- Customer Engagement
POS and CRM: A Powerful Partnership for Business Growth
Forget cash registers and Rolodexes. Today’s point-of-sale solutions double as powerful POS and CRM systems,…
Read More >>In today’s marketplace, a customer loyalty program shouldn’t be a wish-list item for retailers. In fact, customers now expect some form of loyalty and a reward system for frequently patronizing a business.
Many retailers balk at launching a loyalty program for customers. The reason? Many think it’s a time-consuming process that will require tons of new technology.
Here’s some good news: Launching a customer loyalty program is easier than ever. Most loyalty systems, for example, integrate seamlessly with your POS. This adds another powerful tool to your POS that can transform your business and help you drive repeat sales.
So how does a POS system power a customer loyalty program? Not only does it sync sales and transaction data, helping you to better understand customers, a POS system makes it easier to onboard customers, personalize offers for your loyal shoppers, and more. Take a look at the five ways a POS will help you build a strong, engaging customer loyalty program:
1. EASY ONBOARDING
Enrolling customers in a loyalty program should happen in seconds. And they should have the freedom to do it at checkout. However, in the past, loyalty systems required lengthy onboarding processes that most customers simply avoided.
With a POS-integrated loyalty system, you can add a customer to your system in seconds. You just collect a few pieces of relevant data name, email (which will help you with marketing), and phone number. A phone number is helpful if you plan to do SMS text marketing campaigns; however, it’s not essential.
When you follow up with an email campaign, you can ask the customer for more data (birthday and their Facebook page are favorites), which will help you to create richer customer profiles.
Once a customer is in your system, you can simply add them to your store (if you’re using a tool like Loyal-n-Save). And voila! They’ve been successfully added to your system in about 30 seconds. Simplifying your onboarding process is one of the fastest ways to engage your customers and entice them to sign-up. And having a system that’s built into your POS makes that possible.
2. DATA SEGMENTATION
Another benefit of POS integration: You’ll have better data collecting abilities. This will allow you to determine preferences, buying patterns, and top-selling products of your most loyal shoppers.
With this data stored in your POS database, you can leverage it for segmentation and engagement. For example, you can add a pop-up mesage on your POS on the customer’s birthday. Or you can organize your loyalty members based on their preferences and buying behaviors. This helps you with the next step: Personalization.
3. PERSONALIZED OFFERS
Customers expect personalization. They want personalized birthday messages and offers based on their favorites. The more personalized the offer, the more likely you are to build a strong relationship with your customers.
How does a POS do this? By integrating with your POS, you’ll start by collecting better data. You can use this to data to design offers for targeted segments.
For example, you could segment all of your October birthdays together. Then, design a birthday campaign in October with an offer for a newly introduced product that you think your customers will love (based on buying behaviors). Or you could create campaigns to target frequent shoppers with rewards that drive them to return.
4. PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCES
Your POS system should do many things, but most importantly it should be recording your customer’s behaviors and patterns so you can use that information to create tailored experiences. Upon signing up for your loyalty program, customers are giving you insight into their entire demographic. You know (pretty much) everything about them and with time, you learn their shopping habits. Use this to your advantage when customers reach a reward and add a touch of personalization. When a customer feels they are noticed and appreciated, true loyalty is fostered and more purchases are made. By leveraging this data, retailers can make personalized recommendations that maximize upsell opportunities and promote a sense of brand loyalty.
Does Beth like to have a drink when she checks into the hotel? Have one waiting for her before she arrives. Does Carlos get an oil change every 4,000 miles? Send him a coupon when it’s almost time for his next service. It’s the little things that go a long way when trying to achieve customer loyalty.
5. INSTANT GRATIFICATION
Don’t make your customers wait for rewards. Instead, you should give them quick opportunities to use and redeem their rewards.
For example, have you ever gone shopping, spend a lot of money, only to get a coupon for your next visit. Although that coupon might drive return visits, it’s not likely to put a smile on your customer’s faces. They can see the promotional element. They just spent a lot of money and want to be rewarded.
With a POS integration, you can instantly track rewards balances and add those to the transaction as it happens. This way you aren’t leaving customers wishing they could unlock their rewards when they want to.
Bottom line, your point of sale system should streamline your workload, prevent loss, and drive sales. Having the right POS solution will not only make your operations more efficient, but it can actually grow your business along with your loyal customer base! If it doesn’t, it might be time to look for a new one.
