5 Areas On How Digitization Will Help Your Loyalty Program

Digitalization is a multistep process. It includes not only switching from analog to virtual tools but also changing the whole approach to the loyalty program. It requires some work, but a well-planned digital transformation will provide multiple advantages for your company and your loyalty program members. In this article, we will describe 5 areas in which you can use digital software to grow your loyalty program. If you are not yet aware of the importance of digitalization in a loyalty program, please refer to our previous article Loyalty Programs in the Age of Digital Transformation. 

Process automation

Every year, fewer and fewer tasks require human handling thanks to digital technologies. Promotions, member management, anti-fraud monitoring, and other tasks can become automatic processes with relevant software and algorithms. Digital technologies help to automate loyalty program daily processes, and the implementation of relevant tools will significantly decrease the effort to maintain the loyalty program’s daily operations.

Effective and responsive communication channels

Contact with customers using digital channels is quicker and easier. You can send a message to your customers' database within just a few clicks and get a response. Moreover, the communication can be automated and scheduled. You can create a customer journey e-mail campaign aligned to loyalty program members’ behavior, and send relevant messages just in time. The most advanced tools even allow you to create chatbots that reply to customers instead of a real customer care agent, which significantly reduces the cost of running the program.

New customer approach - omnichannel

In today’s marketing landscape, using only one communication channel is out-of-date. Modern communication is based on many interconnected channels that share information (via a common database), and a customer whose welfare and needs are at the center of attention. This approach is called omnichannel. Thanks to the synergy of communication channels, you are able to do more with your loyalty program. For example, you can use an e-mail newsletter to inform a member about a -20% off promotion, an SMS to remind, and a printed POS receipt to encourage the second transaction with 30 bonus points.

Analysis

Computers provide a great advantage – you can gain a huge amount of data, calculate quickly, and compare results. Using advanced analytics, you can visualize the status of your loyalty program and create adequate KPIs and compare the results with the average market values. And data for these operations can be created almost instantly. All you need is to gain relevant data and focus on the indicators crucial for the business. Well-conducted data analytics can help you to increase loyalty program profits and reduce churn.

Future trend predictions

According to analytics, modern loyalty software allows you to go much further than just studying the data. Information that you gain can be processed using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to predict future trends and customer behaviors. What does this mean in practice? Long story short, with a certain degree of probability, you can know what your customers' behavior will be before it happens. That will allow you to create well-targeted offers, respond to customers’ needs, and create a long-term relationship with your audience.

As you can see, digitalization can benefit your daily operations in many ways. Relevant tools, proper configuration, and a bit of practice in using digital loyalty software can help you to increase profits, reduce costs, and make your loyalty program better than ever before. The sooner the digitalization is carried out, the better results can be, so do not hesitate and start your digital loyalty journey now!

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