If you’re in eCommerce, the holiday season is no doubt one of the busiest times of the year for you. It’s not just about managing new customers, a hectic shipping schedule, or increased web traffic, either. Your to-do list is most likely a mile long right now, just as it is every year.
Don’t let your loyalty program get left out in the cold this holiday season. If managed properly right now, you and your business will be reaping the benefits for months and years to come. Let us count the ways.
1. Encourage your customers to make early referrals.
Asking your already-loyal customers to refer their friends and family for the holiday season is a great way to maximize associated benefits for everyone involved. There’s still time to message your customers with promotional codes they can share with their loved ones now and even into January.
If you aren’t already offering rewards in exchange for referrals, it’s definitely something to consider. If you are, consider offering bigger rewards on a temporary basis. There’s no time of year to expose new customers to your products and your brand like the holidays.
2. Offer additional rewards for registering an account with your store.
Did you know that the top 10 eCommerce shopping days of the year are in either November or December? It’s not hard to see why the holiday season is such a big deal for businesses of all kinds, eCommerce businesses included. Make sure you’re doing everything you can to turn as many new customers as possible into loyal, ongoing shoppers.
When you allow customers to checkout as a guest, you’re limited in your ability to interact with them during and after the sale. Encourage shoppers to create an account and enter their email address when checking out by explaining the incentives of joining your store’s community like discounts, exclusive content, or other valuable resources.
3. Take this opportunity to send out seasonal reminders.
With the holiday shopping season just around the corner, you have the perfect excuse to reach out to your subscriber list one more time. Consider sending out an email campaign to those with loyalty points to cash in. Remind them of their points balance but also leverage the opportunity to show them what else your site is cooking up for the holidays.
Showcase some of your bestsellers and introduce your newest products. Don’t forget to let your customers know how many points they’ll be earning when they purchase each one of them. Make sure they’re reminded that when they shop with you, they’ll be enjoying access to rewards they can’t find anywhere else.
4. Set an expiration on loyalty points.
By using rewards to encourage new customers to register accounts, and then setting an expiration on the loyalty points they earn, you encourage them to make another purchase sooner rather than later. Even in the event you don’t see that customer again all year, you can still email them next year to remind them of the points they have yet to redeem.
Looking for more holiday marketing resources? Check out the rest of our holiday marketing blog posts here!
