Top Email Campaign Tips to Boost Customer Loyalty

Email is one of the best ways to engage customers with your brand. It lets you build and nurture relationships with your clients over and above their transactions with you. And the good news is, customer loyalty program emails have some of the highest open and click rates. In fact, email is the channel that members prefer to receive loyalty program communications from.

Here are some of the best types of loyalty emails to send and a list of tips to optimize your communications. These are simple to implement and will enable you to increase member engagement and profitability.

Make a great first impression

A welcome email is the first impression you make with new members. You better get it right!

Of all loyalty communications, welcome emails generate the highest open rates. Make sure you use this opportunity to say more than just hello!

Let’s take a look at exactly what you should include in a welcome email:

Talk about benefits

Just because a customer has joined your program, doesn’t mean they know all the benefits that are available. The welcome email is the perfect opportunity to fill in your new member about different ways to earn points, what rewards are offered, special extras like birthday or welcome gifts, and more. Be sure to highlight all your program’s selling points.

Personalize the message

A welcome email marks the start of the relationship between you and your new member. You may not know a lot about their preferences yet, but it’s the perfect opportunity to begin personalizing their communications by using what you know. Think about adding their first name to the subject line, display how many points they earned for joining the program, and so on.

Add a call to action

If you’d like new members to complete their profile or preferences online, download your app, or answer a survey, the welcome email is the place to ask. Be open and direct about the action you want them to take. You can even attach bonus points or a reward to encourage them to take action.

Celebrate milestones and achievements

Customer loyalty programs allow you to build and maintain long-term relationships with your customers. So why not celebrate the milestones along the way! Identify key dates and achievements and then implement personalized, automated emails to mark them.

Birthday emails

A birthday email is one of the easiest ways to show your members that you care about them. Treat your customers on their special day by sending them an offer or a reward. And remember, this is a time for celebration, so be sure to use a festive tone and personalize the email.

Reward redemption

One of the defining moments in a loyalty relationship is redeeming a reward. Be sure to celebrate this with your members and congratulate them on their rewards. This is also a great opportunity to remind them of all the exciting benefits they can enjoy with your program.

(Re)-engage with members

When your members are engaged with your program, they are more likely to spend more and visit more often. According to the 2019 Bond Loyalty Report, 65% of members report that they modify spend to maximize loyalty benefits. Putting a communication strategy into place will help keep your members engaged and, in the process, improve your bottom line.

Win-back campaigns

The goal of a win-back email is to entice members who are halfway out of the door to come back and visit. Before sending win-back emails, start by analysing your data to understand how often your members purchase from you. Then identify when member interaction began to decline so you can automate communications to stimulate a purchase. Plan a series of 4 to 5 emails to re-engage members in order to optimize results.

Satisfaction surveys

There are many benefits to surveying members. For one, surveys enable you to collect precious information about their level of satisfaction and anything they are unhappy with. Surveys are also great ways to engage your members in dialogue, since they will feel listened to and more likely to engage. Once you have a better understanding of what your members think of your products and your customer service, you can easily adjust your strategies to ensure loyalty over the long-term.

In conclusion, here are a few basic rules that apply to all your communications:

• Display rewards and point balance in all emails
• Always use a warm and friendly tone that reflects your brand image
• Encourage two-way communication by offering members simple ways to communicate with you

All that’s left now is to start planning your loyalty communication strategy!

Guest Contributor: Andreanne Rondeau, Founder of stratLX

Andreanne Rondeau is the founder of stratLX, a loyalty consulting firm that helps organizations build and nourish a unique and profitable loyalty connection with customers. With over 15 years of experience and a real passion for customer loyalty, she’s led a wide range of loyalty program projects from original idea to launch phase.