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If your Shopify store struggles to find loyal customers and increase loyalty from existing ones, it’s time to consider setting up a robust loyalty program. Implementing a successful Shopify rewards program can help boost customer engagement and improve their buying experience by providing exclusive perks, VIP experiences or something even more creative.
With the right strategies in place, your Shopify loyalty program has tremendous potential to generate significant revenue for your shop.
In this post, we’ll explore how you can craft an effective Shopify rewards program for your store that will reap long-term results.
Many businesses offer loyalty programs to reward and incentivize their customers for repeat custom. In essence, loyalty programs are designed to give customers something extra for the time and money they invest in a brand, making them more likely to return again and again.
The rewards of loyalty programs vary by company but can include:
Shopify rewards programs have seen a significant surge in popularity over the last few years. They are becoming increasingly attractive for customers and brands, as loyal customers often spend more money per purchase and shop with the same store more often than non-loyal ones.
Research showsthat over 70% of customers would consider a loyalty program when deciding which brand to purchase from, indicating the importance of loyalty programs today. A well-thought-out loyalty system can help Shopify stores stand out from competitors and build lasting relationships with customers, while encouraging frequent purchases or returning visits.
And the stats from LoyaltyLion’s Shopify stores back these claims up. Some of the successes our users have seen include:
A Shopify store can’t thrive without a loyalty program because it is the fundamental key to acquiring and keeping customers, boosting customer engagement, and growing revenue. We might sound like a broken record, but acquiring new customers is increasingly expensive. However, you can use loyalty to offset rising customer acquisition costs.
With acquisition costs becoming increasingly expensive and growth potential limited with “one and done” customers, establishing a loyalty program can help you gain an edge over your competitors. Loyalty programs offer added benefits for customers who keep coming back; this incentive encourages them to shop more often and build long-term relationships with your brand.
Not only does this increase the chance of repeat sales, but it also encourages higher spending with each purchase. Studies have found that loyal customers spend anywhere from two to ten times more than new customers over the course of the year. As such, having a loyalty program helps maximize revenue generation over time by rewarding shoppers for continuing to shop at your store instead of going elsewhere.
Additionally, seasonal and social trends can significantly impact the annual performance of Shopify stores. With a loyalty program, you can ensure that your store remains competitive throughout the year by providing a steady and evenly-spread flow of personalized rewards alongside the bigger occasions, such as birthdays, holidays, or anniversaries.
This helps boost engagement among current and potential customers while also helping your business capture more revenue during the slower shopping periods.
Setting up a loyalty program for your Shopify store doesn’t have to be a hassle. Here’s how to get started.
Before setting up a loyalty program, you need to identify what you want to accomplish. Do you want customers to purchase more frequently? Increase their average order value? Refer more customers? Understanding your goals will help guide the design of your loyalty program and ensure it meets those objectives—as well as driving results for your store.
Once you clearly understand what goals you’d like your loyalty program to achieve, it’s time to decide which type of rewards program will best meet those objectives. There are generally four ways of designing reward programs: points-based rewards programs, tiered rewards programs, tiered discounts programs, and referral programs.
A loyalty program can contain one or all of the above approaches depending on complexity.
Next, merchants must choose a platform where customers can enroll in the loyalty program for Shopify. And there are lots of apps dedicated to loyalty and rewards. There are many providers out there that offer both free and paid options, so merchants should research these before making a decision.
For the sake of this article, we’ll focus only on, LoyaltyLion for Shopify.
Once the platform has been chosen, brands must design their loyalty program and create all necessary graphics and copywriting materials for promotion. Brands should pay attention to detail when creating a loyalty program to ensure that customers easily understand how it works and what benefits they can receive from participating.
Promoting a loyalty program for Shopify stores can effectively increase program enrollment, engagement and participation. However, loyalty programs are prevalent; research shows that the average shopper is enrolled in 16.7 loyalty programs worldwide. This means it’s important to ensure yours stands out. Here are some tips on promoting a standout loyalty reward program on your Shopify store:
A loyalty program is never complete – you have to optimize things over time as you gain more insights into your customers’ behaviors and preferences. Regularly review performance metrics such as customer engagement levels and redemption rates to ensure that your program runs smoothly and provides value to customers and your business. Adjust points values or reward offers as needed to increase participation in the rewards program for Shopify.
Additionally, consider introducing new offerings such as exclusive content or special promotions for your loyalty program members to differentiate from competitors and foster continued customer engagement. Exclusive content and special promotions can play a large part in creating an ongoing emotional connection and increasing lifetime value.
Finally, once your Shopify store’s loyalty reward program is set up and running smoothly, don’t forget about measuring its performance over time so that you can make sure it is performing as expected—and optimize its performance if needed.
Use analytics data such as reward points earned per transaction or the total number of referrals generated by existing members—as well as qualitative feedback from participants—to gauge whether the overall objectives are being met and fine-tune things if necessary (or introduce new elements). Doing this regularly will help ensure that your Shopify store’s loyalty efforts consistently deliver maximum return on investment over time!
To learn more about how LoyaltyLion can grow your Shopify store, request a demo to book a call with our team and start building customer loyalty today.
