3 of the smartest ways to maximize customer loyalty

By Ibrahim Zaghw
Customer loyalty

Not only do online ordering channels such as Zyda connect you and your customers directly, but they also help you understand said customers in the process.

And, when you are armed with this direct connection and this understanding, you will serve your customers better, enticing them to come back time and again. 

To see this in action, let’s explore three possible scenarios where you can increase your customers’ loyalty. But, before diving in, let’s look at the tools we will need for our expedition.

Some of the tools you can leverage as a Zyda user

For our little journey, we will need three main tools: one for understanding customers and two for communicating directly with them.

A tool to understand your customers

With Zyda, you can look at your customers’ order history. Additionally, you can segment your customers into one of six categories:

  • Champions
  • Loyal
  • Promising
  • New
  • Needs attention
  • Low value

This segmentation happens automatically within the Zyda platform with the help of the RFM model. (The RFM model categorizes your customers based on the Recency of their orders, the Frequency of their orders, and the average Monetary value of their orders).

With this customer relationship management tool, you can serve each segment differently, boosting their loyalty and increasing the size of their orders. 

Tools to interact with your customers directly

The two tools we will need are vouchers and SMS.

With vouchers, you can offer your customers discounts and coupons to use. These discounts could be public, i.e. for everyone to use, or private, i.e. for a select few. They can also be restricted, so customers won’t be able to use said discounts unless they spend a certain amount first.

Better yet, you can also set any conditions you would like for these coupons: For example, you could create a coupon that becomes active during certain hours of the day and that can only be used once by each customer.

On the other hand, Zyda subscribers have the power to send SMS messages to their customers through the platform. So, anytime you want to say something to your customers, they are only a few clicks away.

Over and above, Zyda helps you personalize your texts. You can target your SMS messages to one of the segments we talked about above. Or, you can message customers who have been inactive for a while, inviting them to order from you again. 

3 ways to increase customer loyalty

  1. 1. Celebrate the little things

The more you personalize your interactions with your customers, the more likely they will be to order from you over and over.

And, what better way to personalize your interactions than to celebrate the little things?

For example, if it has been exactly a year since a customer first ordered from you, you should celebrate that anniversary with them with a discount coupon. You could send them a message such as this one:

“Greetings {first name}! Can you believe it? You’ve been a customer for one year! To thank you for your continued relationship, here’s 30% that you can enjoy with [coupon code] at your next checkout.”

Imagine how good your customer will feel when you thank them for being loyal for an entire year. 

And, you don’t have to celebrate anniversaries only. You can celebrate something as simple as someone signing up for your loyalty program with an offer. If you want a treasure trove of ideas, then check out our SMS template list, which is filled to the brim with different ideas for you to put to good use.

And best of all, celebrating the little things doesn’t just lead to more repeat orders, but it also increases your average order value. 

  1. 2. Reactivate customers

While rewarding loyal customers is human, reactivating inactive customers is divine.

And, when it comes to reactivation, Zyda gives you more than one way to peel this apple. 

For starters, you can reach out to customers in the “Needs attention” segment and send them a message along the following lines: 

“Hey [Name], we’ve missed seeing you around! Can we tempt you back with a 15% discount on your next order? Use [coupon code] at your next checkout.”

It’s that simple.

Alternatively, you can create an SMS campaign whose sole purpose is customer retention. This campaign will target anyone who hasn’t ordered recently, regardless of which segment they belong to. It will look at the date of their last order. 

3. Giving offers just because …

Let’s be honest: do you really need a reason to spoil your customers? Why not give them an offer just because it’s Wednesday?

Now, this technique is tricky because if you overdo it, you might risk making your offers less memorable. 

So, how do you do it?

First, you must be selective about the customer segment you approach. Obviously, your best choice is to reach out to your champions, followed by your loyal customers. With champions, you should offer a discount once their purchase order crosses a certain threshold. Alternatively, with loyal customers, you should offer some pleasant reward such as free delivery.

Here is a sample SMS template you can use:

“Free delivery on all orders today at [restaurant website]. Use code [voucher] at checkout. 1st 50 orders receive free [side dish of your choice]. [restaurant website] To opt-out, text [opt-out code] to [opt-out number] “

Now, the second point you need to remember is to avoid sending these types of texts to your new customers as well as those that need attention. After all, these segments aren’t loyal to you yet, so sending them free offers for the hell of it might come across as spam. 

Putting it all together…

We’ve just seen three different ways you can boost customer loyalty with the help of the right online ordering platform. And, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

There are some restaurants with Zyda where the average customer orders at least 4 times a month, if not more. Check out their story for yourself.

If they can do it without breaking a sweat, what’s stopping you?