The UK faces its next dip into another recession and for many retailers, customer loyalty and incentives will become more important. At times like this it is hard not just on households but on businesses too. How does a business keep running to support many households, when most of its customers don’t have the same kind of money to spend? How does a business continue to keep its doors open and cover its overheads if those customers aren’t spending as much?

We have a few ideas we think will help ease those worries and help us push on through to the other side.

What is the recession, and what caused it?

A recession is what happens when a countries economy shrinks by a certain percentage for a certain period of time. In the UK, a recession happens when the GDP (gross domestic product) has fallen for two successive quarters. GDP is the total market value of consumer goods and services produced within a country over a set period of time, taking into account all exports of physical products as well as financial and insurance services, along with the products and resources that move within the countries borders. All of this has a value, and that value is based both on the prices of the global economy, the strength of the UK in the global market, the raw value of goods and services, the amount of work taking place, and the number of industries in operation.

As a result, there are a myriad of factors that affect the GDP and therefore contribute to a recession.

Whilst talking of economic movement is one, poor handling by the government is certainly another, as they are the ones who put budgets in place, help the banks decide inflation rates, offer support to the public and undertake drastic changes such as Brexit.

In the wake of Brexit, the cost of living has been steadily increasing whilst wages have risen only a fraction of the price in comparison. The UK is still not yet set up to be self-sustaining and self-sufficient as once was promised, and global crises are having a soaring effect on energy prices.

So, people have less and yet are required to pay more. In a post-pandemic world where businesses were hit hard, workers were hit harder and we lost a lot of loved ones, these mounting pressures are almost pushing us to breaking point.

The question is, what can we as businesses do about it? The movement of our goods and services is a major factor when it comes to the strength of the economy, and part of that movement is the ability to move customers in and out of our doors. At a time when people are struggling to pay their bills, how do we encourage them to feel secure in putting their business with us, and know that each precious purchase is a purchase well spent?

How this affects individual spending and shopping habits?

So, people are still in work, the economy is under immense pressure, but for now, we are still holding out. Our main concern is that our customers spending habits will have changed, which all things considered is a fair point. As businesses our spending habits have had to change, our ideas and values have to change to respond, after all our world is something living, growing and responding, and as businesses we must do so too.

Our customers at present will be considering their purchases with extra intensity, and making doubly sure that each penny spent was a penny spent well. That means essential shopping comes first.

Do I have shelter? Do I have food? Do I have gas and electric?

That means any excess that a person might have is going to be considered to have a greater value to them, and each customer will like to feel like they have gotten a greater value out of it.

This is where we come in.

How companies can set themselves apart with loyalty incentives

An incentive is any part of your business that offers something back to your customers for purchases they were already going to make, and in some cases becomes the deciding factor on where those purchases are made. From customer loyalty schemes, to reward cards, exclusive discounts and offers, to gamifying the shopping process, there are many ways an incentive can be applied to your business.

At this point in time an incentive is a simple message. It says ‘I know it was a difficult decision to spend money you are not sure if you need, but now that you have, we would like to reward you with something extra for doing so. Thank you for choosing to support us, here, we also support you.’ It’s a sense of mutual value between customer and business, indicating that both recognize they require each other. A business without custom isn’t a business at all, and a customer without a business is no customer at all either.

An incentive then is a simple gesture that creates an emotional bond and connection between you and your customers.

We specialize in offering incentives, both large scale and small, from sophisticated points-based rewards systems to personalized discount and exclusive offers, everything we do is geared towards bringing customers back to your brand.

Right now, we would suggest that personalisation is the way to go. If we wish to make our customers loyal, we have to treat them like family, make them feel like not just another face in our day but as if they were the only customer, we had that day.

Let’s face it, there are reward schemes and point cards in every store you walk into on any high street.

How can you differentiate by rewarding loyalty?

• Are you willing to go that extra mile and send personalized offers in regards to product purchases?
• A personalized greeting card around birthdays and holidays with a special discount?
• A personalized dashboard via a loyalty programme as a way of gamifying the reward schemes and placing all your customers perks in one place.
• Asking your customers what they would like from a loyalty scheme, and then getting it to them.
• Offering tiers of service and access so customers with more intent to purchase and stay loyal get greater access to discounts, encouraging others to follow suit.

Whilst the economy is on hard times, and customers are struggling to support themselves, let us make the ones who can spend and choose to spend with you count. Let us acknowledge their loyalty, and show real gratitude with personalized rewards and offers, to show each customer that they are a valued part of your business family. After all, in a world where everything is self-regulated and automated, a bit of simple human interaction, a feeling of being more than just a face in a crowd is what so many of our customers are deeply crying out for.

Let's about your loyalty programme

Talk to us and discuss your vision, show us your desire to keep your customers loyal and let us offer you our magic in creating the best loyalty schemes and incentive programs around.