How to Make Customer Loyalty Cards More Powerful

Online, July 8, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Customer loyalty cards are not new; they have been around for ages and have made many brands earn loyal customers by the truck load. But cards alone have never won any war; it takes more than a smile to keep customers coming back every time they need to buy something. Businesses rely on more than one strategy when it comes to hooking their customers for ever, and here are some that we would call nothing but scrapping the surface.

1. Stand for an idea that can be promoted

The quickest way to get customers to ignore you is to not stand for anything. Customers love brands that stand for an idea and keep their strategies aligned to it. Find what makes your brand special to your buyers and bring your customers around to realize it. Sometimes even the most evident of things need have to be reminded of.

2. Invoke the inner ego

The human ego is a wonderful thing and if you can gets it going for your benefit. Despite what we often say, most people like things that resemble them in some way. This cognitive bias is called implicit egotism, and is an important thing to keep in mind when communicating with customers. In order to attract the sort of customers you want, you need to identify your target customers down to the last detail and then craft a brand message that perfectly matches their pains, goals and aspirations. It's easier to fill this existing demand than to create one.

3. Play with words and stories

A lot needs to be done to engage users and even more to retain them. Successful Customer Loyalty Cards programs are built around great stories that pull people closer to the brand.

Not all words are created equal. Certain persuasive words encourage customers to buy more than others, in particular: free, new and instantly. When customers hear these words (and the promises they imply are backed up), they'll enjoy their purchases more than they would have otherwise.