Customer loyalty programs can consistently deliver a strong return-on-investment over an extended period of time. While stable brand assets such as a testimonial page can work in the background to build trust passively, brand loyalty is something you’ll want to personalize and nurture.
The good news is, surveys indicate more than half of consumers are willing to join email loyalty programs with preferred brands when they’re offered. That means you can be confident there’s already an audience for this type of program among your customers. We’ll break down the best types of customer loyalty emails to send with tips and tricks to boost engagement and capture more customer data.
Welcome Emails
The welcome email that you send to new members of your loyalty program will lay the groundwork for the relationship with your new customer going forward. No pressure! We have a few suggestions for how you can get off on the right foot and get your new sign up excited about your loyalty program.
Tip: Remind Your User Base That They’re Insiders — Monki
Your first touch with users that have joined your loyalty program should remind them that they’ve just joined an exclusive club. As a part of that club, remind them that they’ll be receiving offers like discount codes, free shipping, and other incentivising perks.
Monki perfectly captures the insider vibe by letting users know that they’re “on the list,” encourages them to share their “Monkistyle” with other users, and offers them a discount and free shipping. Talk about starting your relationship off right!
Tip: Make the Benefits of Your Loyalty Program Clear — Headstart Shop
You can’t make the assumption that new loyalty program users will know exactly how best to utilize your program or that they’re aware of all that your program has to offer. It’s smart to remind them just how your loyalty program operates and what they can expect from it in the future.
In their robust welcome email, Headstart Shop gives an overview on just how their point-based loyalty program works. Users can earn points by shopping, referring friends, and taking action on the brand’s social media pages (a great way to boost another marketing avenue). It’s clear and informative without being overwhelming.
Email Rewards Campaigns
Next we’ll experiment by planning some email rewards campaigns yourself. But remember, you’ll want to craft an ideal customer profile so you don’t waste time and money targeting luke-warm prospects. For inspiration, consider learning from these loyalty program examples:
Tip: Importance of Personalization — The Savoy
Consumers expect brands to deliver personalized marketing content to a greater degree than ever before. For example, you may already know that segmenting your email list to enhance personalization results in a higher open rate. You need to account for the individual tastes and preferences of each customer when sending emails.
This same principle applies to loyalty emails. For instance, The Savoy sends customer rewards emails based on the preferences of each recipient. If a customer is planning a trip to a particular destination, the emails are designed to provide them with destination-specific recommendations. This is a simple yet effective way to make the best possible impression on all email list followers.
Tip: Keep Things Simple — The Gap
Brands such as The Gap have generated higher-than-average clickthrough rates (and as a result, higher levels of engagement) by merely sending customers thank you emails when they make purchases.
You can enhance such emails by offering special discounts or rewards when customers spend a certain amount of money. This is yet another loyalty program example that highlights the value of simply treating your audience members as respected individuals.
Tip: Expand Your User Base with Customer Rewards Emails — Hotel Tonight
Hotel Tonight offers a loyalty program example that demonstrates how such programs can not only boost brand loyalty among current customers, but also attract new ones.
The company achieves this goal by sending emails to its loyalty members with referral codes they can use to earn a $25 reward when they convince a new friend or family member to sign up for the service. This rewards the loyalty of existing customers while also consistently growing their user base.
Though it may not be right for every brand or business, paid customer loyalty or VIP programs can be incredibly effective. For a paid program like this to work, you’ll have to target customers that frequently visit or make purchases on your site. Unless you’re already a large, familiar brand, new customers will be a harder sell since they’ll have no built in familiarity or trust with your brand.
However, enticing member-exclusive benefits will keep your loyal customers coming back time and time again. Make sure you use your emails to highlight the value of your paid loyalty program. As long as the value of your VIP program is greater than the cost, people will sign up. Include testimonials from existing loyalty program members as an extra boost.
Tip: Send Happy Birthday Emails, A Staple Among Loyalty Program Examples
It’s important not to overlook the value of tried and true methods when developing email rewards campaigns. For instance, seemingly countless brands have successfully boosted engagement and customer loyalty by sending discounts or special offers on a follower’s birthday.
Topshop, for example, keeps things simple with a clear message, offer, and how to use the discount. Birthday emails reward customer loyalty, feel more personalized than most marketing emails, and make a customer feel they are truly valued.
Re-engagement Campaigns
Tip: Foster Loyalty With Charitable Giving — The Body Shop
Not every loyalty program has to offer discounts to customers. Sometimes a brand can foster loyalty and increase engagement by highlighting their company’s ethics and values. If your brand and your customers share mutual values, you can build a loyalty program around those shared beliefs that will forge an even stronger connection between yourself and your customers than what a discount could create.
For instance, The Body Shop strongly believes in environmental sustainability and animal welfare. When customers join their rewards program The Club, not only do they receive discounts and VIP benefits, but they also have the ability to donate their rewards to Born Free USA (a charity for animal welfare). Not only does this program allow customers to see the causes that are important to The Body Shop, but if customers share passion for similar causes, it will create a deeper relationship.
Tip: Take a Seasonal Approach — Nordstrom Rack
It’s no secret that marketers, especially in the retail industry, use seasonal events and holidays as inspiration for email marketing and loyalty campaigns. Email marketing is routinely most effective when your messages are in some way related to holidays or events happening that season.
For example, Nordstrom Rack makes great use of a gif inspired by Valentine’s Day to promote gifts under $25 for their users and also subtly uses the email header to remind users that they’ll receive free shipping if they spend more.
Remember, it’s easy to graze over some of the lesser-known holidays and events. By remembering to plan campaigns around these under the radar dates, you might enhance visibility and engagement to your message.
Tip: Promote Exclusive News, Products and Perks — Casper
Exclusive announcements are exciting, whether they pertain to big changes in your business, a new product offering, or new member-only benefits. By labeling something as an exclusive, your message inspires inquisitiveness and users will make a mental association between your brand stimulating insider information.
For instance, when Casper launched a new version of their mattresses, they framed it as a groundbreaking announcement that they were letting their registered users in on early. They even make an effort in the copy to point out the attention that they pay to their customers and feedback. Even if you’re not launching a new product, you can learn how Casper frames this email as incredibly important to its registered users.
Use these loyalty program tips and examples as inspiration when developing your own campaigns. They’ll help you come up with emails that deliver a strong return-on-investment while improving overall customer satisfaction, too.