How to Create Loyalty Program for Your eCommerce Business?

A loyalty program can make the customer feel well-treated and wanted.

I mean, a return gift for your visitor seems ideal and polite, in place of “just a thank you”. Plus, you take a shot at retaining that customer through a better customer experience.

Once you think to create loyalty program, you think about increasing customer loyalty and retention like never before. A compilation by Forbes says 75% of consumers will favor a brand if they are rewarded through a loyalty program.

As you take a step toward creating your customer loyalty program. Here’s what your customers have to say about it.

Source: KPMG

Increase Engagement As You Create Loyalty Program

Personalizing experience is a sure-shot way to enhance your customer experience. Referring to this instance of personalization, 59% of people expect brands to personalize experiences based on their reported favorite items.

A loyalty reward program is a proven way to begin personalization. It gives you every chance to enhance customer engagement too. Eventually, you attain brand loyalty with the customer and it’s all fun and games then.

The above image illustrates the kind of engagement you will be able to achieve by bringing in a customer loyalty program. These also are the activities to reward your customer for.

A Checklist Before You Create Loyalty Program

Before you implement your customer loyalty program for your eCommerce store, there are a few prerequisites that you must consider:

Define Clear Goals

Define the goals and objectives associated with the loyalty reward program. First, try the objectives that are much more feasible and practical.

This could include increasing customer retention, obtaining recurring purchases, or achieving greater customer satisfaction.

You will always be surprised by how much such reward programs can impact your business.

Understand Target Audience

Gaining a clear understanding of the target audience is crucial, or else the program will be aimless. It’s all connected to mold the eligibility criteria and reward types.

You will also have to determine what would motivate your potential customers. Check the competitors, can you add up more to what they are offering? Is it a free first delivery or added discount for existing customers?

Develop a Rewards Strategy

Align the rewards offered through the customer loyalty program with the goals and your target audience. Loyalty program points can be rewarded for

Points that can be redeemed for special rewards

• Extra discounts
• Cashback
• Free products
• Free delivery
• Exclusive access
• Exclusive access to events
• Personalized experiences
• Partner brand offers
• Referral loyalty program

Determine Program Structure

Eligibility. Loyalty program points collection. Redemption rules. Tiered Rewards. How would you reward the customers? Is it going to be accessible for everyone or will there be specific criteria to become a loyalty program member?

Activities to reward your customer:

• Purchase
• Sign up
• Reviews
• Referral
• Social shares
• In-app games

If Loyal program points are earned, will they be equivalent to currency or cumulatively amount to a fraction of a currency (for example – every 50 points equal $1)?

Ask yourself these questions and your answers will create the structure of your reward program.

Choose a Technology Platform

An eCommerce business should select a platform that is scalable, flexible, and integrates with its existing eCommerce systems (CRMs).

Choose a technology platform that facilitates your program structure and supports your reward strategy. All kinds of loyalty programs carry data of their own — member accounts data, customer account dashboards, issued & claimed rewards, and so much more.

Get a technology platform that can support loyalty program plugins to manage all of this and provide access to this data as & when needed.

Set Up Tracking and Reporting

A loyalty program software would generate valuable data for various segments. It can be used to improve the program’s strategy, structure and other marketing strategies too.

Make sure the technology platform you use consists of tracking and reporting tools. This will help you monitor program performance and identify possibilities for improvement.

By addressing these requirements, you as an eCommerce business can design and implement it perfectly. Just align your business objectives with customers’ needs and you’ll be all set to launch your loyalty reward points program.

How to Create a Loyalty program?

Step 1: Choose a Platform

When choosing a loyalty program technology platform to create loyalty program, consider factors such as — features, available customer loyalty program plugins, ease of use, and reasonable pricing.

HubSpot CRM is known for its variety of tools and features that can facilitate a platform to incentivize your customers’ engagement. The HubSpot CRM hosts some of the best integrations and especially the loyalty program software, suited to the highest and best use. As a CRM, HubSpot has so much to offer, and choosing this platform will truly enhance your potential.

Using HubSpot, you can create loyalty programs against rewards criteria with actions such as making purchases, leaving reviews, and referring friends. (Use HubSpot contact properties to trigger such workflows.)

Create a HubSpot Account Now!

Step 2: Install Loyalty Reward Points by MakeWebBetter

Write a brief introduction to start and then come to the app.

Loyalty Reward Points by MakeWebBetter is one of the mst remarkable HubSpot Loyalty program plugins. The reward points app facilitates every requisite to create a customer rewards system.

This creation of a customer rewards system will involve defining eligibility & criteria of loyalty program points dispersal, and everything to manage the reward program.

Let’s first explore what this app has to offer as a HubSpot loyalty program software:

• Build a loyalty program for your online store using HubSpot.
• Multiple platforms – WooCommerce, Shopify & Magento.
• Simplistic Reward Point Rules creation.
• Create Emails & Workflow for the reward program.
• Set display, details, and appearance of your Loyalty program widget.
• View claimed rewards, benefits, and discounts.
• Auto-create properties — emails, workflows, and properties directly for your HubSpot rewards program.

Now, we can kick start the process to install this HubSpot loyalty program app now:

• Go to your HubSpot account, then navigate to the HubSpot app marketplace from the drop-down button.
• In the search bar, type “Loyalty Reward Points” and click on the app when it appears.
• Then on the next page, click the install app button on the right.

Now, move to Step 3.

Step 3: Set up Rules to Offer Loyalty Points

• Open the app and connect a HubSpot portal with the app.

• Set up the store with your Store URL and then proceed to Rules.
• An API key will be generated indicating your store is authorized.

Once done, make sure to install the Loyalty Reward Points by MakeWebBetter plugin as the respective Shopify/ Magento/ WooCommerce loyalty program plugin.

After making widget settings, move to the configuration tab and you will see the properties, workflows, and emails that are created in your HubSpot account.

Emails, Workflows & Properties — these assets will be created on your HubSpot CRM once you install the app.

• Here in the Rules tab, you can create loyalty reward point rules simply by filling up the details like this. You can + Create New Rule button.

Once done with the rules, move to create loyalty program rewards.

Step 4: Create Loyalty Program Rewards

Again, simply fill in the details of how you want your rewards to be. Click + Create New Reward button.

Decide on the discount type, its expiry, and the cost in points that the claiming discount will incur.

Also, you can edit the rewards or delete them if you want. Find all created ones in the reward section.

Step 5: Customize Your Assets

You will have a certain number of properties, emails, and HubSpot rewards program workflows that are created by this application in your HubSpot CRM.

Moreover, you can create emails, workflows & feedback surveys using HubSpot.

• For creating the email, go to the Marketing tab and click Email.
• To create Workflows, you can go to the respective Workflows tab.
• For Feedback Surveys, go to the Service tab and then click from the drop-down.

By now, your HubSpot loyalty program will be created and fully functional!

 

If you need any assistance with the Loyalty Reward Points app. Then, refer to the links below.

Documentation

Schedule a Call

How To Measure Customer Loyalty?

Create loyalty program and track your customers’ activity with respect to the loyalty program. If you’re not doing so, then you’re simply letting them go.

Measuring the customers’ loyalty isn’t an option, it is a requirement. Here are some ways to track the relationship with your customers:

Customer Lifetime Value(CLV)

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a simple calculation but one that surprisingly few businesses are able to calculate. Here’s how to calculate the CLV:

(Average Transaction Value * the average number of times a customer transacts before lapsing) – your cost per acquisition (CPA)

There are a number of alternatives, for example, applying your gross margin rather than your CPA.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

How much does a customer like you? Measure it with NPS. This metric indicates the likeliness of your customers referring you to their friends.

It’s quite simple though! The consumer just has to answer this simple question by giving you a score between 1 – 10.

This is a powerful metric because of the fact that when you recommend a product, you put your own credibility on the line.

The NPS divides your customers into 3 categories:

Source: Ahrefs

Calculate your total Net Promoter Score by subtracting your “Detractors” percentage from your “Promoters” percentage.

Customer Loyalty Index (CLI)

A standardized tool to track customer loyalty over time. It also integrates the values of NPS, repurchasing, and upselling.

CLI calculates all three values with an NPS-like questionnaire on a 6-point scale. 1 stands for “Definitely Yes”, and the 6 will be a definite “No”.

Your total CLI is the average score of the 3 responses.

Answer scores:

1 = 100
2 = 80
3 = 60
4 = 40
5 = 20
6 = 0

In this way, CLI is calculated, which determines customer loyalty.

Best Practices To Make Your Loyalty Program Successful

Easy-to-Understand Program

“The customer’s perception is your reality.” – Kate Zabriskie

Make sure your customers comprehend what you’re trying to deliver and how it will be beneficial for them. No camouflage! Compare those benefits with not having the membership.

The loyalty program’s targeted landing page must answer:

• How to earn rewards?
• What activities earn them the most rewards?
• Where would they be able to see these reward points?
• What other perks do they get with the membership?
• How to redeem the rewards?
• Is there any expiry or restriction towards redemption?

Also, make sure to create loyalty program in a simpler way, which is easy to understand and use.

Offer Valuable Rewards

Having valuable rewards is vital. Apart from enabling customer satisfaction, the rewards must also represent some monetary value. This is how you will entice the customer to capitalize on the activities they perform in your store.

Also, other reward types can be early access to newly arrived products, exclusive access to sales & offers, and special member discounts.

Moreover, make sure all the types of actions result in the same type of reward points, that’s how it will be easy to claim.

Exclusive Rewards with Personalized Experience

Loyalty programs are also about personalizing the purchase experience. This motivates the customers and creates a sense of urgency.

Some practices that show that you care:

• Product recommendations based on purchase history & watch history.
• Abandoned cart special discounts.
• Send exclusive reward credits against engagement lapse.
• Next purchase coupons.
• Trial products and gifts.
• Special return & exchange period.
• Exclusive access to quick response and customer service.

Furthermore, utilize customer data to personalize their experience.

Create Loyalty Program Promotions

Notification about availability. Spread awareness about the availability of loyalty programs with benefits. Make sure your customers know about your opportunity to earn rewards and how to get access to it.

Advertise it as a recommendation through your website, social channels, email subscriptions, referrals loyalty program, and signage (if you have a physical store).

Easy to Redeem Points

The process has to be easy. Here are some best practices to make the loyalty points redemption process easy:

• Easy to navigate to the rewards dashboard.
• Multiple channel redemption (website, app, or in-store).
• Clear communication with instructions.
• Avoid expiry or give long expiry.
• Different expiry for purchase and activity points.
• Expiry notifications.
• Credit notifications.
• Points & discounts are displayed on the checkout page.
• Promote rewards on the collection page and product pages too.
• Customer support for the reward program.

Review and Optimize

Regularly monitor the performance of the loyalty program. What needs to be added or removed? What’s complex and creating problems?

Another way to review your program is to have a feedback survey. Every now and then, you must analyze customer behavior with respect to the program.

Ask the beneficiaries to rate the benefits, ask if they were satisfied, ask for feedback on reward value, and get every perspective regarding the program improvement.

Interact with Loyalty Program Members

Maintaining engagement from the customer’s end is necessary. It’s crucial that they are constantly aware of points they have, potential discounts they make, and the exclusive offers that they may miss out on. It’s more about the fear of missing out.

Continuously communicating with them about your reward program will also encourage them to consider you for any future purchases.

Bring the update emails & app notifications in routine, and tell them about the exclusive offers, and other incentives. This will keep them coming back to your platform.

Benefits of Having a Loyalty Program

Implementing a loyalty program can provide several benefits for eCommerce businesses, including

Increased Customer Retention

Cutting off the churn rate (when customers stop shopping with you), a loyalty program will increase customer retention.

If retaining customers is always easier than attaining new ones, then loyalty programs are the way to do it. It can give you every chance to attract your customers back and increase your sales.

Higher Customer Lifetime Value

Over a period of time, when the customer spends more and becomes your patron, it is called Customer Lifetime Value.

The loyalty programs are designed to increase this customer’s lifetime value by enticing them with rewards.

Improved Customer Satisfaction

Rewards for every action! That does sound like something anybody will enjoy.

Your appreciation in the form of loyalty points makes the customers feel valued and appreciated, leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Enhanced Brand Awareness

You will achieve awareness of your brand through a loyalty program to the extent of word-of-mouth marketing.

Happy customers will always be likely to share their positive experiences with their friends & family, and some will share even with strangers.

Valuable Customer Data

Gather valuable customer data through loyalty programs. You get to know about purchasing habits, customer engagement, and preferences of your customer.

This could enhance your marketing efforts and help you connect better with your customers.

Increased Sales & Revenue

A well-designed loyalty program can derive repeat purchases and incentivize customers to make larger or more frequent orders.

It’s the sole objective of the loyalty program to increase sales and overall revenue. Design the program well and hope to achieve the target.

 

If you are interested in a Loyalty Program for your eCommerce Business, click on the links below to talk to our experts. We would be happy to discuss this with you further.

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In a Nutshell…

No matter how you do it, customer satisfaction is feasible only when you give back. And loyalty programs are the way to do it.

You have the possibility to increase the sign-ups, scale up the average order rate & repurchase rate, and bring the churn down.

Enjoy the all-embracing results of rewarding your customers. Just grab it and resort to having your own Loyalty program. Your ROI will be through the roof.

I’m sure you will go a long way with this. Cheers for that!