Sales Incentives Blog

Posts Tagged ‘customer incentive program’

Customer Loyalty: How To Gain More Clients Than You Could Ever Imagine

No matter what business you are in, there is always going to be a slow period. That is simply a part of business. For the construction companies of the world there is the winter months when there is little that can be done outside without a lot of problems. For cable television companies it is the summer, when people are spending more time outside then watching television inside.

There are methods to combating this issue. In some cases the companies will simply go with a different type of business during these months. Landscaping companies are known to become leading snowplow service providers during the winter months. This helps to offset the time when they are down. But what if you do not have another service to offer? Then you have a problem that needs some careful consideration.

First and foremost you need to determine if you have a customer base of the slow months. This is easy enough to know. If you have people ordering from you but just not as often then you have the right kind of customer base. They are simply in a period of the year where they do not feel that your product or service is quite as necessary as other times of the year.

Now you need to figure out how to entice these customers or potential customers into making purchases during these months. So let’s take a look at the options that you have available to you.

The first option is to lower the prices. Now this can be somewhat dangerous to the company as a whole. The problem may come in that the people will note that you are lowering the prices at one point during the year and then wait until that point to start ordering from you. So all you have really done is to move the slow period from one time of the year to another and lost money in the process.

The other more viable option is too offer some kind of customer loyalty incentive for ordering from you. Of consumers polled, more then sixty percent said they would increase their spending by as much as seventy-five percent when an incentive was offered to them for the purchase. These are amazing numbers when you think about it and can be used to your advantage.

One of the best customer loyalty incentives to offer is travel. There are few that do not like to travel and most will jump at the chance to get a free vacation. So why not offer a free vacation with a certain purchase? Think it will cost you too much? That is where you are wrong. There are now affordable solutions available to businesses to help boost the slow period spending by their customers.

Companies around the world offer just such a service. You can purchase for less than $2.00, incentive vouchers to be given away to your customers with a specific purchase. So you are offering a no cost vacation for them making a purchase and you are not spending a ton of money. In all truth you are spending a lot less then you would be if you lowered prices.

“5 Tips on How to Create Effective Customer Incentive Programs”

KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET – Are you sure you know what your target market is? Determine everything about them from general demographic factors like age, gender, income class, to the little but important details like which colors or designs they prefer and so forth.

COMMUNICATE – Again, do everything you can to know what’s on your customers’ mind. Have them fill out survey forms, and to make sure that they’ll answer these, give them incentives to do so.

Keep in mind that although you truly need to spend money for both incentive programs to work, you don’t need to spend a lot because big capital doesn’t necessarily equate with effectiveness. Creativity and resourcefulness still counts so it’s definitely possible to have a successful incentive program without denting your company’s pockets too much.

REWARD CUSTOMER LOYALTY – Know who your loyal customers are. And when you’ve identified them properly, make sure that you reward them accordingly. Let them know that you’re aware of their loyalty to your company and that you’re giving them a reward because you appreciate it.

GIVING AWAY REBATES – Be careful when using rebates as an incentive strategy for your customers. Due to numerous controversies surrounding rebates, more and more consumers are feeling discouraged and reluctant to take advantage of rebates. If and when you do use them to encourage customers to patronize your products or services, make sure that you use a simplified process for your customers to redeem their reward: don’t dangle a carrot if you don’t plan to give it away in the first place.

GIVING AWAY PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS – Promotional products are always welcomed by all kinds of customers. Be sure, however, that you give them something useful – even if it’s only in the aesthetic sense. If you skimp on the costs and design, your incentive strategy might end up backfiring on you.