Keep terms simple and clear.

The key to the success of the loyalty program is its availability for understanding by all customers. Formulate its terms, using no more than 50 words, and ask the driver or security guard working in your company to read them. If he did not understand the essence of the program or interpreted it in his own way, your work is no good. This does not mean that complex calculations should not be used in the calculation, but the mechanism of action should be completely transparent and understandable.

Carefully follow the wording that you use when describing the rules of the loyalty program. Some marketers, unwittingly, mislead customers by saying: “Collect 10 beer caps - get the 11th for free!”. A thoughtful consumer rightly decides that he does not need another cover, and will not take part in the loyalty program.

Other attempts to deceive customers, such as using microscopic illegible font to indicate important conditions for a prize, will only result in you permanently losing customers by pushing them into the arms of competitors with your own hands. Believe me, the buyer will forever remember how you did not live up to his expectations, which means that you missed the only chance. To avoid such problems, make sure that the rules of the loyalty program are extremely simple and do not require additional explanations.

Tip #4: Never cheat on customers.

Remember that all promises you make to your customers must be kept. If you doubt that you will be able to do this, do not promise. Thus, the air carrier Aeroflot once launched a loyalty program, under which they issued co-branded cards together with many banks. It was very easy for customers to accumulate points, they only needed to use their cards and buy plane tickets. That is, in order to gain access to award flights, no special loyalty had to be shown.

As a result, people were given away so many points that entitle them to free flights that the company had to urgently revise the conditions of the program, namely, to reduce the number of seats for its participants and increase the amount of points. Aeroflot began to suffer losses as it became difficult for new customers to purchase tickets, and after all, sales growth is the main goal of any loyalty program. As a result, those passengers who were entitled to a free flight, but could not make it, considered themselves deceived, and this negatively affects the company's reputation.

Council number 5. Do not offend regular customers.

The company's attempts to attract new customers often result in offering them special gifts for participating in a loyalty program. At the same time, those buyers who have long been devoted to the brand are out of work.

Imagine that a firm you use all the time announces very attractive conditions for newcomers, while not rewarding their loyal customers in any way. It is clear that the company is interested in expanding its customer base, but this is no reason to offend those who bring it regular profits. A better option can be considered the "Bring a friend" program, which is successfully used by many sellers. At the same time, the number of buyers increases, and the bonus is received by a regular customer who has already proven his loyalty to the brand.

• The director turned a boring pass to work into a loyalty program

6 Ways to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Company's Loyalty Program

Launch of the pilot program

When starting to implement a loyalty program, no company can be completely sure of its effectiveness. It is quite possible that the reality will be very far from the plans. To assess how correctly the main provisions of the program are defined and what its approximate results will be, a pilot project will help - testing the system on a small business segment.

This approach is very convenient for retailers with an extensive network located in several regions of the country. The pilot launch of the loyalty program for stores is carried out in a single subject of the Russian Federation, in the process, identified shortcomings are corrected, and only after a successful check, the system begins to work in the entire network. Although the fact that different regions may have their own nuances should not be overlooked.

Analysis of program results before and after launch

To have an accurate idea of ​​how effective a loyalty program is, it is necessary to regularly monitor its main indicators, as well as compare them at the time the program starts and after its completion. The most important parameters include the size of the average check, the frequency of purchases and the churn rate. All of them should be observed in dynamics and in parallel comparison with similar indicators of buyers who do not participate in the program.

Cohort analysis

Cohort analysis is used to measure the impact of a loyalty program on different groups of its participants, taking into account the duration in time and a specific stage of the life cycle.

In this case, a cohort means a group of clients who are united by a common feature and a period of action. The value of the result of the analysis directly depends on the degree of homogeneity of the group members. So, if you include young people from 20 to 30 years old in the cohort, the results of the study will be too general. It is better to combine young people with the same age interval, but with higher education and living in Volgograd.

Cohort analysis allows you to track the dynamics of consumption, namely its growth that occurs after the start of customer participation in the loyalty program. Ideally, every month the expenses of buyers should increase, but in reality the result may not be so straightforward and stable. This type analysis is aimed at identifying patterns of consumer behavior depending on the duration of participation in the program. The results of the study allow us to find points that require adjustment and improvement for different types customers and life cycle stages.

Cohort analyzes are performed on programs that are longer than one year and have not undergone major changes. For companies that have recently launched new loyalty programs, this type of research will be useless.

Look-alike analysis

Not less than effective strategy a comparison of participants in the program with those who do not participate in it, within the same socio-demographic segment, is presented. This type of research is called look-alike analysis.

Many marketers believe that those who have expressed a desire to participate in the program are already loyal customers, and by joining it they do not change their consumption pattern. Look-alike analysis allows you to test the truth of this statement and quantify the value of the system. Another positive point is the ability to attract new customers to participate in the loyalty program, relying on those mechanisms that have already proven their effectiveness.

Control groups

An effective method that allows you to measure the results that have been achieved during the implementation of individual stages of the loyalty program is considered to be work with control groups.

A control group is a randomly selected group of customers who will not be the subject of marketing influence. The main requirement for the composition of its members is representativeness. The group should include all segments of consumers in the proportion in which they are included in the customer base.

On the control group individual marketing techniques and mechanisms of the loyalty program are checked. It is practically impossible for the program as a whole to create such a group: its members should not have access to information about the current program, and this is absolutely impossible, because its promotion is carried out publicly.

NPS - customer loyalty index

The most reliable way to measure customer loyalty is a direct survey. Net Promoter Score (NPS) allows you to assess, with the greatest possible accuracy, the likelihood of a repeat sale to a given consumer and his recommendations to his friends. The NPS method is based on a single question, the answer to which can predict the possibility of both a repeat purchase and a recommendation. The question is formulated very simply: “On a scale from 0 to 10, what is the probability that you would recommend us to a friend or relative?”.

Customer responses are categorized as follows:

• 0 - 6 = "Critics".
• 7 - 8 = "Neutrals".
• 9 - 10 = "Promoters".

The NPS index is calculated by subtracting the percentage of respondents classified as "Detractors" from the percentage of respondents classified as "Promoters": % Promoters - % Detractors = NPS.

It makes it possible to evaluate the results of the loyalty program for customers from various angles:

1. The loyalty of program participants and those who do not participate in it is compared.
2. The dynamics of changes in the index among program participants is tracked over a certain period of time.
3. NPS indicators are compared among various segments of loyalty program participants.

The main advantage of the NPS index is its simplicity. However, he is not able to answer the question about the reasons for customer loyalty or its absence. A complete picture of the effectiveness of the loyalty program can be obtained by applying NPS in conjunction with other methods of analysis.

When developing a loyalty program, remember that blindly copying other people's tricks is hardly possible to make a complete product that best meets your requirements. In this case, you need a creative approach, you need to constantly invent unique offers capable of captivating and delighting customers.

Loyalty program requires strategic planning. They are designed to create long-term relationships with customers and should change according to the current situation, without fail remaining attractive to customers.

Loyalty programs have a lot of personal human relationships. People attracted by a good program will quickly leave for competitors if the firm shows disrespect or inattention. Conversely, long-term relationships reinforced by gifts and attention create a very strong psychological attachment in a person.

Before discussing common ideas, we warn that the performance of each idea must be considered in the context of a particular program. An idea shown here as a bad one can be quite workable under certain conditions, and vice versa, the implementation of "good ideas" without paying attention to aspects of one's business can cause financial and reputational damage. The information presented here is given "for reflection", and is not a direct guide to action.

Bad Ideas

A poorly designed loyalty program is usually a waste of money. Those of them that do not create their own image, do not have in themselves the calculation to motivate the buyer to constant purchases, are not addressed to a specific group of people, usually lose the competition.

Bad idea: let's give away gifts just for fun

Gifts "for nothing" are, of course, pleasant for customers, but they do not motivate them to make purchases. In addition, a gift without a reason creates unnecessary suspicion. Imagine that someone gave you some small change in a beautiful box for no reason - a rather strange act, isn't it? Such a gift creates a sense of a secret motive, which for the company may be poor sales or a desire to “fuse” an unprofitable product.

The gift must have a specific reason. It can be a public holiday, the birthday of a client or company, gratitude for frequent purchases.

The reason for the gift should be clear to the client, be clear and unambiguous. Thus, an active shopping gift occasion should contain specific activity evaluation criteria, such as the total amount of purchases for a month, and a customer referral reason should indicate the required number of customers to receive a gift.

Bad idea: let's give out gifts once

Once having received a gift, a person waits for it the next time. Having given the client something for his birthday, you need to take care of the gifts for his next birthdays. By providing big discounts for active purchases in the current month, you need to provide them in the following months.

The termination of permanent gifts on certain occasions creates a feeling of inattention in a person and a loss of his value to the company. Having made a gift once, and on the next occasion “forgetting” about the client, the company makes a bad gift to itself.

Bad idea: we will implement the loyalty program in parts

In the quest for frugality, firms forget that customer loyalty must be achieved on all fronts of the relationship. Creating a good company image through, for example, advertising is impossible if the company has rude salespeople or dirty, impregnable sales outlets. The Loyalty Card should provide certain benefits immediately and not be given with vague promises of future discounts.

A fly in the ointment spoils a barrel of honey.

Bad idea: let's try to completely change the loyalty program, see how it works, and in which case return the old one

Changing a loyalty program is a responsible process, during which you need to make sure that customers will not be disappointed by breaking certain agreements. Loyalty programs that change like gloves give the impression of unreliability of the firm's promises, and can also provoke a negative reaction from regular customers in the event of an uncompensated withdrawal of established privileges.

Bad idea: let's create bureaucratic difficulties in obtaining privileges

Often in the pursuit of profit, firms get on a slippery slope: they advertise in advertising about significant privileges to attract customers, and create various difficulties for customers in obtaining these privileges in order to save money. budget funds funds.

This kind of tactical move can attract visitors and increase sales in the short term, but strategically this path is unprofitable, as it creates a distrustful attitude of buyers towards the company's advertising and even causes negative emotions among customers.

Working Ideas for Loyalty Programs

Most good ideas in loyalty programs are usually created for specific conditions. A long-term loyalty program, closely related to the specifics of doing business and offering unique privileges to customers, maintains the image of the company as an integral and established company, creates an impression of reliability and sincerity of relationships among people.

Good Idea: Loyalty Loyalty Loyalty Loyalty Card

Creating a club of regular customers for the vast majority of firms is a necessary step in the competitive struggle. The importance of such a club for successful development business can hardly be overestimated, it provides financial support, creates an image layer in society, provides feedback with clients. A large club of regular customers loyal to the company is like the foundation of a building.

The world standard for most of these loyalty programs is to provide regular customers plastic club card in exchange for receiving personal data. Possession of such a card is attractive for customers, as well as convenient for keeping records of purchases by the company.

Customer Feedback

A successful business must adapt to the desires of the client. The better a firm knows its customers, the more effective its sales policy will be. Customer surveys and analysis of completed purchases have been used in marketing since its inception.

New technologies are taking these tools to a higher level. New generation electronic marketing tools enable demand analysis so deep that traditional methods are "blind" in comparison.

Convenient and detailed accounting

Cumulative discounts, bonuses, gifts for active customers and many other techniques require accounting for completed purchases. Traditional methods, such as manual analysis of checks and vouchers, are inconvenient for the client and the firm.

The use of plastic cards significantly reduces the cost of accounting, and is also attractive to the client.

Good idea: web integration

Online customer support is the de facto standard in many industries today, as well as competitive advantage for the vast majority of firms.

The importance of this support is rapidly growing. Customers want to be able to receive information and act on the Internet.

Providing customers with at least some opportunities to interact with the company on the web has a very beneficial effect on the image of the company.

Appearance and functionality personal account can be adapted to specific conditions. You can also integrate map administration tools into existing projects.

Good idea: reward for activity

To emphasize the value of active clients to the firm, they can be given gifts or additional privileges. It is also a good idea to issue a more solid card for them.

According to the 2015 Colloquy Customer Loyalty Census survey, on average, Americans are enrolled in 29 different loyalty programs. But they really use - accumulate or spend points during the year - only 12 of them. It turns out that companies often waste money on organizing and supporting loyalty programs: sales growth is not stimulated, and customers do not receive any benefits.

HubSpot, a developer of software for marketers, has published a list of 7 real-life loyalty program models on its blog. We present to your attention an adapted version of this material.

Simple point system

The most common loyalty program model is that customers who make frequent purchases earn points that can be converted into some kind of reward. It can be a discount, a free product, special features that are not available to other buyers - the main thing is that in order to receive a reward, you need to score a certain number of points.

Although it sounds pretty simple, in reality, creating links between virtual points and real rewards is far from being such a painless process.

As a result, you can often see schemes like “14 points equal a dollar, and twenty “dollars” is a 50% discount on the next purchase in April,” which are extremely difficult to deal with.

For customers to truly enjoy a loyalty program, the links between points and rewards need to be as simple and intuitive as possible. It must be remembered that this format of the loyalty program is only suitable for businesses that sell everyday goods that you can buy often.

Example: Boloco restaurant maps

The American restaurant chain Boloco, famous for its burritos, issues special cards to customers with which they can track all purchases. For every $50 spent, you get a free meal. At the same time, it doesn’t matter what the visitor wants - a huge burrito or a small smoothie. This, and the fact that the points are real dollars, makes it easier to understand the program, which is in significant demand.

Multi-level system to stimulate repeat purchases

Finding a balance between a reward that is realistically achievable and desirable for a client is not an easy task. To solve it, multi-level loyalty systems are used that encourage customers to make more purchases.

It works like this - at the beginning, a client is entitled to a small gift for joining the program, subsequent purchases allow him to move to the next level, where the value of the prizes increases. This avoids a situation where users forget about the accumulated points and do not use them, since the time between the first purchase and the possibility of receiving a reward is too long.

The main difference with the usual points system here is the ability to extract short-term benefits from the loyalty program. This model works best for companies that don't sell the cheapest goods and services, such as airlines, hotel chains, or insurance companies.

Case Study: Virgin Atlantic Passenger Club

In addition to accruing miles, membership in the Virgin Atlantic Passenger Club allows members to earn special points. After joining the club, the user is assigned the status of Club Red, which can then be changed to Club Silver and Club Gold.

• Club Red - users earn miles on flights and receive discounts on car rental, airport parking, hotel accommodation.
• Club Silver - at this level, users are credited with 30% miles for flights, and they are also entitled to expedited check-in and priority boarding.
• Club Gold - holders of this status receive double miles for flights (60%), priority landing and access to the airline's exclusive business lounges, where you can eat, drink and even go for a pre-flight massage.

It does not look as simple as in the first case, so the company has developed a special table that makes it easy to figure out what benefits you can get from moving to the next level.

The whole focus of such a loyalty program is to offer something tangible already on initial stage and then entice the buyer with the prospect of a larger reward. When the client returns and moves to the next level, he will understand that the "gold" status is quite within reach, and for this it is worth trying, given the benefits offered.

Advance payment for VIP privileges

In some cases, it may be justified to charge an upfront fee for access to privileges, but in order to do this, buyers must clearly understand what advantage this will give them. The company can study the main difficulties that customers face in cooperation with it and offer to solve them for a fee.

Such loyalty systems are well suited for companies that want to encourage regular shopping.

Example: Free Amazon Prime Shipping

How to evaluate the effectiveness of a loyalty program

Various approaches are used to evaluate the effectiveness of loyalty programs, but there are a number of common metrics that help to evaluate.

Customer Return Rate

This indicator allows you to understand how long customers stay with the company. The implementation of a successful loyalty program should help increase these numbers - the more members of the loyalty program, the average should be higher. According to Fred Reichheld, author of The Loyalty Effect, a 5% increase in the return rate translates into a 25-100% increase in company profits.

Negative churn

The churn rate tells you how many customers the company has lost. In turn, negative churn is a metric that describes customers who, on the contrary, bought additional goods and services or switched to a more expensive tariff plan.

These numbers help to understand the real state of affairs and compensate for natural churn, which cannot be avoided in any business. This metric is important for evaluating the effectiveness of multi-level loyalty programs.

Index consumer loyalty NPS

NPS shows the level of user satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 10 - this is the degree of probability that a person will recommend a company to someone else. The index is calculated by subtracting the percentage of brand critics (detractors - those who would not recommend the company) from the percentage of supporters (promoters - people who are ready to recommend it).

The fewer critics, the better. A good indicator of NPS are numbers over 70%.

Customer Effort Evaluation

The CES indicator (Customer Effort Score) allows you to understand how difficult it was for them to solve their problem with the help of the company. Some believe that this metric is preferable to NPS, as it is based on the real experience of the client, rather than emotional ratings.

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