Ways Loyalty Programs Use Data to Drive Customer Engagement

With the shift in customer expectations, loyalty programs need to evolve in order to meet them. In this article, we look at several ways loyalty programs use data to drive customer engagement.

Customer expectations have changed over the past few years. We’re now much more demanding of brands than ever before. Consumers want brands that understand their needs and interests, and are prepared to meet those needs and interests wherever possible. This is why people are becoming less loyal to brands – they’re looking for more value from their interactions with a brand in order to keep coming back for more.

With loyalty initiatives becoming so important, you need a strategy aligned with your brand ethos. Below are ways loyalty programs use data to drive customer engagement:

Match your brand’s values with data driven strategies

Loyalty programs are great ways to expand your customer base. With the right partner, you can convert new customers at a faster rate than you can acquire them. However, you can’t just use any strategy. You need to make sure that your program aligns with your brand’s values. This will ensure that your strategy is both relevant and effective.

If your brand values include the desire to give back to the community or provide a joyous experience for your customers, then you should incorporate those values into your program. Customers will appreciate this, and it will make your program more successful.

Use data to identify potential customers

Identifying potential customers is a critical step for any loyalty program. As with many aspects of marketing and sales, you want to identify your customers before they buy from you. You want to find out what they want, what they’re interested in, and what problems they’re facing. Once you’ve identified these issues, you can use your rewards program to solve them. Once you’ve identified potential customers, you’ll want to start building rapport with them.

Start building a relationship with them through emails, personal interactions, and social media posts. This rapport will allow you to start telling them about your brand and what you can offer as a partner.

Tailor on-boarding and messaging based on behavior

Loyalty programs are designed to convert consumers into brand loyalists. The best way to convert a new customer is to get them back into the shop as soon as possible. This is especially true when the customer has been absent from your store, such as through a break in engagement.

One way to get customers back into your store is to tailor your on-boarding and messaging based on their behavior. For example, if a customer has received a reward in the past but hasn’t redeemed it, then you should send them a reminder. If they haven’t redeemed a reward, then they’re probably not very loyal to your brand.

You can use data to identify these customers and reach out to them again with a reminder.

Show you care with automations

Earning and retaining customers is a challenge for every business. Even though you might have the best product in the world, some customers will leave and never come back. So, how do you keep customers happy and satisfied? One way is to use data to demonstrate that you care about your customers. Automations are a really useful way to prove you care about the people who use your program.

Automations can help you solve problems and provide support for your customers. This can be especially useful if you have a large program where multiple users are experiencing the same issue.

Respond quickly with an automative function

Loyalty programs are designed to keep customers engaged. If a problem arises, you want to be able to respond quickly. This is especially important if the problem is widespread, such as a technical issue with the program.

You can use data to identify the most common problems and create an automated function to solve them. For example, if you have 25 users experiencing a problem with a particular reward, then you can create an automated function that solves that problem.

This could be a text message or email that tells the recipient what they need to do to solve the problem.

Provoke curiosity with gamification and other techniques

There are many ways to use data to drive engagement. The best way to use data to drive engagement is to find ways to provoke curiosity in your customers. Most customers today are looking for brands that are more than just brands.

Customers want to feel like they’re part of a community, and that the brands they love are a part of that community.

Conclusion

Loyalty programs are a great way to expand your customer base. You can even use data to identify potential customers and provide them with an experience that adds value to their lives. Next, you can use data to tailor on-boarding and messaging based on behavior, and show you care by solving common problems and providing support for your customers.

These are just a few ways that loyalty programs use data to drive customer engagement. By using this information wisely, your loyalty program can be a great way to expand your customer base while also keeping them loyal to your brand.

EZ-Chow has solutions such as an Online Ordering, Self-Ordering Kiosks and Rewards/Loyalty Solutions that integrate into your existing POS systems. To learn how EZ-Chow can help you with these initiatives and more, get started by contacting us here.

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