10 Mistakes to Avoid While Creating Successful Loyalty Programs

If you’re an entrepreneur or a marketer for whom loyalty matters a lot, then not running effective brand loyalty programs, channel loyalty programs, or influencer loyalty programs may sound like a bad idea. But you know what’s worse? Not being aware of the avoidable mistakes that waste all the time, effort, and resources invested in the programs.

Many businesses that have some sort of loyalty program make one or more deadly mistakes, which cause their loyalty programs to fail in the first few years. A recent study revealed more than three-quarters of loyalty programs fail in the first two years.

If you’re looking to launch new loyalty programs or revamp existing ones, you should know the main reasons why loyalty programs fail and avoid common mistakes. This blog post lists ten mistakes you must avoid if you’re planning to run or revamp your loyalty programs.

Avoid this Loyalty Program Mistakes

Here are 10 common loyalty program mistakes to avoid:

1. Creating loyalty programs without any definite purpose  

The biggest mistake any company can make is to run one or more types of loyalty programs with no clear vision or purpose of what they want from their loyalty programs. Some companies create loyalty programs by copying their competitors, while some create loyalty programs for the sake of it.

While creating or revamping a loyalty program, it’s extremely crucial to have a clear vision for the loyalty program as well as the objectives it must achieve. The best way, as Simon Sinek says, is to start with the “why.” Why the loyalty program is critical to your company? Apart from that, determine what purpose the loyalty program must achieve and how it will benefit your customers, stakeholders, and your brand.

2. Insufficient idea about customers, channel partners, and influencers

While creating loyalty programs for customers, channel partners, and influencers, you need to know everything about them. That’s why it’s extremely crucial to create customer personas if you’re creating loyalty programs for your customers and prospects. Likewise, it’s extremely necessary to know everything about your channel partners as well as key influencers in your industry before creating loyalty programs for them. An insufficient idea about customers will result in ineffective loyalty programs and not knowing relevant things about channel partners and influencers will lead to partnering with the wrong people.

3. Selecting the wrong loyalty provider

Another big mistake that many companies make while attempting to create a loyalty program is selecting the wrong loyalty solution provider. Choosing a loyalty provider is a strategic decision and you must handpick a partner, guide, and consultant with an owner mindset, who is willing to work closely with you and have their skin in the game.

Choose a loyalty solution provider that can create effective and tailored loyalty programs for you as well as allow you to integrate multiple loyalty programs into one platform. A reputable and trustworthy loyalty solution provider will also help you understand the mindset of your customer, channel partners, and influencers, and will create loyalty programs that resonate with the people they’re being created for.

4. Not focusing on transparency in loyalty programs

Loyalty fraud is a rising threat. A Forter Fraud Index report revealed that loyalty fraud increased by almost 90% on a year-on-year basis in 2021. Loyalty fraud is currently estimated at one billion dollars every year.

Many businesses make the big mistake of not focusing on transparency in their loyalty programs. By doing so they not only lose the trust and loyalty of their customers, channel partners, and influencers but also commit the crime of not giving the due loyalty points and rewards to the deserving party. The best way to prevent loyalty members from misappropriating reward points is to introduce a mechanism such as a dual wallet.

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5. Being lax on a strong support system

Just as the quality of the loyalty software and the solution provider is important, the same goes for the support systems. Robust support plays a huge role in the well functioning of the loyalty programs. Many businesses, however, don’t focus on the support system while they create loyalty programs.

One of the greatest advantages of partnering with a reputable and trustworthy loyalty solution provider is that they can provide 24/7 support using multiple communication channels including instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp. Apart from that, they provide real-time analytics and monitoring, a support tracker, QR status review, and more.

6. Not leveraging data effectively

Various studies have proven the importance of data for all areas of businesses. Data-driven loyalty programs are far more effective and successful than the ones that aren’t supported by data. Despite having relevant data and insights, many companies don’t leverage them to enhance their loyalty programs.

And, let’s be honest, not every entrepreneur or marketer needs to be great at analyzing enormous volumes of data and making data-driven decisions. This is where the role of a trustworthy loyalty solution provider becomes important. Partnering with the right loyalty provider can enable you to get key data of loyalty members such as their location and other demographic factors. Know the ways to leverage loyalty data to offer value propositions to customers.

7. Not customizing loyalty programs

A study conducted by Epsilon found that four out of every five customers are more likely to buy from a brand after receiving a personalized experience. Failing to customize loyalty programs makes the rewards irrelevant and inconsequential for customers. This is where knowing the mindset as well as taste and preference of customers, channel partners, and influencers proves to be extremely important.

Consider the interests and behaviours of your customers, channel partners, and influencers while crafting customized rewards. A trustworthy loyalty solution provider can help you create KPI-driven customized loyalty programs that are automated and scalable.

8. Not building strong rapport

Creating loyalty programs is one thing. But engaging and building a strong rapport with customers, channel partners, and influencers to run the loyalty programs is a completely different ball game. That’s where many businesses fail.

Organizing activities to engage stakeholders is the most important thing for the success of a loyalty program. When planning to revamp loyalty programs, focus on engaging activities to build a strong rapport with your customers, channel partners, and influencers.

9. Overcomplicating things

Many businesses overcomplicate their loyalty programs. Some make the enrolling process difficult. Some complicate the sign-up process. Some make it difficult to redeem points and rewards for their customers, channel partners, and influencers.

If you want to run effective loyalty programs, be extremely careful not to overcomplicate things. Make it easy for your customers, channel partners, and influencers to enrol. Don’t have too many restrictions. Make the sign-up process easy. Always think of the people for whom you’re creating the loyalty programs and make it smooth and easy for them to redeem loyalty points and rewards.

10. Not promoting loyalty programs and not evolving with time

Despite having well-crafted loyalty programs in place, some businesses don’t invest time and resources in promoting them. That lead to a massive waste of their time, efforts, and resources spent on their loyalty programs. Another big mistake that some businesses make is not evolving and changing their loyalty programs with time. Their loyalty programs become irrelevant and outdated and they’re unable to rival brands that offer similar loyalty programs.

Some things are better left to the experts. A professional and proficient loyalty solution provider will not only promote your loyalty programs but also change them as and when required.

The right time to evolve is now!

Let’s face it, a majority of businesses have some sort of loyalty program but how many of them succeed? Well, as per the available stats only a quarter of them. Some mistakes in loyalty programs can be extremely expensive for small businesses and if you’re planning to launch or revamp loyalty programs, then you need to be aware of the common mistakes that businesses make while running their loyalty programs.

At LoyaltyXpert, we have helped many businesses to run successful brand loyalty programs, channel loyalty programs, and influencer loyalty programs. We have also helped many companies in revamping their loyalty programs and eliminate their shortcomings. If you are considering creating or revamping loyalty programs for your business, book a demo today.

How to Detect and Stop Loyalty Program Fraud? Technology Explained

If you run a brand loyalty program, channel loyalty program, or influencer loyalty program, you must beware of rising loyalty frauds. As per the recent Forter Fraud Index report, in 2021 alone, loyalty fraud increased by 89 percent on a year-on-year basis. It is currently estimated at one billion dollars every year.

Loyalty fraud happens when one or more channel partners do not transfer loyalty points to their peers and redeem the points by themselves. It also happens when customers find a way to redeem single-use coupons more than once as well as when employees don’t use their loyalty points but give those to others. In some cases, it occurs when hackers gain access to loyalty platforms and compromise loyalty programs.

As loyalty points and rewards have real financial value, abusing the points and loyalty programs’ rules will not only reduce trust in a brand but can compromise sensitive data and personal information of customers, channel partners, influencers, and employees.

This blog post discusses the common types of loyalty fraud and the tried-and-tested methods to prevent loyalty fraud. Read on and thank us later.

Forms of loyalty fraud

Loyalty fraud can happen in many ways. But the most common form is channel loyalty fraud.

Some channel partners redeem loyalty points instead of transferring the points to other channel partners below them. Even though some frauds are made unknowingly or out of ignorance, a majority of them happen knowingly.

Channel loyalty fraud doesn’t always happen on a large scale. One channel partner or a small group of channel partners can wreak havoc on a company’s loyalty program.

Apart from that, customers and employees can circumvent rules and abuse loyalty programs for personal gain. In some instances, hackers commit loyalty fraud by penetrating loyalty platforms and wiping out the available points.

Methods to Prevent Loyalty Frauds

When it comes to preventing loyalty fraud, technology plays an immensely crucial role. Sophisticated loyalty technologies can detect fraudulent activities and prevent loyalty fraud from taking place. Here are seven effective methods to keep fraudsters at bay.

1. Choose a sophisticated loyalty platform

A reliable loyalty platform comes with sophisticated features such as a dual wallet to prevent loyalty fraud. A dual wallet is a feature that enables brands to confer loyalty points in two categories to their channel partners. One is the primary wallet that will have the points that a specific channel partner can redeem for themselves. And the other one is the secondary wallet that will store a certain number of points and credit the suitable points to the subsequent channel partners under them.

LoyaltyXpert’s dual wallet feature won’t allow a channel sales partner to redeem the points in the secondary wallet for themselves. Every time an invoice is approved by a channel partner, the system will check in the backend if the other customer/purchaser is eligible for points. If yes, that many points will be deducted from the approver’s secondary wallet. LoyaltyXpert’s platform also provides many more sophisticated features such as a one-time QR Code scan to prevent fraud of multi-scan, a KYC update to prevent duplicity, a verification system for points, location-based reports while scanning, and many more.

2. Create different groups

Create customer segments to ensure that specific customers redeem the rewards as per their groups. By segmenting, you can offer different loyalty rewards to different groups of people such as distributors, dealers, stockists, wholesalers, influencers, customers, and more. This will eliminate confusion and prevent loyalty fraud as it will ensure that the right groups are rewarded with the right loyalty points. LoyaltyXpert’s software can enable you to create separate customer groups and provide the right rewards to the right people.

3. Verify KYC documents

Companies need to be extremely particular about KYC starting from verifying the original identification such as Aadhar card, PAN card, and other crucial documents. Verify the KYC documents to prevent duplicity. Apart from that, verify email addresses to prevent fraud. If a customer, channel partner, or employee signs up more than once by using the same email address or by creating email aliases, then they can circumvent basic loyalty platforms and manipulate loyalty programs and reward points. The best way to prevent that is to verify every email address before completing the registration.

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4. Re-think your loyalty program

If your rewards or loyalty points are extremely easy to manipulate, then it would attract fraudsters to abuse your loyalty programs. But if you make it extremely difficult to tamper with your rewards, then it will inhibit fraudsters from abusing your loyalty programs. A pending period on the loyalty platform can prevent the snags associated with product returns and loyalty point manipulation. A detailed redemption requirement will also prevent fraudsters from abusing reward points with duplicate accounts.

5. Reward purchases and engagement instead of invites

If you have a referral program then you must be extremely aware of the prevalent referral frauds. Some fraudsters invite themselves many times over and redeem the referral points. Many others send the invites to their friends and family members and exploit the loopholes in the referral programs. To prevent referral fraud, you must define clear rules for fraud-free referral programs and ensure that every referral is unique and verified.

6. Use a balanced mix of financial and non-financial rewards

While financial loyalty rewards are extremely lucrative for fraudsters and hackers, non-financial rewards aren’t worth the hassle for them as they don’t yield direct financial benefits, which can be redeemed immediately.

If you solely focus on providing financial rewards, then you are more likely to attract the attention of non-scrupulous people. But by using a balanced mix of financial and non-financial rewards, you can inhibit them from tampering with your loyalty platform. Non-financial rewards include point systems, free products, or charity donations. High-ticket loyalty points can attract fraudsters and tempt them to break into the platform and redeem the points. To avoid that, limit the redemption of the loyalty points to specific quantities.

7. Monitor customer behaviors

Monitoring customer behaviors is one of the best ways to prevent loyalty fraud. You can use sophisticated monitoring tools to help you detect unusual behaviors. Some of the common anomalies are frequent cancelation of orders, orders with extremely high or low values, and failed orders with huge unused points. 

Taking everything into consideration

With loyalty frauds rising rampantly every year, it’s extremely crucial to use sophisticated technologies to prevent fraudulent activities and ensure that the right people get the right rewards. At LoyaltyXpert, we have a sophisticated platform and an array of features to detect and prevent loyalty fraud. If you’re looking to eliminate loyalty fraud, then get a free trial to know how you can create tamper-proof loyalty programs.

7 Ways to Effectively Promote Your Referral Program

Did you know that influencer marketing delivers more than 500 percent returns on investment (ROI)? As per a recent stat, every dollar invested in influencer marketing generates an average return of $5.20.

If you’re running a referral program, or are planning to run one, then you need to make sure that your influencers are invested and motivated in your program. For that to happen, you must see to it that your influencers get the most out of your referral incentive program.

Behind every successful referral program, there are well-rewarded and delighted influencers and customers. This blog post discusses seven ways to keep your influencers interested and motivated in your program in the long run.

1. Have clear, defined goals

Before running a referral incentive program, be extremely clear about your goals and know what you want from your influencers. Some of the following questions can help you find greater clarity with your referral program.

  • Do you want to attract more influencers?
  • Do you want to promote your product to the followers of a particular influencer?
  • Do you want your influencers to promote a specific product or service?
  • What amount of monetary and non-monetary rewards can you give your influencers?

After finding answers to the above questions, you can know what exactly you want from your loyalty program.

2. Choose a high-quality loyalty solution for your referral program

Finding a loyalty solution provider in a highly crowded market is not a big thing in itself. But choosing the right loyalty partner can mean the difference between a successful referral incentive program and a failed one.

A high-quality loyalty platform will enable you to automate your referral program and give the right rewards to all your influencers. When it comes to joining hands with the right loyalty provider, you need to do your research and consider those solutions providers who have a proven track record of creating and deploying effective referral programs. A company such as LoyaltyXpert that has a dedicated and competent team and years of experience in delighting its clients can be the one-stop solution for all your loyalty needs.

3. Customize incentives for your influencers

The need to customize your referral incentives for your influencers can’t be overstated. Creating customized incentives and reward programs can make influencers feel special and make them more effective when they are working for your brand. 

To customize your referral programs for your influencers you must know everything about them. Say, for instance, you are in the plywood and laminates industry. Your influencers are carpenters. You must understand their psychology and what they want. Conducting surveys and creating personas is a good way to categorize your influencers and create customized rewards for them.

4. Spread the word about your referral program

When it comes to running a highly effective referral incentive program, leave no stone unturned to promote it. Leverage your social media accounts to promote your referral programs. Email marketing also works like magic when it comes to promoting referral programs. Make sure you have an email id list of high-quality customers and influencers. Promote the referral program throughout your app.

Another effective way to promote your referral program is by creating an explainer page. Apart from that, promote your program organically by encouraging your customers to spread the word, share reviews and testimonials as social proof, and add social sharing buttons. You may also create order status emails, post-purchase emails, in-store promotional materials, and referral links in purchase stages to better promote your referral program.

5. Gift pre-launch product features

Gifting pre-launch product features is one of the most effective ways to generate buzz before the launch of a product. Every time your influencers refer to your products and generate a high-quality lead or a sale, consider gifting them some pre-launch product features. You can also use the same strategy to reward all of your valuable customers.

6. Showcase influencers in brand video

In case you use video marketing, then showcase your influencers in your brand videos. Many influencers, if not all, love to appear on video content that’s relevant to their niche. The more opportunities for them to appear in brand videos, the more popular they become in a wider circle.

In the same way, it’s a win-win scenario for brands. The more screen time they give to their partner influencers, the more they will be known by the legions of followers and the more they will be accepted. That makes it an attractive proposition for both parties.

7. Use giveaways and provide attractive offers on products or services 

Giveaways are among the most effective ways to promote referral programs. Apart from motivating your influencers, giveaways will help you generate high-quality leads and expand your social reach by leaps and bounds. 

Offers on products and services not only enhance sales but work like a charm for your referral programs as well. You can reward your highly productive influencers by providing them with exclusive coupons, gift cards, vouchers, and many more financial rewards.

All in all,

A referral program is a gold standard for business growth. It is a must-have tool for businesses in almost every industry. To run a successful referral program, you must make sure that your influencers are well-rewarded and are happy with the referrals. 

At LoyaltyXpert, we know what it takes to create effective referral programs. We have helped our clients in rewarding their influencers in the best possible way. If you would like to run successful referral programs, Book a free demo today.

What is Digital Loyalty Program? How to Implement One?

A study by mobile marketing company CodeBroker reveals that three-quarters of respondents said that they would like to engage with loyalty programs using their smartphones. This stat shows why digital loyalty programs are the need of the hour.

As the name suggests, digital loyalty programs are the digital version of traditional loyalty programs. By using digital loyalty programs, businesses can enable customers to sign up for the programs easily, keep track of their points and rewards, and redeem those conveniently.

This blog post details four effective steps to implement a successful digital loyalty program. If are curious to know how you can implement effective digital reward programs, read on and thank us later.

1. Select the Right Loyalty Platform

When it comes to creating successful and effective digital rewards, it is crucial to choose the right loyalty platform and join hands with a reliable and reputable loyalty solution provider. The right platform will not only help you craft engaging digital rewards but will also monitor your sales as well as your loyalty program’s performance.

Before choosing a loyalty platform, make sure it’s easy to use. A user-friendly platform will help your customers navigate through the app and efficiently collect loyalty points. After making sure the app works well, check how easy it is to install and customize. Is setting up the app easy and fast? And does the app provide sophisticated features and robust technical support? After considering all the key factors, check out the price. Quality platform indeed comes at a price but many affordable options in the market provide all top-class features for the best price.

2. Choose a System to Provide the Loyalty rewards

A loyalty system is a brand’s form of currency through which customers can collect loyalty points and redeem those. Selecting the right customer loyalty system can help you provide loyalty rewards efficiently and effectively.

You can choose a product-based loyalty system if you want a simple and flexible loyalty rewards system to set up on your digital platform. It is also the fastest and easiest system compared to all other loyalty systems. You may consider a points-based system, which is the most common reward system used by a majority of brands. If you intend to increase the footfalls in your store and encourage customers to view more of your products and services, you can consider using a visits-based loyalty system. Last but not the least; you can try a cashback-based loyalty system if you want to increase your customers’ cash spending.

3. Handpick your Loyalty Rewards

Based on the loyalty system, you can choose multiple loyalty rewards. The loyalty rewards can be a mix of monetary rewards and non-monetary ones. Striking the right balance between financial and experience-based rewards is the key to a successful digital loyalty program. Before selecting the right digital rewards, ask the following questions:

  • Who are my customers?
  • What rewards do they value the most?
  • What rewards can fulfill their needs and wants?
  • Can customers avail of the rewards easily?
  • How many transactions do customers need to make before they get a reward?
  • How much discount can you provide?

After getting satisfactory answers to the above questions, choose a bouquet of rewards to provide options as well as for better customization.

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4. Promote your Digital rewards program

The last but most important step is to promote digital reward programs. No matter how exceptional your loyalty platform is and how great your loyalty system and rewards are, if you don’t promote your programs then it’s just a sheer waste of time, money, and effort.

Social media gives you the freedom and the power to reach a large group of people with just a click of a button in almost no time. Using social media, you can create attractive and engaging posts on your digital rewards program. It is the easiest and fastest way to attract the attention of existing customers, followers, as well as new prospects.

Another reliable way to promote your digital reward programs is to send text messages and emails to your existing customers. If you don’t have the phone numbers and email ids of your customers, you can request the same. Provide a signup reward to motivate customers to join the program. You also can consider promoting your digital loyalty program on Google Ads. You may advertise your digital loyalty program on flyers or in your local newspaper. 

Taking everything into consideration

As customers become more tech-savvy with each passing day, digital loyalty programs are extremely crucial in the present age. Businesses that have digital reward programs in place have a massive advantage over the ones that use traditional loyalty programs.

At LoyaltyXpert, we have crafted highly effective brand loyalty programs, channel loyalty programs, and influencer loyalty programs for a wide range of companies. If you are considering implementing digital reward programs, contact our team to know how we can help.

7 Effective Channel Incentive Programs that Work Like Magic for PVC Businesses

A strong distribution channel is critical for the PVC pipes and fittings industry. Manufacturers in the industry mostly rely on a multi-tier distribution system. They sell their products to distributors, who in turn sell to dealers, sub-dealers, or wholesalers. The wholesalers sell the products to retailers, who sell to plumbers or end-users.

To ensure the smooth transition of plumbing products, many PVC makers leverage different types of channel loyalty programs, which help them enter untapped markets and give them a competitive advantage.

At LoyaltyXpert, we not only help different sizes of PVC manufacturers in running a wide array of highly-effective channel loyalty programs but also brand loyalty programs and influencer loyalty programs. In this blog post, we have listed seven types of popular channel incentive programs that work like magic in the PVC pipes and fittings sector. Read on to gain valuable insights.

1.Channel financing

Even though it is not a channel incentive program in the truest sense, channel financing is one of the most attractive and effective mechanisms that can create solid loyalty among channel partners. Under this program, a select group of channel partners and key distributors get access to working capital at attractive rates, which allows them to undertake bigger projects. Many PVC makers provide channel financing to support their channel partners and encourage them to buy more.

In its recently released report, Prince Pipes revealed that about one-fifth to one-fourth of its total sales happen through channel finance. The channel financing scheme, which supports its major channel partners using, has a recourse option. The company’s outstanding channel financing amount stood at Rs. 730 million as on March 2021. The PVC maker is extremely selective in providing this financing option to a select group of dealers.

2. Inventory-based incentives

To make sure the flow of products into the market is smooth, distribution channels in the PVC pipes and fittings industry must maintain a specific level of inventory. To boost volume growth and incentivize channel partners to stock adequate volumes of inventory, PVC pipe manufacturers provide various inventory-based incentives to improve channel partners’ inventories.

Some of the most popular inventory-based channel incentives are channel rebates and discounts. Many leading PVC brands such as Astral Pipes, Finolex, Oriplast, and others provide rebates and discounts to their channel partners to enhance orders’ size and frequency. Dealers and distributors who order in bulk quantities are eligible for these incentives.

3. Value-added incentives

Many PVC makers, such as Prince Pipes, provide value-added incentives to channel partners who provide value-added products and fittings, thereby becoming one-stop solution providers for plumbing fixtures and applications. In the report, Prince Pipes discussed channel partners that deal with value-added products such as UPVC, CPVC, HDPE, PPR, solvents, and valves are one-stop solution providers in the plumbing and fittings industry.

The channel partners, who work on the ground, have deep insights into the market and the end-users. By adding value to the existing PVC products and fittings, they can delight plumbers and end-users. To enhance your influence in a certain market, provide value-added incentives to the channel partners who add value to your products.

4. Sales incentives and SPIFs

Sales incentives are among the most widely used channel reward programs in the PVC pipes and fittings industry. Using these, PVC makers reward channel partners when they achieve or surpass specific sales targets. Leading PVC makers such as Chemplast Sanmar Ltd, DCM Shriram Ltd, DCW Ltd, Finolex Industries Limited, Formosa Plastics Group, and Reliance Industries, use sales incentives to drive short-term revenue targets as well as to build long-term loyalty.

Likewise, SPIFs (sales performance incentive funds) are channel incentive programs that motivate channel partners to achieve a specific objective, which can range from selling particular products in a specific amount of time, cross-selling or up-selling, or entering new markets. Many PVC manufacturers including Prince Pipes provide their channel partners with attractive SPIFs to cross-sell and up-sell their entire product range.

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5. Marketing Incentives

Marketing incentives can range from market development funds (MDFs), cooperative funding, and incentives for Above the Line (ATL) or Below the Line (BTL) marketing activities. Many PVC companies use a mix of marketing incentives to enhance awareness about their products through their channel partners. Companies such as Apollo Pipes, Astral Poly Technik, Prince Pipes, and Supreme Industries are investing heavily not only in MDFs and co-op funds but also BTL and ATL marketing activities.

When it comes to the risks associated with the different types of marketing activities, co-ops are less risky than MDFs as they are given after the target sales and revenue are achieved. Also, by investing in ATL and BTL activities, manufacturers are not only enhancing the awareness of channel partners but also of plumbers and end-users.

6. Dealer meets and loyalty programs

Prince Pipe is running a dealer loyalty program named ‘Prince Udaan,’ which allows the company to engage and reward its distributors, dealers, stockists, and wholesalers across 46,171 touch points across the country.

The loyalty program is designed to reinforce the bond with channel partners and motivate them with reward points, using which they can redeem gifts. The company also organizes Parivaar Meet, which is one of the most successful dealers meets in the PVC piping and fitting industry.

7. Referral incentives

Usually, manufacturers want to partner with those distribution channels that provide a wide array of piping and plumbing products under one roof. Channel partners in the PVC pipes and fittings industry want to partner with companies that have a wide-ranging product portfolio, supply the products on time, and help them during a crisis. Referral incentives help manufacturers in finding the right channel partners and help the referring parties to win attractive rewards.

Referral incentives play a key role in enhancing market penetration and increasing the strength of channel partners. In this, PVC manufacturers reward their channel partners when they make high-quality referrals and bring in more channel partners or marketing agents. High-quality referrals also help PVC companies to register more sales and witness increased credibility.

Taking everything into account

A majority of PVC pipes and fittings products make their way into the market through distributors, dealers, and wholesalers. As the industry largely relies on various B2B channels, running a mix of channel incentives for various channel partners makes perfect sense.

At LoyaltyXpert, we have a proven track record of creating effective channel loyalty programs for all sizes of PVC businesses. As PVC pipes and fittings maker, if you’re in the intending to make your channel partners stick with your brand for a long time, contact us today.

Why Your Brand Needs Emotional Loyalty More Than Ever Before?

Does it ever happen that a customer, channel partner, or influencer becomes emotionally engaged with a brand and keeps doing business with it despite getting better offers and prices from competitors? Yes, it happens. It’s known as emotional loyalty.

Brands that manage to touch the hearts of their stakeholders and stir positive emotions are more likely to generate higher sales, enjoy better customer satisfaction, and record more revenues and profits than their competitors.

Here are some studies and stats to drive home the point. A research report released by Capgemini titled ‘Loyalty Deciphered—How Emotions Drive Genuine Engagement,’ revealed seven out of every ten customers with high emotional engagement spend two times more on the brands. The same report said that eight out of every ten customers with high emotional engagement would always buy from the brand they are loyal to when making purchasing decisions.

A Motista report found that customers who are emotionally engaged with a brand have over 300 percent higher lifetime value. Another study found that emotional engagement with customers could enhance a brand’s average annual revenue by five percent.

In this blog post, we discuss the components of emotional loyalty and how brands can leverage their loyalty programs to touch the various components of emotional loyalty. Read on to know more.

Components of Emotional Loyalty

Emotional loyalty has five key components, using which brands can design their loyalty programs and rewards to forge deep emotional connections with their customers, channel partners, and influencers.

1. Trust

Honesty, integrity, and trust are the key drivers of emotional loyalty. Winning customers’ trust is the Holy Grail of emotional loyalty. If a brand is honest, consistent, and transparent with its values, the way it operates, and the way it provides loyalty rewards, then it can win its customers’ trust.

When it comes to loyalty programs, simple, trustworthy, and uncomplicated loyalty initiatives appeal to a wide number of people. Brands that leverage cutting-edge technology and sophisticated software to build transparent loyalty programs are better poised to win the trust of their key stakeholders.

Here are some ways brands can win their customers’ trust using loyalty programs:

  • Have a mechanism where they can see how loyalty points are rewarded 
  • Create a mechanism to stop loyalty program fraud
  • Ensure data security and confidentiality 
  • Respond to complaints and messages on time
  • Tailor email communication
  • Create charity campaigns where members can donate their loyalty points to various causes

2. Belongingness

The sense of belongingness is extremely primordial in humans, who have an innate desire to belong. You can provide your customers with a deep sense of belonging with your brand by aligning your mission statement with their values and beliefs and making them actively engaged with your brand.

Belongingness creates a strong connection with customers, which motivates them to walk the extra mile to support the brands with which they have a strong affinity. When brands design their loyalty programs to enhance the sense of belongingness with their customers, they transform them into brand evangelists.

Here are some ways brands can leverage loyalty programs to create a sense of belongingness with their customers:

  • Create a close-knit community for customers, channel partners, and influencers
  • Organize various community events and invite the members
  • Create special or exclusive clubs for community members
  • Solicit feedback after every interaction

3. Recognition

Brands that make customers feel unique and special build a strong emotional bond with them. Make genuine efforts to know your customers and create tailored loyalty rewards to show them that you care about them.

The Capgemini study stated that millennial customers care more about recognition among all customer groups. Being the most significant and valuable customer group in the world, the purchasing power of millennials far outnumbers any other customer group.

Here are some ways brands can use loyalty programs to show their customers that they care about them:

  • Reward customers on special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries
  • Encourage customers to complete their profiles and reward them when they do that
  • Give personalized and meaningful rewards to your customers
  • Gamify surveys and provide bonuses when you or any stakeholder achieve a milestone

4. Gratitude

Gratitude is one of the strongest human emotions. When brands express gratitude to their customers, they can make them more welcoming, change their brand perception, and strengthen relationships with them.

When customers, channel partners, and influencers associate with brands for the first time, brands can use the opportunity to thank them. Brands should also thank their stakeholders when they achieve a milestone.

Here are some ways brands can use loyalty programs to express gratitude to their customers:

  • Send beautifully crafted heartfelt thank you messages either on the loyalty app or social media
  • Send loyalty points along with messages for subsequent purchases 
  • Organize giveaways such as gift cards, free products, and coupons 
  • Allow stakeholders to choose the rewards they value the most

5. Emotional engagement

Emotional engagement is more about building a lasting connection. Brands that create a sense of attachment manage to engage with their customers more frequently and the customers are less likely to leave. The Capgemini study also found that 81 percent of emotionally engaged customers like to give back to a brand as much as they like to receive rewards from it.

Brands that engage with customers and other stakeholders in a personal and contextually-relevant manner create high emotional engagement. Brands that support various charitable causes also create high emotional engagement among their members.

Here are some ways brands can use loyalty programs to create an emotional attachment with their customers:

  • Create tiered membership programs
  • Reward members with experiential rewards and special treatment
  • Gamify your rewards by leveraging a sophisticated loyalty platform
  • Support various charities and encourage members to participate by contributing their loyalty points to the causes
In the end

Customers, channel partners, and influencers don’t just continue doing business with their favorite brands because of loyalty incentives and rewards, but mainly due to strong emotional connections. Emotions play a critical role in brand loyalty.

At LoyaltyXpert, we help brands leverage emotions to build effective customer loyalty programs, brand loyalty programs, channel loyalty programs, and influencer loyalty programs. If you are looking to build deeper emotional bonds with your stakeholders, get a Personalized Demo today.

9 Types of Channel Incentive Program Work for IT Firms

If you’re a technopreneur or a marketer in the booming IT industry, you know the importance of distribution channels and influencers in the sector. But did you know that indirect sales channels massively outweigh direct sales channels when it comes to revenue and growth?

A study by Forrester revealed that indirect partner channels are accounting for almost two-thirds of total revenue in the IT sector. In monetary terms, that’s close to USD 2.26 trillion!

If you’re using traditional incentives and reward programs, you must rethink your strategies as soon as possible and adopt a multipronged reward program. This blog discusses nine types of channel incentive programs that are highly effective in the IT sector.

9 Types of Channels Incentive Programs with Examples

Here is a list of 9 types of channel incentive programs that can help you create a meaningful partner strategy.

1. Value-added reseller incentives

In the IT sector, value-added resellers play an extremely crucial role. They add additional features or services to hardware and software products to enhance their utility.

A recent study found that value-added reseller incentives can enhance a company’s total sales volume by six to nine percent. Many IT companies and software creators use value-added reseller incentives to widen their reach, increase their market share and sales, and improve profit margins.

Some businesses also partner with third-party companies to remotely control their IT infrastructure and provide them with value-added reseller incentives. An excellent example of value-added reseller incentives in the IT sector is the incentives Cisco provides to value-added resellers.

2. Sales performance incentive funds

Sales performance incentive funds can work wonders in fulfilling specific goals such as increasing sales volume, selling certain IT products, as well as driving short-term spurts during sales slowdowns or off-season. The main benefits of this type of incentive are IT companies can increase their particular goals for a certain time and pass on the benefits to their channel partners and influencers.

An excellent example of sales performance incentive funds in the IT sector is the Vonage Channel incentive Program, which enables its channel partners and influencers to earn significant rewards based on the number of deals and the extent of the contract. At LoyaltyXpert, we have helped many IT firms to pay sales performance incentive funds by using accurate sales and performance data.

3. Activity-based incentives

Activity-based incentives, such as loyalty points and rewards provided to take part in surveys, play a game, share a post, attend webinars, and organize demo sessions. These are extremely useful to reinforce loyalty and work extremely effectively in the IT sector. Even though activity-based incentives don’t reward channel partners and influencers based on specific milestones, they often result in higher sales and desired outcomes. Almost all leading IT behemoths such as Google as well as many startups leverage these incentives to reach a higher number of people.

4. Enablement and training incentives

This type of incentive is extremely necessary for the IT industry as it trains channel partners and influencers about the technology. When channel partners and influencers are adequately trained, they know how the technology works, explain it to others better, and market the products much more effectively.

By imparting necessary training to their channel partners, IT companies can reduce their support costs. A great example of enablement and training incentives is HP’s Blue Carpet incentive program. It awards influencers and individual partners with digital gems after they complete different training programs. It also rewards the top ten performers with trips to exotic destinations.

5. Cross-selling incentives

Some channel partners or influencers are extremely skillful at selling complementary or related IT products to their customers or followers. That’s known as cross-selling or upselling. When they manage to do that, they should be suitably rewarded. Many leading IT firms are implementing cross-selling programs to motivate their partners to sell complementary or superior products.

6. Rebates

Rebates are designed to enhance demand. In the IT industry, rebates are based on volumes. When your channel partners and influencers sell a specific volume the incentives they receive are a percentage of their sales, which they can pass on to their customers. The major benefits of channel rebate incentives are that they motivate channel sales partners to sell more products and build a strong customer base. AWS’s partner program is a good example of a rebate program.

7. Referrals

Channel referral incentives are extremely crucial for IT firms. By using this type of incentive, tech companies leverage the clout and referral networks of their partners, influencers, and existing customers. Almost all major companies use referral marketing due to its many advantages.

As per the latest stats, referral marketing generates up to five times higher conversion rates compared to any other channels. The lifetime value of referred customers is 16 percent more than non-referred ones. Referral leads have 30 percent higher conversion rates than leads compared to any other channels.

8. Solution development funds

IT firms rely on this type of incentive if their channel partners or influencers need to demonstrate their software or solutions. This is extremely effective for complex products as well as for solutions that have complex and lengthy development and sales cycle. Solution development funds are extremely useful to support proofs-of-concept, demonstrations, and product launches.

9. Loyalty incentives

This type of incentive is more of a token of gratitude than a reward. Many IT brands provide this incentive to their partners and influencers for their unwavering loyalty and dedication. By doing so, they make their partners and influencers feel special and valued. An attractive loyalty program also acts as a magnet to bring in new partners. Many tech companies are investing in loyalty incentives to retain their most loyal and valuable partners.

All in all,

As the global IT sector grows from strength to strength, tech companies must leverage the right incentive programs to enhance revenues, profit margins, as well as brand value. Traditional programs are no longer effective and IT firms need to use a multipronged approach to reward their partners and influencers and keep them loyal.

At LoyaltyXpert, we have created highly successful channel loyalty programs, brand loyalty programs, and influencer loyalty programs for all sizes of tech companies. If you’re looking to run tailored and effective reward programs, Contact us today.

Power Your Business with Return on Relationship With Loyalty Program

If you’re an entrepreneur or a marketer, you obviously calculate the return on investment (ROI) for every business decision. But have you ever wondered about the returns you can get by building strong relationships with your customers and stakeholders?

That’s where the concept of ‘Return on Relationship’ comes into play. The term was coined in 2009 by noted social media strategist Ted Rubin, who asserted that contemporary businesses can achieve massive growth and value by building and nurturing longstanding relationships.

Four years later, he published a book titled “Return on Relationship: Relationships Are the New Currency: Honor Them, Invest in Them, and Start Measuring Your ROR,” which he co-authored with award-winning and best-selling author Kathryn Rose. Since then, the concept has transformed the way many organizations do business and cultivate relationships.

At LoyaltyXpert, we believe that you can accrue significant value by nurturing relationships with all your stakeholders. This blog post discusses everything about ROR and what you can do to enhance it.

Importance of ROR for your organization

ROR is extremely necessary for the social media age. It not only will help you access your target market and attract your key stakeholders, but it will drive exponential growth and deliver a huge return on your time and money invested to nurture the relationships. Return on relationship provides the following benefits to your organization:

  • New customers and followers
  • Immense loyalty
  • Credibility and brand value
  • Recommendations and referrals
  • Social media engagement and shares

Strategies to enhance ROR

Like any marketing strategy, ROR needs proper groundwork and a systematic roadmap. Here are some ways to enhance ROR.

1. Know every relevant thing about your stakeholders

To build a strong relationship with your stakeholders, you must know every relevant thing about them. At LoyaltyXpert, we know how important it is to know your customers, channel sales partners, and influencers and we have helped many of our clients in understanding their key stakeholders in the best possible way.

Empathy is the first step to building enduring relationships. To better understand your stakeholders, you must put yourself in their shoes and know what they feel and what problems they face. Only after knowing the relevant about your customers and other stakeholders, you can design the right solutions and offerings for them.

2. Listen to your customers and stakeholders

“If you don’t listen to your customers, someone else will.” The proverb by Walmart founder Sam Walton is so relevant than ever before. When interacting with your customers listen to them closely and understand what they say and what they expect from you. Once you understand their pain points and the solutions they need, nothing can stop you from developing an enduring connection with them.

When interacting with your customers and all other stakeholders on social networks and forums, listen with the intent to understand. Read comments, tweets, reviews, and other online mentions to understand your target audience better.

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3. Focus on continuous engagement

To build and nurture longstanding relationships, you need to start interesting conversations and invest time to engage and make the interaction a continuous process. Focus on consistency and once you are consistent with your interactions and commitment, it will motivate your target audience to engage with you regularly. Remember, when it comes to building and nurturing relationships consistency wins over intensity, every single time.

4. Leverage high-quality loyalty programs

When it comes to building long-lasting relationships and loyalty, nothing can beat loyalty programs. You need to use various loyalty programs to build and nurture relationships with different stakeholders in your business. Using channel loyalty programs will enable you to build robust relationships with your channel sales partners and keep them loyal for a long time. Brand loyalty programs can be extremely effective to create an emotional brand connection with your customers and strengthen your bond with them over time. Also, influencer loyalty programs will help you create strong relationships with the key influencers in your industry. To run highly effective loyalty programs, you will need a sophisticated loyalty platform. This is where a reliable loyalty solutions provider such as LoyaltyXpert can help you select the best loyalty software.

5. Provide exceptional service

Last but not the least, the key to building and nurturing robust relationships is to provide exceptional service to all stakeholders. Look for areas where you can serve the stakeholders in the best possible manner. The more value you add, the stronger the bond will be.

The most successful companies such as Zappos, Starbucks, Stitch Fix, and Hilton, just to name a few religiously focus on delivering the best service to their stakeholders. And that gives them a cult-like status and following.

Taking everything into account,

Never in the past was it possible for a brand to generate massive value based on relationships with customers and other stakeholders. That’s the power of ROR in the digital age! At LoyaltyXpert, we have helped many of our clients build strong relationships by providing our effective loyalty solutions and we can help you too. To know more about our software and services, contact us today.

How to Generate More Sales with a Carpenter Loyalty Program?

Every company needs the right brand ambassador to showcase its products, services, and values. For a plywood manufacturer (or a laminate or medium-density fiberboard company), an experienced and skillful carpenter is a much better influencer than any famous athlete or movie star.

When people need furnishing, they hire a carpenter to get the work done. When it comes to buying the hardware and fittings, they take the carpenter’s recommendations extremely seriously.

At LoyaltyXpert, we know the importance of carpenters and we believe that hardware brands must find out effective ways to join hands with the right carpenters to take their business to the next level. With our effective brand loyalty, channel loyalty, carpenter loyalty program, and influencer loyalty programs, we have strengthened the ties between hardware companies and their channel sales partners, retailers, and carpenters.

In this blog post, we have discussed the strategies using which you can team up with the right carpenters and make them your brand ambassadors.

Why do you need a good carpenter loyalty program?

If you are wondering whether or not to run an influencer loyalty program for carpenters, do consider the benefits it can provide you with:

  • High return on relationships (ROR) with carpenters
  • Access to a wide range of end-users
  • Enhanced referrals and repeat orders
  • Transform carpenters into brand ambassadors
  • Right rewards and incentives to deserving carpenters
  • Enhanced sales and revenue
  • Constant feedback and engagement

Strategies for crafting effective carpenter loyalty programs

To create an effective loyalty program for carpenters, the following steps are extremely useful: 

1. Choose the right loyalty platform

To put it mildly, crafting carpenter loyalty programs the traditional way is extremely time-consuming. Manual creation of the carpenter database, managing the excel sheets, and distributing the rewards manually is extremely inefficient. This is where the advent of sophisticated loyalty software proved to be a boon for traditional manufacturers. By leveraging a good loyalty platform, you can automate the carpenter loyalty program and provide suitable rewards on time.

When it comes to creating a successful influencer loyalty program, choosing the right loyalty provider and the right platform is extremely essential. In the market, you will get a lot of solutions providers to choose from but you must select a company that leverages sophisticated technology and has a robust track record of providing successful loyalty programs. Taking that decision will not just enable you to design highly engaging and addictive rewards but save you a lot of time, money, and effort.

2. Partner with the right carpenters 

While selecting suitable carpenters for your loyalty program, consider their experience and reputation. That will allow you to get high-quality referrals and continuous orders. After choosing the right influencers, find out ways to enroll them simply and easily.

Do keep in mind that many carpenters may not be comfortable with the complicated and lengthy registration process. That’s why you should consider using sophisticated tools to make the joining process as smooth and effortless as possible. Also, offline registration can be useful. When it comes to joining terms and conditions, make sure they are clear and easy to understand.

3. Choose the right rewards for carpenters

When it comes to retaining your partner carpenters for a long time, choose the right rewards. Some of the best rewards and incentives are:

  • Cash rewards
  • Affiliate and referral programs
  • Reloadable cash cards
  • Tier- and point-based rewards
  • Personalized rewards
  • Bonus discounts
  • Prepaid cards
  • Insurance and health camps
  • Special days such as birthdays, anniversaries, and others

4. Streamline the reward-earning process 

Various psychology studies have revealed that rewards lose their efficacy and attractiveness if they reach the recipients late. That’s why apart from handpicking the right rewards, you need to make sure that your partner carpenters get their rewards right on time. To achieve that, you need to streamline the reward-earning process. Devise a mechanism by which you can send the points easily and on time.

5. Build a community for constant engagement

Effective engagement is the key to the success of any influencer loyalty program. One of the best ways to engage with your carpenters and foster a robust relationship with them is to build a close-knit community for them. Apart from that, make sure that you entertain their feedback and respond to their queries and requests promptly. A high-quality loyalty platform can add to your community-building efforts.

6. Monitor and measure results

You need to monitor your carpenter loyalty program by using a sophisticated loyalty platform’s analytics and reporting tools. Track each carpenter’s performance to know how many of them are meeting or exceeding expected performance and how many need training and additional support to improve. While measuring the results, find out the gaps between the actual result and the desired results. In case of any discrepancy, take corrective actions to improve the results.

All in all,

If you are a plywood or laminates manufacturer, a carpenter loyalty program will enable you to join hands with the right carpenters and will give you a huge competitive advantage. At LoyaltyXpert, we create high-quality influencer loyalty programs for carpenters for all sizes of hardware brands. To know more about our loyalty solution, get a personalized demo today.

How to Make Painters Your Brand Ambassadors and Drive More Sales?

As a paint manufacturer, you might have always wanted to rope in a celebrity to endorse your brand. But you mustn’t overlook the real influencers who play a huge role in influencing your target customers’ buying decisions and have a close rapport with them.

They are painters, who have always been, and will always be, the major brand ambassadors in the paint industry. When it comes to choosing the right paint brand, a majority of people buy paints as per their painters’ recommendations. And they will continue to do so as long as they buy paints for their walls and ceilings.

At LoyaltyXpert, we understand the role painters can play in making brands super successful and we believe that paint makers must focus more on joining hands with painters so that they can easily reach their target customers.

We create successful brand loyalty programs, channel loyalty programs, and Painter loyalty programs for paint brands and help them forge stronger ties with their channel sales partners, influencers, retailers, and customers.

In this blog post, we have listed the ways using which you can make painters your brand ambassadors and drive more sales and customer loyalty. Read on to know valuable tips.

1. Choose a suitable loyalty platform

With a wide array of loyalty solutions in the market, it’s extremely crucial to pick the right loyalty platform that can make your painter loyalty program a success. Just typing “painter loyalty programs” or “loyalty programs for painters” will generate useful results. Visit the websites of some loyalty solution providers on the first two pages and look at the solutions they provide. After creating a shortlist, contact them to know if they can provide you with the right solution you are looking for.

Look for a loyalty platform that’s powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and has sophisticated features and support services. Also, make sure that the platform has real-time analytics, which will help you monitor and manage your loyalty campaigns.

2. Partner with experienced painters and simplify the joining process

Painters play a big role in shaping their clients’ purchasing decisions. As a paint maker when you partner with some experienced and expert painters, you can tap into their customer base and benefit from their recommendations. This will tilt the scales in your favor in the long run and will give you access to a wide customer base.

After joining hands with the painters, make sure that the joining process is extremely simple and easy. That’s because a majority of them may not be familiar with the complicated enrolling process and may refrain from joining if the loyalty program is too complex. That’s why ensure that you’re particular about the enrolling process and make the terms and conditions extremely clear.

3. Personalize rewards for painters

After getting the right loyalty platform and handpicking the right painters, you must segment them in a proper manner, which will enable you to create personalized and tailored loyalty programs for them. There are many attractive rewards for painters and you can use a variety of those to make your program extremely attractive. Some of the lucrative rewards are:

  • Cash rewards
  • Personalized gifts and rewards
  • Tier-based loyalty system
  • Point-based loyalty system
  • Giveaways
  • Affiliate and referral programs
  • Additional discounts on paint products and tools
  • Skill-based training
  • Health camps
  • Insurance

4. Streamline the point-earning process and engage your painters

While choosing the right rewards is crucial to a loyalty program, streamlining the reward-earning process can mean the difference between success and failure. If painters can’t receive suitable incentives and points after taking the desired action or completing a transaction, then the loyalty program won’t be effective. On the other hand, if they receive the points and rewards at the right time, it will motivate them to keep up the good work.

Apart from that, make sure that you engage with the partner painters and make it easier for them to share their feedback about your products as well as customers’ experiences with your brand. An online community will also help your partner painters to promote your products and generate a strong buzz.

5. Monitor the loyalty program’s outcomes

Last but not the least, to find out if the painter loyalty program is successful or not, track the results by using analytics and real-time monitoring tools. Look at individual performance to know which painters are the top performers and who need improvements. This is where a cutting-edge loyalty platform proves to be immensely useful.

After tracking the outcomes of the loyalty program, find out the gaps. If the actual result is close to the desired one, then there is no need to worry. But if it falls short, take corrective actions to improve the results.

To summarize

Can painters be the brand ambassadors of your paint brand? They sure can. If you’re a paint manufacturer, then you should seriously consider implementing loyalty programs for painters to reach more customers and generate more sales. At LoyaltyXpert, we design high-quality paint loyalty programs for all sizes of paint brands. Give us a call or write a message to know how we can help.