With all the headlines proclaiming the decline of customer loyalty, gaining repeat business has become harder than ever. As retail competitiveness continues to grow, more businesses are struggling to set themselves apart. Given how online shopping, as well as hyper-competitive big-box retailers, have cut deep into the profit margins of smaller retail shops, earning customer loyalty and retention needs to be a low-cost, high-reward proposition. So where can you begin the process of building customer loyalty without a high level of financial investment? Maybe you should throw a customer appreciation day.
Gathering Customer Data to Spot Trends
Data is king when operating any business in today’s world, leaving many small businesses wondering how to effectively gather and manage their own customer information. If you’re going to throw a customer appreciation day and have it be a hit, you need to have the right data on hand. If you’re unable to collect valuable info, you might struggle when it comes to execution. Luckily, the right point of sale system can help you out.
Many POS solutions on the market offer you the ability to centrally store and analyze customer data gathered from transactions, loyalty card sign-ups, or mailing lists. Tying this in with inventory forecasting, you can not only understand what aspects of your business motivate your customers, but you will also obtain a valuable tool that provides deep insights into trending products. Monitoring the effects of promotional specials, including response to marketing communications, contributes to successful data analysis and makes your customer loyalty efforts much more useful while helping you prepare for the future.
Defining the Metrics Behind a Successful Loyalty Program
If you’re going to throw a customer appreciation day, you need to know what excites your customers, especially if you’re a developing franchise. A good start is through a loyalty program. Succeeding with a loyalty program largely depends upon the metrics you set around customer information. With these details, you can develop and implement a customer loyalty and rewards program that aligns perfectly with your client base.
Included in this is developing a strategy around customer information, including those you are trying to woo for the first time. Your metrics should include demographic and purchasing habit information, as well as items like rate of return, the time between purchases, and customer referrals. The latter is most important to note, as according to Bain and Company, the cost of acquiring a new customer is 7x more expensive than retaining a client. Providing incentives for referrals works closely with great customer service to drive your retention rates well above the 5% industry average.
It is important to know just what incentives will drive your customer base. You need a way to not just include customer information in your business flow, but also a way to centrally manage and access the information you gather so you can adjust your strategy on the fly. Modern POS solutions bring innovative metric dynamics to the table, presenting you with a new array of data and metrics capabilities, many of which can be automated and are flexible enough to change as your business grows.
Using Modern POS Solutions for Customer Retention
Promotions, from product and service sales to customer appreciation days, are effective towards increasing customer retention rates. Accomplishing this requires that you have a POS system in place that can collect and analyze data from all aspects of your operations. A modern-POS solution gives you an advantage when it comes to customer loyalty programs and when it’s time to throw a customer appreciation day.
You benefit greatly when you implement a cloud-based POS system. Many modern POS solutions come with loyalty programs built-in. When selecting your POS options, you will want a solution which integrates loyalty program functionality with your daily data collection. Transactions are not just recorded in terms of dollars and cents. Rather, each customer record is populated with data in the form of products purchased, amounts spent, time and date tracking, and percentage of product returns. You gain the knowledge here to provide you with two important leverage points.
First, you can generate in-depth reports utilizing the customer information gathered. These reports will tell you who is shopping when and for what, how much they spend per visit, and even which modes of communication are most likely to engage customers. Second, you can accurately establish your branding message for your customer appreciation day. Sounds like a lot of potential rewards for far less effort, right?
Throw a Customer Appreciation Day with a Valued Partner by Your Side
To build even deeper customer relationships, it’s always a good idea to throw a customer appreciation day. It develops brand loyalty and encourages repeat business. If you’re ready to take your customer loyalty efforts to the next level, consider partnering with a point of sale provider that can help you throw a customer appreciation day and streamline the rest of your business as well.
Retaining an expert in POS and customer retention strategies is an important aspect of long-term success. Your POS system requirements must include a wide range of customizable features and flexible hardware options that integrate within all aspects of your operations. At talech, we dig your business and work to understand exactly what your loyalty program needs to accomplish for your business. Reach out to us today to sign up for a demo and learn more about how talech can be your valued POS partner.
