The Holidays are Over.. Now What?

The holidays are over… now what? 

For the last few months you’ve undoubtedly been in the deep end of strategizing, planning, and executing your holiday marketing strategy. No matter if you were successful beyond your wildest dreams or came up short of expectations, we hope this blog will provide you information on what to do to ensure you’re getting the new decade started off right. 

Harness Your Data 

Disjointed experiences will not cut it this year (or the next 10). What your customer purchased in-store, browsed in your app, or removed from their cart should be leveraged to drive different behaviors from each customer. Can you incentivize the shopper that habitually buys two pairs of shoes throughout the year to purchase a third? How about getting the customer that only purchases shoes to purchase a pair of pants? To motivate high value customer behaviors you must harness the data you’re collecting from across the organization — loyalty programs, customer service, in-store, ecommerce — and then provide the ability to recognize, personalize, and reward each individual customer across all channels. 

Surprise & Delight Your Best Customers

Retaining current customers is critical for success, and rewards programs are proving to be an exceptional avenue for growing and retaining a loyal customer base. Nike credits 50% of its quarterly digital growth to Nike Plus members (Forrester), and by the end of September, Chipotle had added 7 million members to their program, which was launched in March (QSR Magazine). However, earning loyalty requires more than simply implementing a new program. At SessionM we like to talk about the marriage of sound ‘above the line’ design with compelling ‘below the line’ thinking and tactics. This means creating an enticing program value proposition that influences people to sign up and utilize it, and then leverages the data acquired to influence key moments using surprise & delight offers, personalized promotions, and exclusive benefits. 

Test Creative New Ways to Drive Business 

Never stop testing and learning. Could your business drive more purchases using dayparting strategies? Are there different types of offers that drive basket size up? Do customers transact more frequently if you provide them with some sort of goal? Constantly testing different components of your loyalty and engagement strategy can ensure you’re optimizing the program and driving impactful customer behaviors. 

Create a New Rewards Program or Improve an Existing One

Were you left out in the cold this year without a loyalty program? Or did you realize that your existing program wasn’t up to par with the competition? Don’t fret in your post-holiday blues, now’s the perfect time to create and execute a cutting-edge loyalty strategy for the new year. Take the time to think about what types of programs would get your customers excited, and what would benefit your brand. Develop the strategy, find a partner to help you realize your dreams, and ensure you’re prepared to maximize the next decade with a powerful rewards program. 

Looking for help in creating compelling loyalty experiences and delivering personalized interactions? 

Visit sessionm.com and give us a shout! We’d love to show you how the SessionM Platform can recognize your customers across all channels, meet and anticipate their needs, and deliver personalized rewards.