The Paytronix Convenient Connections Summer Series is a five-part blog that explores successful loyalty campaigns that convenience stores can use to drive user engagement, win back customers, successfully segment customer groups, and ultimately drive incremental revenue. Look for the Summer Series throughout the months of August and September.
A successful loyalty program has been proven to be the ultimate tool for the wise marketer. Loyalty programs drive customer engagement and spend, build and strengthen the relationships between the brand and the consumer, and provide invaluable insight into customers’ behaviors and preferences.
A truly effective loyalty program must be cultivated and monitored, with regular tweaks and upgrades. This includes choosing the right campaign for the desired outcome, whether that’s winning back a lapsed customer or engaging a new loyalty member.
Engaging new members is critical as it not only shows the member the value in the program so they’ll continue to use it, but it’s also a primary indicator of whether that customer will continue to visit.
Getting a customer to register for the program at all is already a strong indicator that they’ll return. But Paytronix data shows that customers who visit three times after registering have a nearly 90% likelihood to return. It’s around this point that the likelihood of a next visit plateaus, so that third visit is the goal to strive for.
A nurturing campaign is intended to drive new members back to accrue rewards. The following campaign was shown to drive an average 10% increase in incremental visits over many different brands.
Nurturing a new member
It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon in August, and Bob and Amy are both signing up for the loyalty program at PX Convenience Store. Each earn a welcome reward, and for the next month, Bob and Amy are left to their own devices while PX C-Store determines how they each interact with the program.
By mid-September, Amy and Bob have both been in the program for 30 days. While Bob visited the store twice in the last month and spent $23, Amy hasn’t been back since she redeemed her welcome reward.
Now, the nurture campaign will engage Bob and Amy differently based on their behavior.
Since Bob has visited, he is given an easy visit challenge. Paytronix has found that two visits in two weeks is a reasonably attainable goal for a new member. PX C-Store tells Bob that if he visits twice in the next two weeks, he’ll get a relatively small reward: either bonus points or an inexpensive fuel reward.
If Bob completes the challenge, PX C-Store will up the ante, challenging him to visit three times in the next two weeks. If he does not complete the original challenge, PX C-Store will offer him a sweeter reward with a fresh window to complete the two-visit challenge.
Meanwhile, Amy has a totally different experience. She hasn’t visited since she redeemed her welcome reward on the day she signed up for the program, so she’ll need more incentive to visit. Instead of a challenge, Amy is offered a high-value reward, like a free drink or other in-store product. The entire goal is to get her to visit again, because statistics show that if she visits a third time, there’s a 90% likelihood she’ll keep coming back.
Now, if Amy redeems that second reward, she will be offered the visit challenge that Bob originally received; but if she doesn’t respond to the offer, PX C-Store can give Amy an even sweeter deal, like $2 off an in-store purchase. Not only does this give Amy the agency to choose her reward, it also will provide PX C-Store will valuable information about her check-level-detail buying preferences if she comes in to redeem it.
Half the fun of a loyalty program is customizing it to meet the wants of your customers while staying true to your brand. This is just one example of a successful nurturing campaign – what will your brand choose?