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Category: General Information

How Loyalty Programs Pay Off

 

It seems that most businesses offer a loyalty program to their customers; the effectiveness of such a program can go a long way if it’s done right.

The folks at Invesp put out a great infographic that shows the reasons consumers will join a loyalty program and how it will benefit a company in the long run. It’s interesting to note that 57.4% of respondents say that they join a loyalty program to save money, and 69% will choose a retailer based on their loyalty program. That’s some powerful pull!

Another interesting fact: 67% of respondents say that surprise gifts are an important part of loyalty programs. I can personally attest to this one – I joined a gas station loyalty program to save money of course. After a certain level I get three cents off per gallon every time I visit.

I thought things were great when they would offer “flash sales” randomly – I would receive an email notifying me that for the next 24 hours I could get ten cents off per gallon, and sometimes I wouldn’t know before hitting the pump. My kids are truly embarrassed when this happens because I am the crazy lady doing the happy dance at the gas pump. It’s definitely the little things in life!

However, they recently upped the ante, and now I’m a VERY loyal customer. I subscribe to the company’s text messaging and they will send a message when gas prices are about to increase. Fair enough. The last time I went to the gas station, I noticed that my per gallon price dropped well more than a flash sale would, so I had to ask the attendant. I learned that they offer a 24 hour guarantee to card holders; if gas prices increase, the station will honor the last lowest price within the first 24 hours of the price increase. I’m a customer for life!

Once you get the customers to see the value of your loyalty program, the benefits start to roll in. Some of the most noteworthy from the Invesp infographic:

  • 83% indicate that consumers will continue to do business when they are loyalty program members
  • 49% will spend more once they become loyalty program members
  • The average repeat customer will spend 67% more in months 31-36 than they did in the first six months of doing business with a company

It’s easy to see the value of loyalty programs for both the customer and the business; take a look at the full infographic below for some more interesting statistics.

 

loyalty infograph

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Amazon’s Return Policy: Over the Top, or Okay?

amazon return

 

Return policies can help or hurt a business. Amazon has been making news lately with theirs – it seems as though they have been known to cancel Amazon accounts that meet the criteria for “account abuse.” But what does that mean exactly?

Just from reading reports, it’s difficult to know for sure. Users have reported having their accounts deleted for 7% return rates up to 11%. Return rates depend on the number of items purchased through Amazon vs. how many have been returned.

Amazon’s return policy does not say anything specific about this issue; it simply states: Items shipped from Amazon.com, including Warehouse Deals, can be returned within 30 days of receipt of shipment in most cases. Some products have different policies or requirements associated with them.

There have been reports circulating of people’s accounts being canceled, along with any gift card balances and/or Prime memberships. It is unclear as to whether these customers received a warning from Amazon before their accounts were closed. At any rate, is this excessive?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Retailers try to offer a liberal return policy where possible to improve the customer experience. It’s typically a few bad eggs that ruin it for the majority, and is the reason that other retails do track returns to look for patterns. This is what the retailers are up against:

  • Those who borrow, not buy: most often in clothing stores, people will make purchases of clothing items with the intent to return once worn for a special event or similar situation.
  • Returning to replace: need a new electronic item? Is yours not working properly, or just old? Some consumers have been caught purchasing a new item, and then using the receipt to return their old item, essentially making the purchase free.
  • Shoplifting at its finest: consumers have also made legitimate purchases, and later returned to the store, found the items on the receipt, and proceeded to the customer service desk to make a “return” on these not purchased items, essentially shoplifting.

Retailers are in a tough spot – how do they prevent fraudulent returns while not placing the burden on the majority of consumers who are not engaged in any type of shady behavior? Some, many are big box or electronics stores where this type of behavior happens most often, have turned to requiring identification for all returns, regardless of having a receipt or not. This information is housed in a database to look for patterns that might signal an issue. Other retailers have a more liberal return policy.

It’s a fine line for retailers to protect themselves while ensuring customers have a great experience from beginning to end; however, I believe that retailers do need to be more forthcoming with their policies regarding potential return abuse and work closely with customers who may find themselves in this situation. Being more transparent on these policies will give customers an understanding of the “why” behind it and may make them less wary to make a truly needed return.

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Does Your Company Have a Blog? Why Not?

 

Customers are always seeking information about products and services online. They now have a wealth of information to choose from, between online searches, social media sites, forums, and blogs. Blogging is one area that companies need to pay attention to – like social media marketing, it’s an excellent way to increase your company’s visibility online. There are also added benefits that you can’t get simply from online advertising and social media marketing.

 

If your first reaction is “A blog? Why?” you’re not alone. Blogs came before social media, and it’s intuitive to think that consumers want the “sounds bytes” of information and no longer want to spend time reading blog posts. You may have other concerns about blog writing for your company, including:

 

  • It doesn’t seem like a good fit
  • It’s too time consuming to find content & blog consistently
  • You don’t have the staff to dedicate to blog writing

 

These are common concerns, but if you take a look at the benefits, you’ll see that this can be a vital part of your online presence.

 

Increased visibility/better SEO – if you have a strong online presence, blogging will only help. It will also help with SEO, getting your company closer to the top of the search engine results.

 

Think of it this way – your website has great information about your company. Blogging can give you the opportunity to provide deeper information on your products and services, as well as other relevant industry information. Research shows that companies who have blogs have a 67% increase in leads – there’s a reason for that.

 

Here’s a great example. Our company offers a range of mystery shopping services. One blog post from some time ago focused on B2B mystery shopping. The post was written and published on our company blog. As time passed, because the blog post title was so specific, it has reached first page status for a google search for B2B mystery shopping. While website pages have proper meta tags and are SEO friendly, the addition of a focused blog post on this topic has helped gain traction and reach more people who are searching for this service. We have gotten new clients from people who came across the blog post, looked at our services closer because of it, and contacted us.

 

Serve as an industry expert – current statistics indicate that 81% of consumers trust blog posts over other content found online. So, it seems to be that customers may start with an online search or looking at a company’s website or social media sites, but having a wealth of information in the form of a blog can go a long way.

 

Additionally, because your company provides deeper information about products and services on a blog, you will have the unique opportunity to find solutions to customer’s problems, which is why they’re seeking your products/services in the first place. If they are deciding between a basic website and a website that offers a blog filled with product information, tips, and other relevant information, they will likely choose your company since you have built that trust factor before the consumer even does business with you.

 

Give your social media marketing team a hand (cross promotion) – once you create blog posts, the content (or even a portion of it) can be easily repurposed for maximum effort. Highlighting content from a blog post on your social media sites, or including a recent blog post when a customer asks a question on Facebook can be invaluable. The additional benefit is that you are continuing to link to your blog from other sites, which in turn links to your website. We all know that inbound links play an important role in SEO and how well you do in the search engines. This content is not only helping with SEO, but gives your social media marketing team more content to work with. They will thank you for this!

 

Here are some tips if you are considering starting a company blog:

 

Use a simple platform and subdomain: using a simple platform, such as WordPress, will make life easier. They offer a simple interface and tools to ease the process. By placing your blog as a subdomain (ie blog.yourwebsite.com or yourwebsite.com/blog), it will help your site with SEO as your blog builds strength.

 

Join forces across departments: blogging will be more effective and less of a burden if it is a shared experience. Blog writing should incorporate those from marketing, sales, customer service, and even upper management. Why? This will provide a better range of information that is written, as each department has its own message and experience in the industry. Additionally, it will take the burden off of one or two people and get more of a buy in from your company.

 

Content creation: start with your customers: this is another reason why it’s important to pull a variety of departments into this task. By talking with each department and learning more about customers, creating content will be much easier. For example, your customer care department knows the “pain points” for customers and what the most frequently asked questions are. Customers are telling you what they want to know – turn that into blog posts and it’s a win-win situation for customers and your staff.

 

Outsource blog writing services: if this sounds great, but you still think it will be more effort that your company can give (or afford), outsourcing this component is definitely an option. Blogging services can take the burden off of you but still give you all of the benefits that come with blog writing. Our company offers a variety of writers who come from all walks of life to easily match up to your industry. We work in the same way your own company would to create an engaging, informative blog. You may be surprised to find that blog writing services are inexpensive and can save you time as well.

 

Blog writing is an overlooked resource for companies, but as they start to see the value, more and more are turning to incorporating a blog into their website. It’s something to consider when discussing your marketing strategy – hopefully the tips above can be helpful in making a decision and putting this into motion.

 

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