{"id":2503,"date":"2017-05-23T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2017-05-23T13:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/industry\/blog\/uncategorized\/put-punch-cards-past-make-loyal-customers-stick\/"},"modified":"2023-05-31T16:45:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T23:45:23","slug":"put-punch-cards-past-make-loyal-customers-stick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/blog\/retail\/2017\/05\/23\/put-punch-cards-past-make-loyal-customers-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"Put punch cards in the past: how to create 21st century loyalty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

Brand loyalty remains the holy grail for many retailers. From clothing to electronics, devotedly loyal customers are the driving force behind some of the world\u2019s top brands. With increasing competition from e-commerce, the value of a loyal customer is higher than ever, especially when you consider that customer acquisition costs at least six times as much<\/a> as customer retention. One tool that companies have traditionally used to drive up customer retention is the loyalty program. The problem is, loyalty programs are not working like they used to.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because most loyalty programs look more or less the same. We\u2019ve come a long way since paper punch cards. But most retailers still use swipe cards and phone numbers to distribute discounts, giving customers a similar deal and a similar experience as the store up the street. Just giving out price promotions alone doesn\u2019t inspire loyalty\u2014especially when everyone is doing it. The proof? Most customers don\u2019t even use their loyalty programs. The average American household is enrolled in 29 loyalty programs, but they are only active in 12<\/a>. Customers might forget they are enrolled or block bulk emails when they get tired of mass marketing.<\/p>\n

21st<\/sup> century loyalty<\/h2>\n

Modern loyalty programs that really make customers stick require some creativity. It\u2019s not enough to provide price incentives\u2014it\u2019s about providing the right incentives, at the right time, in the right way. If you play your cards right, your loyalty program can cultivate customer relationships and build your brand in innovative ways. Let\u2019s take a look at some key differentiators of stand-out loyalty programs.<\/p>\n

Engaging customers on their phones<\/p>\n

Americans spend an average of 4.7 hours<\/a> on their phones every day. Why work on getting loyalty cards into more customers\u2019 wallets when you can utilize the smartphone that\u2019s already in their hands? Fun browsing interfaces and interactive games are creative ways to engage customers and stand out from the crowd\u2014which is more than can be said for a basic loyalty card. Plus, mobile chat bots can make shopping quicker and easier\u2014making it easy to place an order for in-store pickup for example. Getting in the game with a mobile presence gives you more chances to engage customers, collect valuable data on trends, and gather customer feedback.<\/p>\n

Offering personalized deals<\/h2>\n

The insights gleaned from mobile touchpoints fuel another vital tool for building loyalty\u2014 personalization. Surveys show<\/a> that 78 percent of consumers are more likely to be repeat customers if they receive relevant, personalized offers. That\u2019s because giving a customer bargains on things they really want instead of blanket discounts makes them much more inclined to come back for more. Using data from digital channels and stores, you can offer promotions based on what a customer prefers instead of how often they purchase. When you give a fishing buff a great deal on waders instead of running shorts, he\u2019ll be more likely to recommend you to his friends.<\/p>\n

Adapting to changing conditions in real-time<\/h2>\n

Historical data can help you personalize offers to customer preferences. But external conditions like weather, traffic, events, and location also affect purchasing patterns. By harnessing this real-time data, you can make sure the right offers not only go to the right people, but they go out at the right time. For example, think of a restaurant that targets some customer groups with deals for sundaes and others with deals for cheeseburgers, based on past preferences. But if a heat wave comes, past preferences aren\u2019t as relevant\u2014when it\u2019s hot, sundaes bring in the most business. Tracking weather data allows the restaurant to understand the change in demand and adapt the offer, maximizing revenue and customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n

Retail Personalization from Microsoft and Plexure<\/h2>\n

Looking for the right tools to take your loyalty program to the next level? Look no further than Plexure, a Microsoft partner and long-time retail innovator. Plexure\u2019s Retail Personalization solution delivers granular personalization that adapts to real-time conditions using multi-world testing (MWT) technology. It not only optimizes customer engagement on mobile devices, but reaches customers with personalized content online and in-store as well. As a true omni-channel solution, it converges mobile data with data from all other sources to give you cross-channel insights.<\/p>\n

Retail Personalization has a proven track record of boosting loyalty and revenue for leading brands. Using Plexure\u2019s platform, a global quick-service restaurant upgraded its mobile loyalty program to deliver highly targeted offers and rewards based on historical and live data. By recommending premium meal options to people that usually purchased everyday value items, and encouraging customers to visit at times of the day they didn\u2019t usually visit, the program increased average check for loyal customers by 38 percent and average frequency of visits by 16 percent. Ultimately, the number of loyal customers that visited at least three times a month increased 10 percent year over year, leading to more than $5 million in incremental revenue for the company.<\/p>\n

Finally, Plexure makes it easy to manage your loyalty program internally. Plexure\u2019s loyalty module gives you one tool to manage loyalty rewards, points, and incentives across multiple programs in multiple channels. Plexure also provides intuitive dashboards for tracking data and ROI, so you can continually refine your processes.<\/p>\n

Try it yourself<\/h2>\n

Want to learn more about Retail Personalization? Check out the solution<\/a> on Microsoft AppSource today.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn: ShiSh Shridhar<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter: @5h15h<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Modern<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does your loyalty program make customers stick? Drive up retention with the Retail Personalization solution from Plexure and Microsoft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"post_tag":[],"content-type":[1483],"coauthors":[1613],"class_list":["post-2503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retail","content-type-thought-leadership"],"yoast_head":"\nPut punch cards in the past: how to create 21st century loyalty - Microsoft Industry Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/blog\/retail\/2017\/05\/23\/put-punch-cards-past-make-loyal-customers-stick\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Put punch cards in the past: how to create 21st century loyalty - Microsoft Industry Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does your loyalty program make customers stick? 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