Getting your first customer is a great feeling for new businesses and retaining those customers increases confidence in your offerings but how do you cultivate an environment worthy of brand loyalty, for a younger and more tech-equipped audience? Online capture methods can prove useful when trying to gather information about their likes and dislikes, wants and needs and lifestyle choices, so having more data accessible to you about this is useful when sending out promotional material.  Choosing the right channels for implementation to gather this information are also important, as is directing your research in ways which reflect the age group.

Preparing to Reach Out & Reward

In a study by Aimia.com in 2011, 4 out of 5 of Generation Y age group (19-25) claimed that they participated in loyalty and reward programmes, with 74% more likely to choose a brand that offers a reward scheme and over 58% being happy to share their personal details with the brand in question in order to receive some incentive.

Have you thought about building such a reward programme, for your business? If not, now may be a great time to start and build momentum throughout 2018. You could send out quarterly or seasonal gifts, such as at Christmas, as a reminder of why it’s great to shop with your brand and how grateful you are to your customers for their continued or new business.

Consumer data is such a great way to build the profile of your brand to any audience, allowing you to send direct mail or email marketing campaigns to the right readers.

Be Creative with the Tried and Tested

Loyalty and rewards programs are also great for getting people excited about a brand and getting others to spread the message. Everyone who takes part in a reward scheme enjoys gaining more points towards their food shopping or using their mobile apps to grab more coupons, for example – there are so many decisions these days for when to shop (and how) but ultimately, people will go with what they find easiest for them and are more inclined to shop with a provider that gives them something back.

You could try email marketing lists for consumers that have signed up to competitions, shopping networks and more.

Service, Smiles & Social Satisfaction

With the reward schemes to one side, it will be the quality of your products and your customer service which will be the most important. It won’t matter how jazzy the online discount flyers look or how sleek the printed materials are which are delivered to their door, the product will need to be a keeper – the latter is what really creates the brand loyalty that you crave and encourages repeat purchases.

People of all ages have always looked for innovative ways and means to make their life easier and more enjoyable and rewards will definitely do that, as long as they scream quality and there’s service with a smile. Use social media to your advantage to reach out to this generation, they want to be heard and they also want to help, so make products that help them to look good, design promotions that are available in their favourite hangout and keep talking to them.