Do you reward your customers enough? In a crowded marketplace, both online and on physical premises, retaining clients is just as important as gaining new ones.
Bonuses are a great way to keep customers and their loyalty, yet when done incorrectly, they can damage your brand identity. Below, we discuss the intricacies of offering bonuses to customers.
Reasons to Offer Bonuses
The reasons for offering bonuses can be split into two broad camps. Firstly, they help you bring in new customers. Secondly, they also assist in retaining the ones you have. All of this should result in an uptake in leads or conversions.
Offering bonuses can stimulate engagement and interaction with your customers. This may be on social media, or it could be an in-store event to draw customers to your premises. All will build brand loyalty and will help both attract and retain. There are plenty of case studies where bonuses have helped build this. Even in the online entertainment field, companies such as King Casino rank casinos by the bonuses they offer. These have not just helped the sites included, but have attracted new customers to the industry as a whole.
Specifically, bonuses can be deployed to create a VIP atmosphere or exclusivity. This feeling of being in the inner circle keeps customers coming back. You may have had similar experiences with supermarket loyalty cards, such as the ones found at Walmart. All you need is the method with which to reward them.
Finally, bonuses can be used to bring back lapsed customers. Contact them and give them an offer if they return. It could be to promote a new product or try a new service. This can also help keep them away from competitors.
Choosing the Right Type of Bonus
It is important to ensure your bonuses and rewards provide value to your customers. If not, you can come off looking cheap and damage your brand identity. There are a few types of bonuses you can try.
The most obvious is discounts or value added. A discount is where you deduct money from a purchase, so you may give a customer 30% off. Value added is when you let the customer accumulate value depending on how much they purchase. For example, for every $10 they spend, you may give them $5 off the next purchase.
Another type of bonus is a physical gift. This could be a trial item of a product you are selling. It also allows customers to become part of the feedback process if you are experimenting with new lines or ideas. In some cases, companies give a gift with every purchase to thank their customers. This happens with entertainment companies like PlayStation, who will give free games to subscribers.
Finally, never underestimate the value of free shipping. This is a huge bonus and incentive. However, it needs to be carefully planned as essentially, the cost of free shipping comes from the profit you are making on a product.
Planning a Bonus
When you plan a bonus event, you need to speak with two groups. The first is your marketing department. None of this will work if you don’t have a solid plan in place to promote your bonuses and aim them at the right audience. The second group is your customers. Ask them what they want and what they would value.
By asking what people want and planning a bonus well in advance, you are sure to get the response you desire. Always provide something of value to customers, and market it effectively. With these tips in place, you are sure to see your conversions and leads improve dramatically.