Online businesses and store owners are always on the lookout for new methods of revenue generation. In today’s competitive world, it is hard to stand out from others and deliver consistently.
While we are busy researching new ways of generating revenue, we somehow miss out on one of the biggest existing profit sources – loyal customers.
Customer loyalty is the best gift businesses can wish for. It is way easier to market to existing customers than acquiring new ones.
According to Harvard Business Review, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.
Providing amazing customer services and satisfying your customers is a great start. Firstly, it improves the overall experience for a customer at your store. Secondly, it has great potential for driving in referrals and positive word-of-mouth.
Online business owners need to reframe their business strategy which gives more emphasis to customer loyalty. They need to figure out what all steps are being taken to increase the number of loyal customers.
Encouraging repeat purchases and compelling customers to become brand advocates should be the priority.
What is a Customer Loyalty Program?
A customer loyalty program can be defined as a simple setup through which your business incentivizes people who are loyal to you for quite some time and make them feel valued.
Businesses use customer loyalty programs to show their appreciation and liking to their faithful audience.
Loyalty program membership* in the United States
Brands have an open choice to decide in which way they want to incentivize their loyal customers. It can range from offering discounts to giving early access to your exclusive products. The methods can be different but all with one message to the customers, we value you.
The Importance of Customer Loyalty and Retention
When you understand that existing customers spend 67% more than new customers and makeup around 70% of sales for a business, you know you need to pay attention.
The impact of customer loyalty on business revenue and growth is huge.
Affluent consumer attitude towards brand loyalty worldwide
There are a lot of benefits a loyal customer can offer your business. Here are some points supporting the claim:
Boost Revenue
With loyal customers, it comes unsaid that your business will experience substantial growth in revenue.
The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70 percent whereas the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20 percent.
When you have your customers backing you up, sales are undoubtedly gonna rise. In fact, businesses have started taking customer retention seriously off late.
Reduce the Customer Churn Rate
With more and more loyal customers filling in, you reduce the churn rate dramatically.
What is the customer churn rate?
Customer churn rate can be defined as the percentage of customers who end their relationship with your business over a specific period of time.
Churn rate is an important metric in customer retention. If customers tend to leave your business for good, you know it’s time to act. With loyal customers, you are on the opposite end, meaning customers are attached to your brand and will not abandon you that easily.
Positive Word Of Mouth
A loyal customer means a satisfied and happy customer.
What do satisfied and happy customers do?
These customers turn into brand advocates for your business and influence others to do business with you.
Nothing gets bigger than loyal customers striving to drive in more loyal customers. People act as brand ambassadors and convince others that your business is the best for them.
This forms a whole network of people spreading the good word about your business which is instrumental for your success.
Reduce Marketing and Servicing Cost
It is way easier to market to your existing customers as compared to new customers. Your existing customers understand you and your business better. There is a great chance that your newly launched product is well received by your existing audience.
Your loyal customers are the easiest ones to serve. They themselves take the initiative and solve a lot of issues on their own, just by checking the FAQ’s and knowledge base.
If you have a community or forum, your loyal audience will even help other users in solving their problems.
Your Faithful Group
Have you ever wondered who are the people who respond to your survey polls or engage with you on social media?
Yes, those are your loyal customers.
They always strive to contribute to your company’s growth in whatever way they can. Apparently, they form a concentrated group of people who tend to go that extra mile for your brand.
Doing consumer research on what drives their loyalty is a good way to drive more loyalty.
What About The Customer Loyalty Program for WooCommerce Stores?
Be it any online store or specifically the WooCommerce store, the loyalty program is a must for all.
WooCommerce captures the major market share of the eCommerce industry. Considering this data, we can also claim here that WooCommerce also supports the major customer base and revenue share as well.
The future of WooCommerce stores is quite bright and with the implementation of customer loyalty programs – it is more like some extra cheese with your favorite pizza.
Best Loyalty Programs for Your WooCommerce Store
WooCommerce has got your back with the best loyalty programs for your customers. There are many loyalty programs that work wonders for your WooCommerce store like
- Points and Rewards
- Coupon Referrals
- Partnerships and Memberships
- Community Tier Programs
- Discount Wheel
- Buy One Get One (BOGO)
- Gift Cards
And many more…
Without taking much of your time, we’ll be discussing the two most preferred loyalty programs,i.e. Points & Rewards and Coupon Referral Program further in this blog.
Points And Rewards Loyalty Program for WooCommerce
Points And Rewards for WooCommerce is an automated solution that rewards your customers with points based on the actions they take on your online store.
Be it a new sign-up on your online store or product purchase, you can easily define the rules for giving out the points. Customers can use these points to get discounts on products. Managing customer points and discounts is as easy as it gets.
Some of the highlight features of WooCommerce Points and Rewards are:
- Define what site actions giveaway what number of points to the customers
- Limit the discount amount on products according to your needs
- Customized messages and easy management of customer’s points
Such loyalty programs are the need of the hour for online businesses as they take user engagement to a new high.
Advantages of using Points and Rewards for WooCommerce
WooCommerce Points and Rewards has become a revelation in terms of customer loyalty for WooCommerce store owners. It gives you the extra edge on customer retention and helps you to stay ahead in the game.
Some advantages of implementing Points and Rewards for WooCommerce on your WooCommerce store:
- Building your brand and community- Rewarding your loyal customers with points makes them talk about your brand. Customers feel elated and valued by recognition. They tend to recommend your business to others which builds your brand name and image. A concentrated group of happy customers forms a community that stands by you.
- Retaining existing customers and acquiring new ones- Loyalty programs enhance your power of customer retention. With WooCommerce Points and Rewards, you are bound to attract new customers and retain the old ones.
- Move customers up the buying ladder- Speeding the buyer’s journey and allowing customers to move quickly through the sales funnel is a big advantage. Customers start trusting you more and engaging with you more.
- Increasing the CLV- CLV( Customer Lifetime Value) can be described as the total predicted profit value a single customer can bring in over the entire business relationship. Adhering to your loyalty program, customers are bound to become more loyal and trustworthy. They get attached to your business and work in favor of its growth. More loyal customers mean an increased CLV for your customers.
- Identify your best customers- With WooCommerce Points and Rewards, you have full control over the strategy and access to valuable insights. One of them is identifying your best customers so that you can serve them better and strengthen your relationship.
- Create brand influencers- When you have the record for your most loyal customers, you can turn them into brand advocates. You can create a roadmap and check which customer is ranking where.
Coupon Referral Programs for WooCommerce
Along with the aforesaid benefits of customer loyalty, referrals are one of the most important aspects which businesses cannot ignore. Recommendations from family and friends act as the most influential factor affecting a customer’s purchasing decisions today.
Effect of B2B referral programs on sales and marketing in North America in 2015
Referral programs provide your business the extra exposure to drive in more conversions. With your customers becoming brand advocates, your services are served to a bigger audience and you get your brand name in front of a lot of people.
Some of the main benefits of driving in referrals are as follows:
- It is a new way of spreading the word about your business via coupons and discounts. It’s human nature to strive hard for something which gives them something in return. The same applies to the customers on your online store. When they know they are close to getting some product at discount or for free, they work as brand ambassadors for you.
- Referral Marketing is social media friendly, meaning it allows you to easily share your referral amongst your family and friends on social media.
- Without a shadow of a doubt, referral marketing is quite cost-effective as compared to other forms of marketing. It is evident that acquiring new customers is costlier than marketing existing customers. A referral program promises high value in return with low investments.
- The customers you acquire through referral marketing are bound to be the most loyal ones. This is because they have been referred by your loyal customers. This increases your chances of getting better reviews and testimonials.
- Referral Marketing helps you find influencers in your business niche as the referral network keeps on growing and you consequently meet the right people to promote your business.
Coupon Referral Program is a complete solution for implementing a referral program on your WooCommerce Store. Unlike other referral programs, it allows both the referrer and the referred customer some kind of discount.
The coupon referral program provides a win-win situation for everybody. Engaging and rewarding both the parties involved in referring your business can work wonders for you.
“The referral will earn a discount coupon when the referred friend places an order. Along with this, all your users will earn a discount coupon when they sign-up on your e-store.”
It is an effortless approach to gain new customers while rewarding your existing user base. Some great features of the plugin worth mentioning are:
- Rewards on Sign-Up: The coupon Referral Program allows you to reward your customers when they sign-up. You can decide whether every user gets the rewards or only the referred users get them.
- Discount Coupon to Referrer: Reward the referrer for referring a friend by providing him/her a discount coupon when the referred friend purchases anything from your e-store.
- Order Restriction: Restrict the referrer to earn discounts by deciding a fixed number of orders on which they can score the discount
- Social Media Sharing: Customers can share the referral link on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. With the social sharing of the referral program, brands can increase awareness and engagement in minimum turnaround time.
Are You Ready To Setup Customer Loyalty Program For Your WooCommerce Store?
Customer loyalty programs show a very powerful impact on many business activities and performance metrics, from customer retention rates to increased sales. Such simple and easy to create loyalty programs increase the average customer value with comparatively much lesser marketing efforts. We hope you also experience the best results with WooCommerce based customer loyalty programs and soar your business to new heights.
This article was written by Himanshu Rauthan, an entrepreneur, Co-Founder at MakeWebBetter, BotMyWork, and the Director of CEDCOSS Technologies. He has worn many hats in his career – programmer, researcher, writer, and strategist. As a result, he has a unique ability to manage multi-disciplinary projects and to navigate complex challenges. He is passionate about building and scaling ecommerce development.
