The hot new thing in the market is “Rewards” aka Loyalty. We’ve been in the loyalty field longer than most, here are some of our holiday suggestions for you:
Don’t stop the Rewards for special holiday deals. Increase the Rewards.
How do you go about getting people in the store
if you’re not sponsoring the deal of a life time?
You sponsor the deal of a life time, but then you double up by offering quadruple the amount of reward points when they spend $500 or more in one shopping trip, on this specific day. You can adjust the amount of rewards and the amount spent to reflect a more reasonable expenditure for your store. However, the deal of a life time, should not fall even remotely into the realm of the rewards deal, otherwise you will be decreasing instead of increasing your income.
Why wouldn’t I stop the rewards?
You don’t want to stop the rewards because it is one of the main reasons people shop at your store and not the other store that is closer to their house. You may not have the same deals as the other store but your pricing is competitive and you offer the rewards for shopping at your store (also known as loyalty). The other store doesn’t have a rewards program; therefore it must not be as good to shop at. Besides, your customer service is much more pleasant – right?
Why would I increase the rewards?
You want to increase the rewards so people think that they are walking away with a really sweet deal. First they bought the highly reduced item, and they spent enough to get the quadruple reward points that your store was offering. The shopper doesn’t realize that they just spent more money on items that were not discounted than items that were, meaning your store income just increased.
Now your customer has made their purchases and will have a large amount of rewards to turn in for money - good at your store only. This means that they are planning to return to your store. They are planning to spend a decent amount of money at your store and they are hoping to earn more rewards! This return trip is your opportunity to upsell those customers!
Use the rewards to your advantage!
You have a large increase of sales around the holidays, s
o use this knowledge to build your rewards program. The costs to sign up a new customer are minimal, so you should be signing up at least 50% of your non-members on these days. While, it would be ideal to always have 100% of sales signing up for the rewards program, we also try to be realistic. To help increase the likelihood of signing up this many people for your customer reward program you should also reward your staff. With each step forward your staff makes in signing up new customers, provide them with something that will satisfy their hunger. 20% = candy bars for the staff, 50% = lunch for the staff, 75% = a round of drinks on you after work on Friday, and 100% = a bonus 1 paid vacation hour for every staff member. It has to be made available to everyone on the staff, not just your cashiers. Make sure the entire staff is encouraging and assisting shoppers signing up for the rewards program, the steps are simple and your cashiers are extra busy. Don't forget, that if you maintain a 100% sign up for your rewards program, you should continue to reward your work family!
10 Holiday Marketing ideas we thought were great!
1. Postcards: Handwritten to show just how much you care.
2. Food: A traditional cookie favorite such as Snickerdoodle or Chocolate Chip.
3. Gift Cards: For your store or for others - like gas, to get to your store...
4. Decorations: People love to see decorations, so get out the ladder & hang up a wreath!
5. Pair up: Work with another local business to boost your sales together.
6. Charity: Adopt and give to / volunteer at your favorite local charity.
7. Contest: Have a contest that will draw in customers, like Best Dressed Elf!
8. Get out: Make your products even more accessible to the public in a mall.
9. Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram it all.
10. Plan: Have a game plan with your team so things go smoothly.
Ten Holiday Ideas from: http://www.dempseyweiss.com/10-holiday-marketing-ideas-small-business/