It’s been shown that on average buying a product again produces higher profit by up to ⅓ than buying the product for the first time.

Why?

• less money spent on acquiring new customers (no advertisement) 
• satisfied customer recommends your product (new customers)
• satisfied customer buys more products than a new customer (higher profit)
• satisfied customer will support your product even though there is something wrong with it (lower risk)

Tips on making your customers happy

The first important thing is to offer a good product. Communication is key to having successful business, therefore you have to provide a quick, reliable and helpful communication with your customers. On top of that, the customers have to feel that the product is worth the price you are selling it for. 

If you are providing all of this and you still struggle with keeping your customers, give them a reason to come back: Create a loyalty program for returning customers.

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How does a loyalty program work?

There are many ways in which to properly plan and organize a loyalty program. First, bear in mind that loyalty programs range from the simplest kinds, like getting the third haircut for free at a hairdresser’s; to highly complex loyalty programs, such as those used by supermarket chains in which you can accumulate a score based on your purchases and then get discounts.

5 tips on how to find the most suitable loyalty program for you

In order to clearly explore the different kinds of loyalty programs, we have divided them into 5 different categories.

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1. Points-based Loyalty Program

What is it? Customers get points that accumulate with every purchase or any particular amount of money they spend on your products. With this they have their own “score” by accumulating points. After reaching a certain score, you can reward the customer with a gift or discount.

What are the advantages? Simplicity.

Have you ever encountered a points-based loyalty system? Have you ever collected stickers from a grocery store and got a gift after you collected a certain number of points? That’s a great example of points-based loyalty systems.

Tip: Trisbee app offers a POS system you can use on your phone. This app calculates the points for you and you can set the requirements up for a loyalty program suitable just for you.

2. Tiered Loyalty Program

What is it? The more the customers buy from you the higher they rank up and the better offers they get in reward for their spending. 

What are the advantages? In this case, both sides are getting something out of the purchase. You get your profit and the customer gets a better price.

Have you ever encountered a tiered loyalty system? Starbucks loyalty program is a great example. Once you rank up from green to gold loyalty program you get extra toppings with every beverage you get.

3. Fee-based Loyalty Program

What is it? You get something extra in exchange for a fee.

What are the advantages? You get money in advance and the target group of people gains a feeling of privilege and special membership when it comes to your products.

Have you ever encountered a fee-based loyalty system? You might have encountered this kind of a loyalty program when you’re ordering groceries online. Once you pay for a premium membership you get the possibility to choose from different time slots that are not available for people without premium membership.

4. Community Loyalty Program

What is it? This is a loyalty program that connects customers together and thus creates a community among its customers.

What are the advantages? Everybody wants to belong somewhere. By creating a community among your customers you give them the feeling that they belong to a community with the same interests.

Have you ever encountered a community loyalty system? Nowadays, it is very common that people share things they bought on social media. If they tag your product with the right hashtag, you get a social media advertisement in exchange for a discount or a free product.

5. Charity Loyalty Program

What is it? In this case, you are giving your customers not only a product but also a good feeling for supporting a specific charity.

What are the advantages? People who are interested in helping others will join your loyalty program.

Have you ever encountered a community loyalty system? A perfect example of a charity loyalty program is when you buy a face mask for yourself and a second face mask will be donated to a hospital.

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3 tips that will help you design a loyalty program for your customers

There are three tips for you in case you already have an idea on how to set up a loyalty program for your customers, but you’re still thinking wondering how to put it to work.

Simplicity Pays

Don’t try to overthink everything. The simpler the system is, the easier it is for customers to understand all of the requirements.

Easy reward system: Get a sticker for every coffee you buy and you’ll get a free coffee for 10 stickers.

Difficult reward system: You get a point for every 2€ spent on coffee, for every ten points you get a stamp, for three stamps you get a key chain, five stamps get you a hat, and ten stamps represent a free coffee in a value no higher than 5€.

Tip: Trisbee offers easily manageable loyalty programs that are tailored to your specific needs. For example, you can offer a discount for every fifth purchase, if customers spend 100€ they can get a 10% discount, or you can even set up happy hour time slots.

Play your cards right

When it comes to putting the loyalty program’s requirements together try to be as clear as possible. Be careful about the outline of the requirement list since reading a lot of footnotes can discourage many customers. The customers need to feel comfortable with your loyalty program. Therefore, it is always a good idea to bring some friendly elements into it. You can come up with interesting names for different levels of the loyalty program or focus on enticing graphics of your website and so on. 

You should try to encourage your customers by praising their progress.

Do: “You have won a free sandwich! Thanks for being our loyal customer!”

Don’t: “Due to the fact that you have eaten more than 10 sandwiches in the last three months, you are eligible to get a free sandwich in any of our locations.”

Advertise your loyalty program

If you don’t promote your loyalty program, people won’t know about it, it’s as simple as that. You need to advertise the program so every customer knows what advantages and requirements it has. 

Tell the customers. Inform the customers while they’re shopping at your store. You can set up notifications saying: “Three more purchases and you get a free coffee!” “Free book on the next purchase!”

Be visible. You can hang a poster with all the information needed at your store. You can make a special folder for your loyalty program on your website or you can inform customers through banners on Facebook.

Welcome gift. You can offer a welcome gift to customers who register for your loyalty program.

Let your customers take a loyalty card with them anywhere. It is more probable for customers to be reminded of your loyalty program when they have a loyalty card in their wallet.

Gain new customers. If your customer tells friends about your program and they start using it, you should reward both the new and the old customer. You save money on advertising while gaining new customers.

Your loyalty program doesn’t need programmers

You can set up your loyalty program right now! The best loyalty program is the one that is easy, ready to go and doesn’t cost a fortune.

Trisbee created a sales terminal mobile app for retailers so you can always check on your sales. On top of that, our app enables you to create a loyalty program that suits your needs. With just a few clicks you can start earning money right away.