01 Nov
In the retail industry many business owners are obsessed with the issue of trying to find new customers. They are obsessed with making sure their advertising, displays and pricing are all geared to attract new customers. This focus on pursuing new customers is certainly prudent and necessary but, at the same time, it is not necessarily the best use of a marketing budget. In fact, established brands are slowly increasing their focus on loyalty marketing.
Restaurant chain Nando’s recently upgraded its paper loyalty card system to a plastic card and smartphone app. Plastic cards are a good first step, but even they seem increasingly outdated compared with stand alone apps. How many of us want to carry around a plastic card for every one of our favourite stores?
Here at Loyalzoo we offer an app which specifically helps independent retailers lock in the loyalty of their customers and removes the need for a lot of different cards cluttering your customers’ wallets. Loyal customers provide regular income to your business which is especially important in tough economic times. They are also less price sensitive so are unlikely to be drawn to a competitor with a special offer and with inflation pushing prices up are more likely to stick with you until the good times return. Not just that but they tend to spend more and are great marketing tools as they tell their friends. These sorts of customers are priceless so one of the reasons we developed our app is to drive loyalty and give them a reason to keep coming back to shops which sign up with us.
We speak to more and more marketing agencies who believe that Loyalzoo is offering a real game-changer in the world of digital marketing. By investing in a loyalty app a business gets access to a powerful strategic marketing tool which can engage with existing clients and attract new customers. Having a place on a customers’ mobile means they carry a business with them wherever they go, so the business can deliver information directly into their hands – whenever they want. And the more customers who download our app, the less need for a business to stand on a street corner handing out leaflets to random passers-by. What retailer wants to do that?
Any business can use our app as an effective marketing device but it is particularly effective in businesses which develop strong customer loyalty such as cafes, bars, hairdressers, dry cleaners and beauty therapists. By ensuring customers download an app on their mobile phone or tablet computer, a business will be able to reach them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and maintain a continuous two-way conversation which meets all of their marketing needs and grows their business. Why would a customer go to a competitor when they know that they are just three purchases away from a free latte or a half price haircut?
