As British retailers brace themselves for the busiest Christmas in five years, many will be making concerted efforts to drive customers into their businesses.
Studies tell us that that UK consumers are likely to spend £2 billion more on Christmas this year than last; great news for British retailers. As the economic recovery takes hold the question becomes how retailers and hospitality businesses make sure they grab this opportunity with both hands.
There are a number of factors which motivate a customer to buy such as price, quality and desire. Now more than ever though, they also include loyalty, rewards and overall shopping experience.
Bearing these factors in mind, it is clear to see why the brands who are making loyalty programmes core to their businesses are enjoying more repeat business and increased sales. Loyalty schemes and the data they provide allow businesses to go from making standard sales at Christmas to increasing them far beyond their imagination; all while building long term relationships with their new customers.
A loyalty programme doesn’t need to be overly complicated either. We work with brands including everyone from independent stores to international shopping centres and while some may have more sophisticated reward mechanisms than others, they all have the same premise – create simple yet compelling rewards which keep the customer coming back for more, and measure everything.
We recommend that a campaign consists of a mix of two different types of offers. Financial deals such as ‘10 per cent off’ or ‘buy one get one free’ are always well received, but they should be complimented with privilege offers: ‘exclusive entry to our late night shopping event’ or ‘VIP queuing for loyalty card holders’. This approach will entice people through the door, encouraging new and existing customers to sign up to the loyalty scheme, without making it all about discounting or devaluing the brand and product.
Once a programme is set up, offline retailers are able to use some of the best practices examples from the world of online retail as central activity components. Running an online retail business means brands will automatically have contact details and full transaction data for all of their customers, and can use this to influence their behaviour. A modern loyalty system allows the brand to do the same. If they have customers who haven’t visited for three months then an incentive can be sent to them to encourage a return visit. If a customer has brought a product then they can be contacted with a thank you note and a review request. This can all be automatic, and helps maintain customer relationships.
It’s these kind of actions that really have an impact on bottom line sales – the technology is easy to use and affordable, and turns one off visitors into real customers.
By Ben Chesser, Founder of Footfall123.
PrivSec Conferences will bring together leading speakers and experts from privacy and security to deliver compelling content via solo presentations, panel discussions, debates, roundtables and workshops.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the website.
comments powered by Disqus