What is an effective way to increase customer retention and loyalty? Aside from providing memorable customer service, giveaways may be a right fit for businesses. 

According to a study conducted by Docom Distribution, 75% of U.S. Gen Z individuals are more likely to make another purchase if they have received a free giveaway. Meanwhile, millennial digital buyers are at 60%. As for the giveaway items themselves, they pertain to coupons, magnets, samples, and stickers. 

One of the main reasons for why giveaways are popular is that customers are drawn to discounts. In fact, a 2018 survey by CrowdTwist found that 89% of U.S. digital shoppers found discounts and cash back reward programs the most appealing. 

Free products themselves took second place at 67%. Meanwhile, the option to donate to charities was at 41%. The offer of experiences and partnership perks should be closely considered by businesses as well, since they ranked at 22% and 21% respectively. 

Other data, retrieved from eMarketer, Hawk Incentives, and Leger, had a similar conclusion when it comes to customer retention and loyalty through loyalty programs and giveaways. The 2018 study found that the majority of customers, at 61%, were most incentivized to join a loyalty program if it offered free points upon registration. Receiving cash back for joining was also at 61%. In third place was free merchandise at 51%, while discounts followed closely behind at 50%. 

Given this information, businesses can begin leveraging the power of giveaways in order to increase customer retention and loyalty, which would ultimately benefit the bottom line.

Incentivize customers through loyalty programs

An effective loyalty program makes customers keep wanting to come back for products and services. It should provide enough incentive that it would be valuable to both new and existing customers. A loyalty program can be free to join, which would further incentivize customers. What businesses should also make sure to do is retrieve customer information in the form of email addresses and preferences in order to provide customized experiences. Communicating with customers through email is another efficient way to inform them about the latest products, services, deals, discounts, as well as important information that directly affect them.

Increase customer retention with tips and tutorials

Tips and tricks on how to take full advantage of products can encourage customers to learn more about said products. Equipped with this knowledge, customers can then become experts themselves and recommend items to others. These tips and tricks can be in the form of guides, infographics, videos, and even blogs that educate readers. An effective way to ensure that customers retain the information is to make it easy-to-read or easy to consume. Keeping words simple would help mitigate any confusion that customers might have, as well as answer their questions in an efficient manner.

Improve customer loyalty through stellar customer service

Of course, excellent customer service should always be at the forefront of every business’ mind when it comes to improving customer loyalty. In fact, according to research by Criteo, 40% of U.S. digital shoppers return to a brand because of good customer service. There are various caveats of what makes good service. This can pertain to providing customers with timely responses to either their issues or questions, or even detailed product knowledge that showcases your business’ expertise. At times, customer service may involve providing a dissatisfied customer with a coupon along with information about what steps are being taken in order to ensure that incidents do not happen again. Having the right team to make these calls about freebies is integral to long-term business strategies.

It is important to know when to offer customers giveaways through loyalty programs, guides, and coupons. Businesses should be knowledgeable about the return on investment when it comes to the monetary front and the branding front, as these are integral to long-term success. Having a marketing team of professionals is a step in the right direction. 

Let Find Your Audience be your marketing partner. Our team consists of experts from a variety of industries and every member takes pride in their ability to conduct thorough market research. We work closely with all of our clients to provide performance-driven results and customized marketing strategies. This is in addition to meeting business goals and continuously improving companies on all fronts. 

To contact Find Your Audience, call 647-479-0688. Our team may also be emailed at hi@findyouraudience.online.