5 Tips to Help Your Loyalty Program Succeed

If your small business is still issuing punch cards for your loyalty program, you’re already behind the competition. Thanks to easy-to-use software like Perka Flex Points, small businesses can launch an app-based loyalty program as sophisticated as their larger competitors.

“For the typical merchant, the cost and complexity of operating a true loyalty program can be prohibitive, often requiring integration to a POS system,” said Alan Chung, CEO of Perka. “Flex Points will let a business owner quickly set up a seamless, sophisticated loyalty rewards program as easily as offering a punch card.”

But before you launch your first digital rewards program, here are a few basic suggestions from small business experts.

• Use your loyalty program to differentiate your brand. Like everything else your small business does for customers, your loyalty program only brings the customers in. It’s your job to give those customers an additional incentive to keep coming back. By offering personalized service or fun, unique rewards, your small business will set itself apart from the competition. There are plenty of businesses nearby, so it’s important to show that you appreciate your customers by rewarding them.
• Be relevant. While points-based loyalty programs can be versatile and flexible, it’s important to keep in mind that your customers want rewards that are meaningful to them. You know your customers well, so be sure to tailor rewards to their individual needs or, if that isn’t an option, provide a variety of choices for cashing in rewards.
• Offer a unique or highly-coveted top-tier reward for VIP customers. If an extremely valuable reward is given to customers who earn the most points, customers may strive to reach that number. The more points they earn, the more they’ve spent in your location.
• Learn about your customers. This is the prime opportunity to learn more about the customers who frequent your business regularly. Loyalty programs like Perka Flex Points provide analytics to help business owners track the behavior of customers. This not only gives businesses information about the effectiveness of the program, but also gain detailed insights into customer purchasing habits and preferences. This information can be used to improve your business model and your rewards program to better serve your most loyal customers.
• Keep it simple. Your rewards program should be as straightforward as possible, devoid of tricky fine print. Minimize rules and restrictions and allow your customers the freedom and flexibility they need when they’re choosing how to cash in those points.

By choosing a loyalty program that can easily be stored on a user’s smartphone, small businesses will equip customers with the easy-to-use interface they need. Perka Flex Points provides easy setup and interactivity with POS systems, helping them implement a program that works with their existing setup.

For more information on Perka Flex Points, visit the company’s website. The app is free to customers, but merchants will pay $50 per location per month.