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The COVID-19 pandemic pushed forward many trends in customer preferences that were not considered a priority by some companies. While the mid-term and long-term perspectives regarding the depth of post-pandemic recession remain uncertain, we still can highlight several tendencies on the consumer market with reasonable certainty.
We want to make this article as practical as possible. That’s why along with every trend highlight, we will share our suggestions on how you can adjust your customer loyalty program or some aspects of marketing to sustain your company performance.
According to the findings of a longitudinal study performed by Customer Communications Group, Inc., people are returning to their usual spending habits.
Individuals surveyed for this study indicated that their spending habits are now swinging closer to “not changed at all” and are more balanced between “buying essentials only” and “buying whatever I want.” In April 2020, they stated their spending had “changed drastically,” and they were “buying essentials only.”
Unsurprisingly, the degree of change in spending habits heavily depended on the individual’s income class bracket.
Despite this optimistic trend, some customers might still have more budget restrictions than they did before, either due to a decline in income or a decision to put more money into savings “for a rainy day.”
You might want to implement a system of discounts and lower-price product options for this category of customers.
At the same time, you can offer more value through premium services and, again, the product range for customers whose income remains stable.
To make the most relevant offers for your current customers and retain their loyalty, you need to ensure that your customer base segmentation corresponds to their current needs. You can analyze their purchase recency and frequency, average check, and brand selection.
Depending on when the last purchase was made, you can try to approach your customers with offers that would make the most sense for them and help you retain their loyalty.
The same study from Customer Communications Group, Inc. had revealed that 35% of consumers could still be characterized as “Loyalists.” Simultaneously, 28% are “Neutral” but have some go-to retailers for particular product categories.
Customer loyalty programs are probably the best tool to help your company remain that “go-to” brand or even become one, even during a recession.
The tried-and-true point-based rewards system will bring you the best results if you incorporate more rewards options customers could choose from.
Besides exclusive offers, personalized discounts, or merchandise, there are other options that could have value for your customers.
For example, various forms of charitable donations are the biggest trend of recent years. It became even more pertinent in times of pandemic and will positively impact your brand image.
Multiple product and service categories are now purchased less often: clothing, makeup, airline tickets, hotel stays – the list could go on and on. Offering new product and service categories will be a great way to maintain your income stream, but you also can stay on top of your customers’ minds for what you’ve been offering them before the pandemic.
Putting a stop to communication with your customers is kind of a wrong idea. You still want to connect through various channels like email and social media with useful information or inspiring examples.
You can still ask about your customers’ opinions and reward them for leaving reviews, completing a survey, referring to a friend, or generating content for social media. This will help your brand to remain a number one choice when your customers have to purchase your product category.
Many brands in multiple B2C industries had been utilizing content marketing years before the pandemic. This is the next best tool to interact with your customer in between purchases after rewarding non-buying activity.
You can get inspiration from the cosmetic, skincare, or sports industries. As an example, you can check the Rituals Cosmetics YouTube channel with a lot of lifestyle videos or TRX Training Club, which even monetizes their content.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Therefore, maintaining social distance is important for keeping our health, and companies should make anything possible to help their customers make purchases safely and get all necessary information easily.
Building awareness around your website across your current customer base and potential clients might become a key to the survival of your business in general. Besides building a user-friendly, informative website, your brand might also benefit from being represented on large e-commerce platforms.
Some Chinese D2C brands could serve as an avant-garde example of navigating through multiple complex ecosystems with impressive results.
Digital commerce, in a way, is different from the traditional ones, and it requires multiple operational adjustments, especially in current circumstances.
For example, you will likely need to advance delivery time frames, increase the period for returns, automate and facilitate the return process as much as possible, reward subscriptions and other activities that are not directly related to purchasing.
87% of consumers accept that brands monitor details of their activity in exchange for personalized rewards. Alternatively, they are more likely to unsubscribe from company communication and minimize interactions with a brand that continuously promotes irrelevant or unattractive offers.
Measures for better personalization might include careful customer base segmentation, utilizing AI in marketing, and omnichannel communication. Brand should be available throughout the communication channels that are most convenient for customers depending on their age and digital literacy.
According to the Hubspot Consumer Report, 90% of customers rate an “immediate” response when they have a customer service question. Chatbots are proven to be quite helpful in keeping pace with such demands. If you want to see a model example of a customer service chatbot implementation, you definitely should check the iHerb platform.
Luckily, many of us are now able to travel on business or even fly abroad on holidays. However, the safety norms of the vast majority of countries demand travelers be quarantined for up to 14 days, which turns into quite a challenging time even if a person can work remotely. Besides, there’s still a possibility of localized lockdowns with similar consequences for individuals.
“Every company is becoming an entertainment company today,” Steven Van Belleghem said in his video dedicated to customer experience trends for 2021. This video contains some interesting examples of companies that increased their customer base or even managed to create a new revenue stream during the lockdown by moving in that direction.
Multiple limitations caused by the pandemic increase consumption of various information in an attempt to overcome routine and boredom. Customers are likely to appreciate useful and educational content in your area of expertise or even dedicated to your products.
In this context, The Wishtrend Company could serve as a remarkable example. This company is simultaneously a producer, online retailer, and media company, where all the areas of activity reinforce each other. You might not want to go that far, but providing quality content around your products and services will impact your customer loyalty.
The COVID-19 is actively reshaping consumption patterns and the landscape of commerce. It poses many challenges but simultaneously creates plenty of opportunities. Having a modern, thought-through customer loyalty program in current circumstances is key to growing and maintaining your customer base.
Customer loyalty programs are one of the key areas of our expertise. You can contact us in any convenient way if you have any questions about starting a new program or modernizing an existing one.
Online Rewards is a highly versatile and powerful incentive and loyalty marketing solutions provider. Since its formation in 2002, Online Rewards has designed, developed, and supported global rewards and incentives programs across a variety of industries and applications.
For more information, visit www.online-rewards.com
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