In one of our recent posts, “Choosing Incentives, Motivating People to Engage!” we discussed choosing the incentives that would motivate users to engage. 

Along the same lines, it sparked the question of “How often do you thank your customers?” 

Thanking customers for trusting you with their business keeps them loyal and usually helps you garner more referrals. So, rewarding customers is highly worth the investment of time, energy, and a little money. 

There are several proven Reward Ideas to fit any great budget for rewarding or enticing customer loyalty. We’re going to share some here that work but add your spin to them and create uniqueness. Doing so will help you compete with other brands in the marketplace.

10 Effective, Affordable, and Simple Reward Ideas!

Customer Status – 

For your loyal customers, the ones who spend thousands of dollars buying the product/service, you could establish a “VIP” status that gives them privileged access to various benefits. Special deals, announcements, or even trials of new products/services before anyone else.

Exclusive Membership Cards – 

Offer membership cards as an acknowledgment. A membership plan combined with reward ideas allows customers to enjoy certain privileges such as coupons or discounts exclusively for members. 

Add in tiers, where the more they spend, the more they can save, and you’ve not only rewarded them, but you’ve now incentivized them to spend more with you!

Surprise & Delight – 

Random surprises and quick little delights, tangible and intangible, are something everyone loves. You can incorporate pop-up rewards for loyal customers, send out thank you notes, etc. 

Not only do these surprises delight the receiver, but subtlety increases engagement and motivates them to refer others to you and your brand.

Birthday Wishes – 

One random surprise & delight is a simple “Happy Birthday” email. Make it personal, though, not a generic “happy birthday customer 12”. 

Taking two minutes to personalize the email adds value to the relationship building. Also, you can make the birthday week special by offering a discount or freebie.

Pre and Post Sale Notifications – 

When you notify the customer before a sale starts, it creates a buzz and helps generate traffic, online and offline. Since it is a sale, word-of-mouth marketing will automatically come into action and generate quality referrals. 

After the sale, offer something to customers related to what they’ve purchased from you; if it’s a gift/reward, the more significant the transaction, the bigger the bonus. It creates a good impression and shows that you appreciate their business.

Gift Cards – 

Gift cards are a great reward because it allows customers to pick up whatever they like instead of only something you’ve chosen. You can have great success when you tailor-made the promotion to suit customers’ needs. 

It means that you need first to understand who your customer is and what they’re most likely to want. We have a video covering just this on our YouTube Channel.

Customer Appreciation Week –

Having a set time (day, week, or month) where you openly appreciate your customers by offering special deals is always a great way to boost engagement with your loyal customers. 

You make them feel whatever you’re doing is primarily meant for them to be loyal to the brand and refer new leads. 

Consider offering free samples if you have specific products you want to promote during this appreciation time. It gives value to the customer and makes them feel special.

Customer Service – 

People come to customer service when they are in some trouble with the product. Studies show that – “people desire a brand that helps them resolve issues without actually having to deal with customer service.” Try to be the brand that resolves the loyal customers and make the loyalty program a success. 

Contests/ Competitions – 

Referral contests are a great way to not only generate referrals and provide rewards, but they can spark a bit of fun into your business relationship. 

Customers can get points or any other bonus for every referral. It gives the customer the most referrals a grand prize. This kind of reward often acts as a significant boost to targeted leads and brand association.

Perks, Free Stuff, Donations – 

Engage customers with bonuses or free items to make a good impression, encourage repeat business, and generate referrals. 

Gifts from the brand at the time of purchase is not only a nice gesture of rewarding loyal customers, but you can incorporate it in your referral program. 

Similarly, consider donating every time someone buys from your business. 

People love doing business with companies that do good, and by donating a portion of your proceeds to a good cause in your loyal customers’ honor, you’ll not only be helping out a reason, but you’ll make the customer feel as though they’ve contributed as well.

Advanced Personalization – 

Because each customer is unique in their way, offer personalized and customized benefits based on their uniqueness so that it matches their needs. 

Knowing what your customers like, you can offer things like customized coffee mugs, tee-shirts, bags, and other merchandise. 

Doing it means that they’ll use them more, and your brand gets free advertising. Second, by knowing what your customers like, they’ll find these products useful daily and are more likely to associate with your brand positively.

Role of NextBee’s rewards solution to make brands build desirable rewards for their customers

Useful reward ideas can change a business in the right way. Today, brands that take the time to develop innovative and fresh ideas are discovering massive ROI benefits. 

Over the past decade, NextBee has developed a PACE Methodology aimed at improving referral programs with the help of a rewards system consisting of an automated list of features such as:

• It provides a wide variety of features that is likely to attract and engage more consumers with its promotional marketing campaigns
• Brands can develop loyalty rewards program based on buyer’s persona that could attract their attention
• Customize and personalize the campaign according to the trends in the market and competition
• With this platform, companies can run social media campaigns to start engagement by announcing exciting gift hampers for the most engaged customers, et cetera

If you are looking to create such a useful and valuable rewards program, contact NextBee today to book a demo.