Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Loyalty Program for your Shopify Store

Today's topic has to do with Loyalty Programs and how to integrate them into your e-commerce business. I would hope that at this point in the Internet age, the merits of digital marketing and e-commerce are well understood. Business managers and owners alike, have full knowledge of the critical nature of digital marketing. As a result they are actively pumping large sums of money into product development and advertisement just to gain some much needed brand awareness. I'm sure you'll agree that a novel idea is true market strength, and digital marketing is your finest tool.

An effective loyalty program, typically found in the form of an integration, can increase your sales figures and build your brands image. Generating traffic for your online store can be very expensive on a tight budget, but loyalty integrations can make it very affordable to communicate with your clientele. This is important because many people do not realize how easy loyalty programs can be to manage and just how much cashflow they're missing out on by ignoring the after purchase revenue stream. In many respects, loyalty is the corner stone of any emerging business. After purchase sentiment for your product is an excellent metric for success and you can build on this sentiment with complex and rewarding loyalty programs.

What to Expect and How to Build your Loyalty Program

Administrative Panel

With all new apps, platforms, and integrations; there are two sides of the application. Generally functions, controls and design are separated into categories called front-end and back-end. The outfacing part of your app is user orientated, this is what the client interacts with and sees on their screen. The back-end is can also be called an administrative panel, this is where you control the bulk of the apps functions.

Gathering Contact Details - Database Building

A key characteristic of any loyalty program is the ability to gather contact details from your clientele. There is no loyalty program without at least a basic registration system. Your loyalty program is contingent on the growth of your communication channel. This expansive list is your means of communication with your clientele, something that is a source of both brand strength and revenue. The expectation is that while your client list grows, your loyalty program will generate progressively greater value. A robust community is a great indicator of a successful product, brand or business.

It therefore becomes highly relevant that you utilize some sort of data base building integration. If your current marketing integration lacks a database function, then it is highly advisable to make a necessary change. We must therefore consider the ease of access to your e-commerce store, this include the registration and login process. Contemporary application increase usability with a social login function, which makes the act of registration quicker and easier. Speed and ease of use are highly relevant in e-commerce, so do not discount functionality.

In addition to increasing user convenience, implementing a social logins feature will help speed up data center infrastructure as well as transactions within your digital platform.

What you need to know about Data Bases:

1. The customers must express their willingness to be contacted, which is contingent on their overall attitude towards the product and services provided.

2. The ease of access or functionality of you registration process or social login. Figures suggest that clients are less likely to confirm their consent if the registration process is drawn out.

3. Have an efficient data base integration that manages your data, creates marketing campaigns, and provides you with performance metrics.

4. Your database is limited by its size, the accumulation of clients is the primary indicator for a successful loyalty program.
5. Loyalty programs are a far more affordable marketing tool than paid advertisements, and their pricing is often structured against your stores performance.
6. Your loyalty program must be very transparent about pricing and should never represent an excessive portion of your overhead.
7. Security is very important, your Loyalty Program should have a fraud detection function that protects your business from abuses.

Your Loyalty Program will have a way of generating Incentive  

Presuming that you've spent some cash on ads, which means that you have targeted a very specific demographic. A good loyalty program will need a way of capturing leads, generally through financial incentive and special status.  In order to motivate clients into joining your membership list, you need to create rewards for interactions. It's important to be clear about the benefits of membership, a FAQ section is an excellent idea for the job.

Just as important as distributing points, you also need to create ways to redeem them.

When structuring membership benefits and reward discounts, place reasonable limitations. Any reward you distribute has an equivalent dollar amount, so you should have an idea of how much you intend to offer in the form of discounts.

Loyalty Tiers and Special Client Status

It can be made very advantageous and easy to generate new membership, it is not unreasonable to create a strong membership offer to every customer you encounter. Now that you have your rewards program structured and your customer base is accumulating clients. You need to think about how to increase life time value of each customer. While your clients continue to spend, your database tracks their spending and organizes the data for you to manage. At this point you have all the pieces to build an effective loyalty program.

 As registered clients begin to shop, they will progressively generate points. Once you create your custom tier levels, and attribute values to them such as milestones. As your clients cross those milestones they are awarded new features and special status. Loyalty tiers are a great way of showing gratitude and rewarding your clients for their continued contribution. You have free reigns on how much or how little you wish to reward your loyal customers.

Loyalty Tiers usually have specific milestones that represent a dollar amount, which if a clients reaches they unlock further benefits.

When implementing any loyalty program, customizing to fit your brand and store design is also an important factor. There is a lot of room for creativity on how your brandy our loyalty program, the options are endless and having a clear idea is a good start.

Communication and Re-Engagement Channel

At this stage we have everything we need in order to optimize our re-engagement strategy. We can now openly communicate special offers and promotions to your active user list. Building expectations is a key benefit from sales promotions, the expectation of a extra value is enough to draw and engage your clientele. Then we have your anchor communication channel and your engagement strategy.

The standard practice for after market customer engagement is automated email notifications, it's also possible to utilize push notifications and sms marketing to give you that extra boost. The e-commerce space is full of creative apps that can help develop your business.

Reviews and UGC

Loyalty and Rewards compliment each other exceptionally well. Trust is a major differentiating factor in e-commerce, and being able to create trust is of enormous value to any online business. Reviews and user generated content are an independent and highly effective at doin this. With a loyalty and rewards, you are able to motivate user interaction in exchange for bonuses. Once you have an extensive list of reviews for your products, the element of distrust will reduce to the point of least resistance.

FAQ Section

A FAQ section is an additive bonus which will clear up all the questions that you clients may have, taking some burden of your customer service. The point is to make sure that your clients understand the value your loyalty program.

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How a loyalty program can impact your business

The customers that you have already landed, and who you have spent resources on such as time and money to capture, are lingering in the unmanaged space between purchase and fulfillment. This space is potentially a revenue stream and source of value that need not be neglected. Knowing how to build your loyalty program is the first step in building a customer centric business. I wish you all the utmost success and on that note, I shall leave you.

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