As a vitamins, supplements, and nutraceuticals eCommerce retailer, if you’re missing a loyalty program, then you’re missing a lot. In today’s day and age, loyalty programs give a unique opportunity for eCommerce stores to form deeper, closer relationships with their customers. Read on to learn all about the benefits of a loyalty program, best practices, and more — so your online store can start reaping the benefits of a loyalty program today.
What is an eCommerce store loyalty program?
A loyalty program for an eCommerce store is a customer retention tool meant to keep customers engaged and loyal to your store. This leads to loyal customers shopping on your site more often and buying in higher quantities.
Many loyalty programs offer points for every dollar spent. Once enough points are accumulated, customers can either use those points to save money on their next purchase or redeem the points for a reward. In physical stores, loyalty programs usually come via a card you scan during checkout. For eCommerce stores, however, the merchant typically asks you to sign in, which then allows your loyalty information to populate and update based on any new purchases.
How popular are loyalty programs?
The most popular type of loyalty program in America are found at grocery stores. In fact, 74% of US adults are members of a grocery store’s loyalty program. However, pharmacies are not far behind. Studies show that 70% of US adults are members of at least one pharmacy or drugstore loyalty program.
What are the best practices of a loyalty program?
As you build your pharma eCommerce store’s loyalty program, keep these five tips in mind:
Use personalization. Today’s customers don’t want generic content. They appreciate customization that makes them feel personally engaged with a brand. Developing a specific loyalty program that helps customers monitor their unique health condition and gives personalized, relevant advice and offers goes a long way.
Focus your loyalty program on your existing customers, not on recruiting new customers. When it comes to loyalty programs, 80% of income comes from the top 20% of loyal customers. That’s why it’s important to keep your existing customers satisfied with your reward program. Look at your research and analytics to see what products and offers resonate with this audience, and then keep these rewards coming.
Introduce a progressive web app (PWA) instead of a plastic loyalty card. The days of plastic loyalty cards are nearly gone, as people increasingly have more information on their phones and less in their wallets. As a result, it’s a good idea to have your eCommerce store’s loyalty program easily accessible via phone. That way, customers can see their medication reminders, notifications, rewards and more all in a quick tap. For more info on PWAs, check out a blog post we recently wrote about how pharmaceutical brands can profit from a PWA.
Give opportunities for customers to add more to their carts. A good loyalty program should incentivize its members to add more to their carts than they originally intended. To do this, offer “double-point campaigns” (such as: “Add this to your cart today and you’ll receive double the points on your entire purchase!”) and other targeted offers.
Host social media contests. The most successful loyalty programs encourage their members to interact with their brand on social media. Give your members points if they link their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. Then, offer rewards for participating in social media contests. This is great for your members because they get more points and freebies, and it’s great for you because you get your supplement or vitamin brand’s name out there even more.
What are the benefits of a loyalty program?
There are three main benefits of creating a loyalty program for your supplements eCommerce site:
It increases brand awareness. Loyalty programs are straightforward ways to increase customers’ awareness of your brand and store. Over time, loyalty programs lead to customers becoming more and more attached and, well, loyal. This helps eCommerce stores maintain and build customer relationships for the long haul.
It helps you track your customers’ buying habits. With loyalty programs, it’s easy to keep track of what your customers buy. This helps you better manage inventory, offer relevant sales/specials and enhance your CRM database.
It builds brand advocates. As people come back to your store more often and engage more, they become brand advocates among their network of family and friends. This word-of-mouth marketing is invaluable, as it is sometimes shown to be trusted even more than a doctor’s advice. But don’t forget: Once these brand advocates are vocal about their loyalty to your store, they must feel appreciated. You can do this by offering exclusive offers just for them.
How has COVID-19 changed loyalty programs?
Even before the global pandemic, consumer shopping behavior was happening more and more online — but COVID-19 has only accelerated this change. People are beginning to engage differently. They want to feel connected to their favorite brands and they want value that they can’t find elsewhere. For many companies, the answer to this is a stand-out loyalty program. Giving customers access to personalized information, offers and rewards goes a long way.
Ready to start — or enhance — your online store’s loyalty program?
At InteractOne, this is one of our specialties. As a senior-level Magento partner, we know Magento loyalty functionality. Plus, we partner with leading eCommerce loyalty program companies, such as Nosto and Yotpo.
To see what we can do for your supplement or vitamin eCommerce store’s loyalty program, contact us today.
