In an increasingly competitive world, just acquiring customers isn’t enough. The real challenge is retaining them for the long haul.
The first step is to benchmark and track your company's current retention rate, lifetime value, and churn rate. Know where you're starting so you can strategically target improvements.
Strategic perks strengthen retention
Encourage engagement. A strong perks program gives customers incentives to keep engaging with your brand - redeeming offers, checking for new deals, and participating in customer loyalty programs. Continually reinforce your value by offering value where your audience hangs out.
Reward loyalty. Perks make loyal customers feel valued through personalized promotions, VIP access, and special treatment. Customers who feel appreciated are more likely to feel an emotional connection to a brand.
Make your customers smile. Unexpected perks like birthday gifts, anniversary upgrades, or appreciation credits delight customers. Feel-good surprises build positive associations that keep customers coming back – and thankfully, there are infinite ways to show customer gratitude that won't bust your budget.
Reactivate inactive accounts. Win-back perks bring wandering or at-risk customers back into the fold before it’s too late. A well-timed offer can save a high-risk relationship. Gifts always give you an excuse to reach out.
Promote milestones. Perks for milestones like company birthdays, renewals, or new product launches celebrate progress and shared history. This cements retention.
Foster community. Perks that bring customers together like insider events, early previews, or exclusive member groups build a sense of community. Connected customers stay loyal.
So where do you start?
It’s important to keep in mind that the success of a perks program depends on how well it's designed and executed, and a solid perks platform to power it all. It's easier to get to ROI positive when you start with a platform like Paylode, versus trying to launch an entire partnerships program in house. Additionally, you should regularly review and update the perks program to ensure it continues to meet the evolving needs and expectations of your customers.
Integrate perks into the flow
- Identify the most common reasons why members don't renew, repeat purchase, or engage. Gather this information through surveys, feedback forms, or analyzing customer behavior with tools like Hotjar or Usertesting.com.
- Articulate your overall customer engagement goals so you can deploy perks where you need them most. Paylode can curate a list of perks relevant to your customer base’s demographics.
- Communicate the perks program to your members. Let them know what they can expect if they renew their subscription and explain how to get maximum benefit from the program.
- Track the effectiveness of the perks program. Monitor the renewal rate of your members and see if the perks program has had a positive impact on retention. Paylode has a full reporting suite to track usage.
Chat with a customer engagement expert. Could infusing perks be your next step?
