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Using Mobile To Extend Customer Loyalty: 3 Proven Practices

If you are a retailer in the United States, the odds are very high that almost all of your customers are in your stores with a very powerful tool in their hands -- their mobile device. Marketers have told you to build a mobile presence, and that it's essential to connect with your customers on the go, but what does all this mean to your loyalty program, and how can you make sure you get the best possible results? This article is designed to help you navigate the best strategy to build your loyalty program using mobile and increase your campaign results along the way.

Capture the details

The most important part of a loyalty program is getting all of your customers to sign up for the program. A study conducted in 2012 by the Interactive Advertising Bureau showed that 73% of customers use their mobile devices while shopping. Although this was not previously the case, retailers must capitalize on this trend to increase sales in the future. There are a few techniques that can be used instantly to capture your customer information. It’s very simple to post in-store signage asking customers to text into a mobile loyalty program to receive discounts or download a mobile app for additional content. It is essential to understand your customers before selecting the right approach, and to ensure that your store has a strong mobile network signal to avoid a frustrating experience for your customers.

Make it valuable

For continued engagement, it is important to understand what motivates your customers. Are they motivated by savings, rewards, or the experience itself? The mobile-based loyalty campaign should motivate participation with this in mind, but it should also be part of a cohesive program that delivers an exclusive experience for those who have signed up. For instance, if you are a clothing retailer, offer a reward for the initial sign-up into the loyalty program, but then continue to entice your customers with invite-only shopping events, sweepstakes, or information on upcoming style trends. Not all campaigns get the same results. Just as we use A/B testing for online campaigns, the same techniques can be used for mobile campaigns, and it is important to test what resonates the most with your customers to ensure the best results.

Keep the conversation going

Once your customers have signed up for your loyalty program, keep the conversation going via mobile. Send push messaging to drive them back to your store or download your mobile application. Use your mobile application to send push notifications so customers can view the latest products and sales via the app or online. Get customers to use your app in-store. According to one study conducted last year, 93% of people who use apps in-store will convert to a sale. Develop a content calendar for your mobile initiatives just like you would for email or online to remind your customers to come back and visit you again.

Building participation in your loyalty program is easier now that customers are armed with mobile devices in your stores. Take advantage of this opportunity by providing valuable content, then keep the dialogue open by reminding them why they should keep coming back. If you follow these few simple steps, you should be well on your way to building an effective mobile-based loyalty program.

1 comment about "Using Mobile To Extend Customer Loyalty: 3 Proven Practices".
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  1. Shep Hyken from Shepard Presentations, April 21, 2013 at 9:11 p.m.

    Any company that doesn’t take advantage of mobile in their marketing and loyalty strategy will be left in the dust. I remember companies asking, “Why do we need a website?” Mobile is currently the “website of yesterday.”

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