PissedConsumer Explains How to Leverage Customer Loyalty This Holiday Season

Reports show that holiday sales in 2021 are expected to increase by at least 7% compared to last year. With the right strategy, businesses can take advantage of this season to increase their sales and build customer loyalty.

However, without a proper plan, this season can do more harm than good to your business. For instance, with the expected increase in orders, you want to ensure that your systems are working correctly and order fulfillment is seamless. Otherwise, a stock shortage, long shipping times, and poor customer service, such as those reported on review websites like Pissedconsumer.com, can damage your business reputation and cause your customers to look elsewhere.

Below are 10 ways to leverage your customer loyalty this holiday season.

Gifting During the Holiday Season

Instead of sending mass holiday greetings to your customers like every other company, send them physical gifts. It is an excellent marketing strategy to stand out from the competition.

While you may not predict a concrete ROI for a gifting business strategy, it will help your brand come across as thoughtful, caring, and trustworthy. It can also be an approach for rekindling your relationship with past clients, warming prospects, apologizing, or rewarding clients for their contribution to your business.

You could also use gifts as part of a holiday season marketing campaign where you ask customers to give you feedback, refer new customers, or take part in a survey, and in return, offer a gift reward.

2. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Quarter four is a peak season for many businesses. You want to streamline your customer service to ensure consumers have a smooth purchasing experience. Since you anticipate more orders, ensure that your products or service delivery system is seamless.

Keep in mind that consumer habits established during the pandemic, such as online shopping and curbside delivery, are still prevalent. Therefore, ensure your business’ eCommerce system is well functioning and optimized to handle significant traffic.

Employ an omnichannel customer support strategy. Have enough customer service representatives available and easily accessible across different communication channels to address customer questions, complaints, and issues.

Also, have consistent brand communication across your various marketing and communication channels, including social media, website, and email marketing. For instance, if you post an upcoming promotion on your website, ensure the same information is relayed on your social media pages.

Consumers often have different touchpoints with a business before making a transaction. Consistent communication throughout the channels persuades the customer to buy and also portrays your business as credible.

3. Take Part in a Charitable Event and Invite Your Customers to Join You

The holiday season is associated with giving, and many consumers are keen to participate in charitable events and programs. Use your business as an avenue for others to give.

For instance, you can partner with an NGO or charity so that part of your proceeds goes towards the charity. Alternatively, offer an incentive where consumers can use their loyalty points to support the charity. You can also put together a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) event and invite your customers to take part.

4. Create a Wish List Registry Feature on Your Website

It can be challenging to get the right gift. A wish list feature makes it easy for your customers to find out what their loved ones want and also helps to increase your sales.

Target has been implementing this business strategy perfectly. They have a wish list feature on Target.com, which allows customers to pick out their favorite products. Customers then share the wish list with their loved ones.

To make the wish list program even more enticing, consider linking it with your loyalty program. If a customer buys an item from another customer’s wish list, they get extra loyalty points. Or, you could give holiday discounts on the items on the wish list.

5. Pay Attention to Your Customers’ Complaints

Complaints will inevitably come up with the increased number of orders and customers in touch with your business. Whether or not the complaints are a threat to your business depends on how you handle them.

Most business tips suggest that complaints can be an opportunity to show customers that you care and can help you improve your procedures, services, and products. Set up a system for customers to provide feedback, e.g. through a follow-up email or feedback feature on your website or app. Check your business’ online reviews across social pages and the web.

For instance, customers often go to platforms such as Pissed Consumer to air their complaints. Ensure to respond to the complaints promptly and do your best to resolve the issue or reach a compromise with the customer. Then, make the necessary changes in your procedures and policies to prevent the issue from arising again.

6. Give You High-Value Customers Special Perks

People go or stay where they feel valued and appreciated. Therefore, let your high-value customers know that you value them. Give them special perks such as discounts, free delivery, complimentary services, gifts, etc.

This holiday season, you could call them to check how they are doing, wish them a great time, and assure them that your business is committed to delivering the value they need. Also, ask for their feedback and insights on what they think could be done better.

7. Tie the Holiday Season with Your January Marketing Strategy

Sales are likely to decline significantly in January. However, you can optimize the holiday season’s momentum to improve sales and revenue in January.

For instance, you can offer consumers an option to accumulate loyalty points during the holiday season and use them to get discounts when purchasing items in January.

You can run a raffle whereby customers need to buy products worth a certain amount to qualify to participate in the competition. However, do not set the entry point too high that it cuts off a lot of people. Make the prizes attractive for the consumers but not too costly for your business.

In January, run a marketing campaign targeting the people who participated in the raffle. Promote new offers, share information with the customers that establish your business as an industry leader, send updates about your products and services, or run a survey to understand your customers better.

8. Set a Free Shipping Day

If your business is product-oriented, set a free-shipping day in mid-December to have products delivered before Christmas Eve. This year’s free shipping day is on December 14th.

While you may choose to set a different free shipping date, your customers will most likely be checking to see if you are running a promotion on the given day. Therefore, if you set a different free-shipping day, communicate it clearly through various channels so that your customers are aware and they do not go to other businesses for the offer.

9. Give Rewards on Your Loyalty Program

The holiday season is a great time to allow customers to redeem the loyalty points accumulated throughout the year. For instance, offer customers with the highest loyalty points discount codes, gift vouchers, or free shipping.

Also, encourage customers who have not yet signed up for your loyalty program to do so. Run a loyalty program sign-up offer throughout the holiday season. You can offer them free points after signing up that they can use immediately to redeem as a discount on their next purchase.

You can also develop a strategy to entice loyalty program members who have not shopped with you in a while. For instance, you can offer them a discount that they can utilize any time throughout the holiday season.

10. Run a Buy One Get One Free Sale (BOGO)

The BOGO strategy works best when you have some items in your inventory that are not moving as fast as you would like. Run a BOGO on such items instead of doing nothing about it and having dead stock at the end of the holiday season.

It is a win-win for both you and the customers. It excites the customers, increases the number of consumers coming to your store, and you get to get rid of excess stock even if at a breakeven point or slight loss.

Conclusion

Your holiday season strategy can significantly boost your seasonal sales and increase your overall annual revenue, help you to retain customers for the new year, and build customer loyalty for years to come. Identify the most suitable methods for your business and incorporate them in your sales and marketing strategy this holiday season.