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Should Your Business App Have a Loyalty Program?
Kaleb Mason • June 10, 2020
All businesses know the importance of customer loyalty. Not only does it cost five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an existing one, but loyal customers are also statistically most likely to spend the greatest amounts. So, what is the best way to boost customer loyalty? Through a loyalty program. Research suggests that almost all customers feel more devoted to a brand if they offer a rewards scheme.
The big question is… should businesses keep their loyalty program exclusively as a physical or online benefit, or should they extend the scheme into their business app?
What Customers Want
To answer that question, we need to look at how a successful loyalty program is. The truth is that, while some are thriving, others are not. The Code Broker Loyalty Research Report shows that only 18% of shoppers actively engage with all the loyalty schemes they have signed up for. The majority engage with less than half. What is the problem? The report concludes that the loyalty program is not meeting customer needs, with three quarters stating they would be much more inclined to participate in loyalty schemes if they were able to access their rewards through their smartphones.
Going Mobile
What this tells us is that expanding loyalty schemes to mobile is essential, but is it better for businesses to incorporate a program into a responsive website, or into their app?
While access through responsive websites is important, access via mobile apps is perhaps a more vital consideration. With 85% of the total time spent on smartphones being used for apps, it makes sense for businesses to take their loyalty scheme to where their customers are. If your customers are in your app, make sure your loyalty scheme is, too.
Benefits of Loyalty Schemes in Apps
There are many benefits to incorporating your loyalty program into your app:
- If you have a program, making it mobile boosts cross-channel consistency
- Adding more content to your app helps to build a stronger mobile presence
- You can connect with and reward your loyal customers wherever they are
- It is a way to incentivize your customers to download and use your app
If you already offer a loyalty scheme for your customers, extending the rewards into your business app is the perfect way to deliver a seamless experience, no matter where your customers are. If you do not yet offer such a program, it is time to consider building one, with these schemes working to enhance the customer experience.
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