Loyalty, the key to competitive advantage

Loyalty is key to the success of any business. It can be built on mobile applications with loyalty programs, which in recent years have revolutionized activities to create and maintain lasting relationships with customers. Today, loyalty programs are easy to use, convenient and provide a more enhanced customer experience than any other channel. To realize their full potential, businesses need to develop a strategy and tackle their biggest challenge – data integration.

According to McKinsey & Company, a global strategy consulting firm, over the past several months, more than 75 percent of. consumers have changed their shopping habits, and 39% of consumers say they do not want to use apps. brand or vendor from them. At the same time, as much as 79 percent. respondents intend to check other options in the near future. This trend shows that building customer loyalty is now the most important challenge for any company involved in commerce. However, it is difficult to achieve without the use of mobile loyalty programs.

Why apps have an advantage over cards?

Until recently, loyalty programs were used primarily to collect points. Currently, according to Clarus Commerce data, as many as 79 percent of. 39% of consumers say they don’t want to collect, and programs designed to build lasting relationships with customers should provide them with immediate benefits. This is made possible by mobile apps, whose users can reap much greater – real benefits. Consumers can not only see on their account how much they have saved, but also m.in. search available deals, receive special pricing or plan purchases. Mobile devices have made programs aimed at brand loyal consumers interactive and more friendly than their card-based counterparts.

Loyalty programs drive revenue

Publicly available market data shows that well-functioning loyalty programs can increase a company’s revenue by up to several percent per year. This is possible by increasing the frequency of purchases, the size of consumers’ shopping carts, or both at the same time. For this to happen, however, they need to deliver more value.

– As a technology and consulting firm, we have had the opportunity to redesign several loyalty programs. We sought to increase the frequency of consumer purchases in our customers’ stores. Our focus then was to create a digital product that would be the center of the ecosystem and provide more convenience to users. A great example is Żabka. The brand moved offline services into the digital world and created an app that became part of a larger concept. I believe that such measures can also be implemented in other industries – says Emil Waszkowski, Head of Digital Consulting at Future Mind.

Digital customer loyalty at your fingertips

Mobile loyalty programs enable companies to continuously engage the consumer, share useful content, and reward brand loyal users. Publicly available research shows that the cost of acquiring a new customer far outweighs that of convincing a regular to visit again, as well as increasing the average spend or trying a new item on offer.

Looking more broadly at e-commerce, mobile apps with programs that build brand loyalty provide the opportunity to create a powerful database, verify customer information, and optimize marketing efforts at no additional cost. Businesses have insight into a customer’s purchase history and can turn that knowledge into offers available literally at their fingertips.

– Loyalty programs, which business offers to consumers, enable m.in. Reduce marketing costs. E-shops, which use budgets for activities on Facebook or Google, can spend them on advertising undertakings based on their own database. It is definitely a cheaper advertising solution. In addition, thanks to the information from the application retailers have full knowledge about the customer, so called. 360 – degree customer view. They see the customer both offline and online. They can combine information and check how the customer behaves and what his purchase preferences are. Thanks to this, it is possible to increase brand revenues – says Emil Waszkowski, Head of Digital Consulting at Future Mind.

Program development strategy

In order to build a loyalty program that will engage customers and bring maximum benefits to the business, you need to start by developing the right strategy. The objectives should be defined first. Then, design marketing activities which will serve to build and maintain positive relations with selected customers. The specifics of a given market and customer profile will determine the selection and use of the tools necessary to form a bond with the brand. The company should also develop an appropriate way to communicate with the consumer. According to Microsoft data, as many as 97% of. Consumers around the world say that customer service is somewhat or very important in choosing a brand and building brand loyalty. The strategy should therefore also take this aspect into account. This is important due to the fact that consumers, despite having many loyalty programs, only engage in select.

– The modus operandi and mechanics of the brand loyalty solution should be laid out in such a way that it brings maximum benefit to both the consumer and the seller. Customers will only engage if the programs created for them do not require much time and effort. Importantly, customers of all stores expect seamless and simple tools and instant rewards. Such experiences are provided by well-designed, dedicated mobile applications – explains Emil Waszkowski, Head of Digital Consulting, Future Mind.

Data integration – retailers’ biggest challenge

The biggest challenge brands face on the path to maximizing benefits is data integration. Some companies, which already had a loyalty program in the form of a plastic card, when entering the online channel, need an effective, multi-channel solution and tools that will integrate them. It is necessary to combine ecommerce and POS system data into a single database that feeds the loyalty program in the app. This is particularly important in view of consumers who mostly use both online and offline channels.

– The mobile application, if we mean the frontend, that is, the part responsible for interaction with the user, is only part of the cost. However, it needs to be integrated with the tool that is responsible for all the mechanics and available sources of customer data. It’s already costing more. There are different ways to create programs and applications. The engine of the application may be a ready-made solution. Whereas in order to provide the best possible experience it is worth designing a dedicated mobile application – summarizes Emil Waszkowski from Future Mind.