As the world around us continues to evolve, customer preferences change, and businesses transform, customer loyalty is still essential to business success. Loyalty is the key to cultivating repeat purchases and long-term, satisfied customers. Without it, your organization simply can’t thrive.
Loyalty is particularly important now, in a world where customers are actively reassessing what’s most important to them. Companies need to start thinking about what matters most to their target audience, This means taking a closer look at the buyer journey and upgrading your approach to cultivating customer engagement.
Let’s look at some of the loyalty trends which might influence your business in the year ahead.
Increasing Demand for Authenticity
Since the pandemic, consumers have had to become more cautious in the way they spend their money and show their loyalty. Expectations are higher than ever, and customers are increasingly unwilling to connect with companies they don’t believe they can trust. To develop loyalty in the years ahead, brands will need to think about how they can demonstrate authenticity on a greater scale.
According to FleishmanHillard’s global 2021 report on the Power of Authenticity, consumers now expect their favourite brands to have a clear strategy for diversity, equity and inclusion, alongside a dedicated approach to climate change and protecting the environment. As our priorities as a global community continue to change, 64% of customers want companies to take more of a stance on matters they consider to be important.
Loyalty Reward Options Diversify
For companies considering reward programmes for their most loyal customers, it may be time to think beyond things like discount coupons and gifts. Experts believe tomorrow’s customers will be looking for a wider range of “rewards” which help them to feel like a more valuable part of a growing community. There’s a great example of this in the “Vans Family” ecosystem.
The Vans shoe brand has a strong brand identity reflected by the Vans Family loyalty programme. When you’re part of the “family”, you can engage with the company in a variety of different ways, and earn not just points of purchases, but exclusive access to new designs, special experiences, and even behind-the-scenes views of upcoming products.
Analytics Will Evolve
To cultivate customer loyalty in 2022 and beyond, companies must understand their audience and the factors that drive their purchasing decisions. Today’s consumers are looking for highly personalized interactions, whether they’re buying products online, interacting with sales assistants in-person, or even using self-service systems.
As a result, companies will need to ensure they have the right analytics systems in place to capture information about customer sentiment and experience throughout the full buyer journey. A comprehensive approach to mapping the consumer journey from start to finish will be essential, as will innovative new tools for leveraging information. For instance, we’ll likely see a growing demand for speech analytics and interaction analytics tools to assess the voice of the customer.
Customers will Demand Digital
Digital transformation is driving the customer experience in 2022. Thanks in part to the pandemic, clients and consumers have grown increasingly accustomed to the idea that most of their interactions with brands should be happening on digital platforms. Because of this, companies are having to evolve to suit a more digital customer journey.