Shopper marketing encompasses the entire customer journey from the moment the customer drives onto your property and sees signage in the forecourt all the way through the customer checking out at the register. While most retailers intend for a loyalty app to drive customers to the property, a loyalty app is the perfect component to a shopper marketing strategy, adding value for the retailer and completing the journey for the customer while they are at your store.
If you want to give and receive the most value possible out of your loyalty program, check out our tips below.
Leverage the data.
A lot of retailers that have a loyalty app don’t use the data for anything other than distributing points and discounts to customers. Simply put, if you don’t leverage the data from your loyalty program, you’re leaving money on the table.
Shep Digital Solutions can help you activate that loyalty database and understand specific preferences about you customers. For example, we can tell you if Lisa is a smoker or if Roger likes coffee. With these customer profiles, we can create a one-to-one solution to show more relevant messaging for consumers, increasing the likelihood of a successful sale. Shep takes it one step further, too. Say a customer doesn’t scan their loyalty app. Well, that’s another data point that we can also use, with the first message or promotion at the dispenser being a free coffee for signing up for the loyalty program.
Offer the right incentives.
If you don’t give the customer anything, you can’t expect them to take the time or make the effort to sign up or use your loyalty program. Incentives like a free coffee, earning points for discounts or even money off of gas are good rewards for customers.
By leveraging the data that already exists in your loyalty program, we can help identify specific goals for users and you can use the loyalty program to incent a specific purchase. For example, if a customer has never tried one of your core products, offer 25 cents off per gallon of gas on their next fill up or 25,000 points if they buy it. You could also gamify the experience by having prizes related to company or community trivia. If you make the loyalty program more dynamic than just another app on their phone, it becomes a great shopper marketing tool that customers actually want to use.
Use an app.
Speaking of apps, they are necessary for convenience store loyalty programs. Yes, we know they are expensive, and yes, we know they can be confusing for people who aren’t tech savvy, but the best loyalty programs in the industry use an app. You can trust us—we aren’t an app company.
To drive adoption, pick a better-than-average incentive for downloading the app. Many convenience stores offer 10 cents off a gallon on the first purchase, and then decrease the discount for future purchases.
Combining shopper marketing and loyalty program strategies allow both parts of your business to function better. Shep Digital Solutions can leverage shopper marketing to increase loyalty customer acquisition, especially in the forecourt, and can help you get more out of your loyalty program.
