Customer retention is critical for any business looking to increase its bottom line. As it happens, offering a loyalty program is one of the most reliable strategies to improve the metric. By making it worth their while, not only will they stick to your brand longer, they are also much more likely to recommend you to their friends.

Loyalty programs are of paramount importance in every industry

The fact of the matter is, if your competitors are offering a loyalty program, you shouldn’t think twice about introducing one yourself. Since every industry is waking up to the realization, you wouldn’t want to find yourself falling behind.

For instance, Amazon, the undisputed eCommerce giant, offers unlimited free shipping to loyal customers via Amazon Prime. Another great example is Starbucks, offering free coffee and products with its Starbucks Rewards program. Similarly, in the iGaming industry, some Iowa sports betting apps, such as DraftKings, offer loyalty programs with their bonuses and refer-a-friend rewards.

However, just having one in place won’t cut it in this day and age. To stay on top of the loyalty program game in 2022, keep a watchful eye on the following industry trends and best practices:

1. Track everything

The power of tracking your customer’s every move (given they’ve given you their consent) is immense. This effectively takes all the guesswork out of the equation and gives you concrete data to work with. Then, you’re going to need to draw some conclusions on what you’ve observed. Start with the basic things: do the vast majority of your customers prefer one particular reward over the others? Do the majority of them lose interest before reaching a specific tier? The goal is to find potential leaks in your strategy and plug them before they sink the ship.

2. Optimize for mobile

At least half of your user base will likely redeem their rewards on mobile devices, so use this knowledge to your advantage. Optimize for mobile and develop a mobile app if you haven’t already. By doing so, you will be able to send them customized offers via push notifications at will. Custom-tailor the message based on the stats you’ve gathered on them – this should do wonders for your conversion rate. If they’ve decided to block push notifications, consider contacting them via SMS (but don’t overdo it; otherwise, it might come across as spam).

3. Incentivize your users

Want to gain some traction? Then think outside of the box. Your loyalty program scheme could include special ‘quests’ that reward your customers for completing them. Think of them as an addition to your regular tier-based progress bar, as these are something your customers can complete at any given time. The great idea is to provide them with a little something for mentioning you on social media if they’re willing to write a full review, up the stakes, and give them something extraordinary in exchange.

4. Create emotional loyalty

When the pandemic struck and disrupted the supply chain, those who built their customer relations on transnational brand loyalty got the short end of the stick. However, those who managed to instill emotional loyalty in their customers were unaffected. Studies show that Apple customers’ emotional connection to the brand is exemplary if you need a role model. In essence, you need to find a way to transform them into raving fans. To do that, discounts and freebies alone won’t quite cut it – you need to foster a sense of belonging in them.

Conclusion

As we progress further into 2022 and beyond, the competition will become more demanding and challenging. What used to work a decade ago can still give you some results, but they’re going to be essential at best. What you need to do is put your creative hat on and try to think of ways you could apply what you’ve learned today to make your loyalty program even better. To your success!