Rewarding Your Customer through Promotions and Other Perks

As a retailer, you are well aware that driving foot traffic to your store is critical to keeping up with – and overtaking – the competition. This can be achieved, first and foremost, by understanding your customer base and providing the products they want at the right price. Having a loyal customer base can result in consistent sales performance and directly impact your bottom line.

This is why business owners should consider rewarding their customers to ensure their continuing loyalty. Consider setting up a loyalty program, which is a great way to promote your store and show how you appreciate a customer’s repeat business.

You can also improve your business strategy by installing a point-of-sale (POS) system to provide you a detailed view of your stores’ performance, inventory levels and customer behavior. You can leverage this valuable information by regularly reviewing POS data – especially if your business operates stores in multiple locations – which you can use to develop promos and rewards that create customer loyalty.

Speaking of promotions, here are ideas to drive traffic to your store and build loyalty among your customers.

Discounts

Everyone loves getting a discount on their purchase, whether it’s for a smartphone, a pair of jeans, or even a loaf of bread.

Clothing retailers can take advantage of this promotional tactic by offering markdown prices on items from the previous season. For technology retailers, they can similarly offer discounted prices on gadgets and accessories that have been replaced by newer versions. Grocery stores may choose to give discounts on items that are expiring soon, such as milk, bread, etc. Holiday-themed candy is almost always marked down after a certain date has passed, such as the day after Halloween, Chistmas, and Easter.

Moreover, discounts don’t just get traffic to your store. They can also help you sell slow-moving merchandise that’s taking up valuable space in your inventory, enabling you to create room for new releases or higher-margin products.

Bundle pricing

Price bundling refers to selling two or more products at a lower price than consumers would expect if they bought each item individually. This technique can positively impact your business in two ways: streamlining inventory levels by moving unsold products and by making customers see perceived value in their purchase because they believe you are giving them something at no additional charge. The latter benefit is what can directly create loyalty among your customers because they see value when they shop with you.

Limited-time offers

Since promotions are about motivating people to make a purchase, by design, using limited-time offers create a sense of urgency among your customers. Same with promotions for products that are available only “while supplies last.” Shoppers love getting a bargain, but if they’re still hesitant to buy, letting them know time is running out may just be the extra incentive they need to finally pull the trigger on a purchase.

Free shipping

If a customer in your store is interested in a product available only at another location, you can offer free shipping to get the item to the person’s home or office. This is a compromise that customers are willing to accept because it’s convenient and – yes – free. Aside from winning a customer over, you also get the opportunity to capture valuable customer information – their name, home or office address, phone number, items purchased, email address, etc. – all of which you can store in your POS system and use for future promotions.

Strategic marketing

These days, it’s safe to say shoppers are savvier and more challenging to satisfy, so personalized promotions may be the way to approach them. For example, if you know that a certain customer goes to your café on Friday afternoons for an espresso and scone, you can send that person a coupon for 15 percent off their drink during their next visit.

Similarly, you can even employ bundle pricing by including coffee with every purchase of a pastry during lunchtime on weekends, especially if your POS data shows that business needs to pick up at a specific time of the week. In short, the information you glean from your system can help you create product offerings that match your customers’ behavior and help improve profits.

Delighting your customers is a given. By converting foot traffic to a loyal consumer base through rewards and perks, you easily can add to your bottom line. You not only make customers happy, but you can set yourself apart from the competition.