By creating simple and effective customer reward plans and taking care of all the behind the scenes work we help you to give back to your customers so they can keep on giving back to you.

Reward loyal customers

Attracting new customers and retaining existing customers is the primary goal for any business or service out there, happy returning customers are what makes a business keep turning. Most marketing ventures focus on attracting new customers and plumbing untapped markets, but customer retention requires a completely different approach.

Did you know that it costs around five times as much to gain a new customer than it does to keep an old one coming back? Our customer reward schemes create new incentives and perks that entice existing customers to keep on returning to you.

When an existing customer feels valued by your business and see’s the gratitude you have for their custom it begins to create an emotional bond of attachment between that customer and your business.

Once that customer feels valued enough by you, they value you enough to choose you over your competitors, but also to be a kind of evangelist for your business, telling their friends and families exactly why they choose your business, and exactly why their friends should too.

When you have a business strategy that rewards loyal customers, those who return will spend on average 31% more than a new customer would as well as be 50% more likely to try a new product for the first time.

So, it makes sense to engage in a reward scheme for your customers, for both you and them. Let’s take a look at some successful examples.

Who's using customer reward schemes?

Tesco

Reward schemes have been gaining more and more popularity over the last few years, from small chains to big brands, everyone has begun to discover the benefits of a well thought out and seamlessly implemented customer reward scheme.

One of the boldest uses of customer reward schemes in recent years has been Tesco’s commitment to the use of their ‘Clubcard’. One day you could walk into Tesco and whether a regular customer, new customer, or just visiting for convenience, there was a range of deals and prices available to all. If you had a Clubcard there were extra discounts just for you, but the regular customer wasn’t missing out on too much. And then, Tesco decided that it wanted to shift all its focus onto retaining and attracting loyal customers. Overnight the Clubcard became the only way to get any kind of discount whilst shopping in store. Now, if you walk around Tesco, you see lots of yellow labels that look like discounts, until you look closer and realise it is only for Clubcard holders. The discounts are generous compared to the regular price, the Clubcard is free, and all those yellow labels just keep on enticing you to sign up and get your rewards. If you haven’t signed up the choice becomes clearer and clearer, and once you have signed up, what need is there to go anywhere else?

This kind of reward programme is a simple and effective blanket policy. It says to each customer that if they have a Clubcard they are exclusive, important and entitled to all the discount they can receive. That feeling of both belonging to a group and that sense of individual importance are both great motivators for any person deciding to join a reward and recognition program.

With Marks and Spencer’s using their ‘Sparks’ reward system, Morrison’s using ‘My Morrisons’ and Sainsbury’s partnering with ‘Nectar’, reward programmes are now a staple among the giant supermarkets and for good reason.

Caffe Nero

Another shift in loyalty programmes for customers was possible due to the increased use of mobile phones. Places such as Caffe Nero , Starbucks and even Greggs used to have a simple analogue rewards programmes. Buy a coffee, get a stamp. Collect enough stamps, get a free coffee. As most people were going to buy a coffee anyway the simple act of receiving a free stamp to eventually get a free coffee was enough to want to carry around a wallet full of half stamped cards and eventually add them together on a day when you wanted to splurge on an extra expensive coffee.

With the increased capacity and convenience of mobile devices these kinds of customer reward programmes underwent a process of gamification. It became as simple as downloading an app onto your phone, scanning a QR code at the till and all the stamps were collected on your device, payment was taken, and free incentives and extra offers were added. Around Christmas, Easter and the various holidays, the app offers a chance to win free coffee, free stamps, and even occasionally higher end prizes like computers and tablets.

The shift in mindset for a customer to go from simply receiving a stamp card because a barista handed it to you, to engaging playfully with the process of buying a coffee, excitedly anticipating the animated Christmas cracker to see if it had prized you with a free coffee or slice of cake suddenly put the customer at the centre of the experience. Not only did they get to have fun playing a little game, and feel rewarded for their ongoing loyalty, they were in control of the experience, it was literally something they held in their own hands. This allows a customer to feel in part like they ‘own’ the business, like it is a place that belongs to them that gives them exclusive rights to certain perks and bonuses simply by visiting there.

Our bespoke customer reward schemes

Here at Loyalty Works, the reward programs and systems we have just discussed and explored are what we are made of. Our speciality is in helping you retain your existing customers in a way that is as hassle free and as perfectly tailored for your business as possible.

We know that putting your customers first is the number one priority in getting started with building a loyalty programme. That is why we learn all about you as a business, your customers behaviours and motivators to implement the right incentive scheme for you to ensure long lasting success and customer retention.

We are leading experts in creating incentives and loyalty schemes in many forms, ranging from sophisticated points-based rewards systems, exclusive offers, personalised discounts for customers and even premium level fee-based reward programmes. Each option is geared towards bringing customers back to your brand and will be tailored to fit your business needs and your customers wants.

Our gamification process can turn any customer reward and recognition program into a fun activity that puts your customer back at the centre of the loyalty scheme. Giving your customer something fun and engaging that can really cement the emotional attachment and positive connection that customers have with you and your brand.

With a wide range of abilities and expertise in-house we can be there every step of the way to manage the entire process, offering our insight and our strategies, we will design and build the entire process for you.

From giant Supermarkets to global coffee chains, customer reward schemes are the centre of customer retention in today’s world and here at Loyalty Works creating programmes perfectly tailored for you is our business. Get in touch today to see how we can create similar success for you and your business.