Your holiday sales and discount strategies paid off, and you finished the year strong. But even before all the decorations are away, it’s time to reinforce the connections you made with both new and repeat buyers. By taking advantage of customer loyalty rewards at the beginning of the year, you can keep the momentum going.
If you already gave out customer loyalty rewards in the form of client appreciation gifts, it’s still a good idea to touch base again. You can learn a lot about their latest experience with your brand and maybe encourage them to become advocates. Here are some templates you can use to follow up.
Either way, as you review your performance during the holiday season and crunch those final year-end numbers, think about how customer loyalty rewards can help you start off the year right and set you up for success in the coming months. Check out these ideas to get started.
READ MORE: The Best Promotional Gifts for a Digital New Year’s Campaign
The people who bought lots of your products or services in November and December, especially those who did so over several transactions, are the kind of customers you want to keep. Showing them a little appreciation now can help ensure they don’t disappear after the holiday. Send an extra reward to thank them for their business and let them know you value them all year long.
It’s important for your buyers to know that you care about more than the money they spend—you also want them to have a great experience. Even just sending an email to confirm that they’re happy with their purchase builds trust and rapport. This is especially important for new customers you acquired during the holiday. When someone responds with an issue or complaint, do whatever you can to make it right. Sending customer loyalty rewards to appease them can help rebuild the relationship as well.
It’s never too soon to start thinking about what you can improve for the next holiday season. Send out a feedback survey to your newly acquired buyers now, when it’s fresh in their minds (and make sure to incentivize their responses with customer loyalty rewards!). You’ll learn valuable insights, like what discounts or promotions drew them to your brand, what you could have done better, if they plan to return and/or recommend your brand to others, and more. By showing right away that you care about their input, you set the right tone for the new relationship.
Early in the new year is also a great time to tap into opportunities to encourage advocacy. Incentivize satisfied customers to write reviews or share their purchases or received gifts on social media. You can seek out those with the best stories and ask them to participate in case studies—in exchange for flexible customer loyalty rewards like gift cards and prepaid cards, of course.
Your sales team can also use rewards to start the year off strong by incentivizing demo attendance, contract renewal and more. Download our Sales Playbook to learn more.
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
