5 rules to reignite your loyalty program

The National Restaurant Association’ s Manage My Restaurant has articles in categories such as Marketing and Sales, Workforce Engagement, Food and Nutrition and Operations. Visit Manage My Restaurant here for this and other helpful tips.

Create real relationships with customers by delivering information that increases more value and allows you to be more relevant with offers.

“Personalized offers, differentiated experiences and relevant rewards can set brands apart,” Stephane Latreille of Aimia tells National Restaurant Association partner Loyalty 360. “The bottom line is the fundamental drivers for loyalty remain unchanged.”

Traditionally, loyalty programs focused on retention, while other parts of the brand focus on acquisition, he says. As a result, most loyalty programs engage customers after purchase.

He suggests restaurants reignite loyalty programs by:

• Focus your data efforts. Determine transaction data that will identify the most promising opportunities with your best customers.
• Develop loyalty personas. Analyze transaction data from your most loyal customers, then develop personas that reflect shared interests and behaviors. Finally design and test offers geared to each group.
• Connect the data dots. Linking data across all channels creates insight that can augment the customer experience.
• Battle short-term discounting with loyalty data. Test and learn. Compare redemption rates.
• Reimagine recognition and rewards. Test rewards through social media. 

“Brands have to know their customers and how do they want to engage with you,” he said. “Put the right disciplines in place. It’s about investment, focus, and commitment. The reality is we’re all emotional in our buying decisions. Part of it is an emotional appeal of the brand. Find out who your customers are, and find out how they want to engage.”

This article was provided by Loyalty360, The Loyalty Marketer’s Association.