There are many mobile loyalty programs out there today. Some of the more popular ones are Foursquare, LevelUp, and ShopKick, but companies such as Mogl, Privy, LoyalBlocks, and Punchcard also offer mobile loyalty reward programs. Each of these programs operates slightly differently but under the same premise, which is to encourage customer loyalty and reward it. Set up is relatively easy, for both your business and your customers. But gone are the needs for you to print out reward program cards and have your customers carry them. Everything is handled through their mobile phone, which is of course always with them. But besides the convenience for you and your customers, using a mobile loyalty program also allows you to send messages to your customers directly on their phone, whether about a new sale or special or just to remind them to stop by soon. The fact that your message is delivered directly into their hands in itself makes mobile loyalty programs much more effective than the older card-carrying platforms.
Mobile Rewards Programs
Practically all mobile phones today have the ability to send and receive text messages, and practically everybody does it. That makes text message marketing a very easy and effective way to market your business and build a loyal customer base.
Of course, not many people want to simply receive text messages about a business. That’s what Twitter is for. But a very effective strategy for businesses to use text messages is to create a special mobile rewards program or a mobile VIP club. The purpose of creating this mobile program is to send special offers to your customers who have opted into the program. People like to feel special and know that they’re getting a deal that the general public is not. For your business, a mobile program allows you to send out regular messages directly to those customers to lure them back to your business and turn them into loyal customers.
One way to begin a mobile rewards program is simply by posting signage in your business or adding a message to your current marketing materials, encouraging people to join your mobile rewards program or VIP club. Emphasize that by joining, they will receive special offers from your business that will not be available to anyone else. You might even have the current mobile program special on display to encourage sign-ups on the spot. On your signage, you will also want to clearly explain how many times you will send them a text message (once a week is a good number) and that you will never share their number with anyone else.
Using text messages to market your business may seem very simple and, well, plain. But don’t underestimate the power that this marketing tool has. Consider this: most people read their text messages within an average of 4 minutes after receiving them. In other words, text messages do not go unnoticed. So by using text message marketing, you can be assured that your marketing message is seen. And you can impact your business and see results literally within hours or even within minutes.
You will need to partner with a mobile marketing company that offers text message marketing, but the costs to implement a text program are very low, much lower than print or even online advertising. The platform will allow you to create messages, schedule them, and will automatically update your subscriber list. Most platforms will also allow you to integrate other means to spread the word about your mobile rewards program, such as with social media. And you can even use QR codes as a means of scanning and tracking redemptions.
Attracting new customers to your business is hard enough, and turning a customer into a loyal customer is even more difficult. Modern technology, though, has made things much easier, much less expensive, and much more effective. Using either a mobile loyalty program or a mobile rewards program, or both, can be a win-win situation for both you and your customers. Your customers will be rewarded because of their loyalty, and you will be rewarded with loyal customers.
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