The main aim of marketing is, of course, to bring your product to market and get people to buy it, but isn’t it nice when you can also do something for your customers at the same time? There are a surprising number of marketing techniques that put giving back to your customers at the center of their strategy, meaning that it’s totally possible to see an uptick in sales as well as do something generous. We’ve got some of the most popular of these techniques here that you should be able to easily replicate in your own business.
Loyalty Cards
Loyalty cards are the main way that most brands actively give back to their customers. They are cheap to manufacture, produce great results and are recognized by most customers, making them easy to implement. Almost all of us will have one loyalty card or another in our wallet, whether it’s for a supermarket, a coffee shop, or our gym. They usually enable us to collect stamps for a free item or points that act as currency to be spent in the store. As well as this, being a member of a loyalty scheme does, as the name suggests, make us more loyal to the brand that we hold the card for. They’re easy to put in place for both product and service-based businesses, so if your business hasn’t got a loyalty card scheme yet, then it’s time to act.
Free Gifts
It’s nice to give new customers something as well as old; not only can it be a great way to gather new interest, but it can also help to show people your product. One sector that uses this marketing technique particularly effectively is the iGaming sector. Online casinos operate in a very busy sector where getting the attention of customers is a huge hurdle, offering a deposit bonus, where new customers are given extra play money, can help them to stand out from the crowd. At the moment, Vegas Slots Online has created an exhaustive list of all the no deposit bonus casinos for Canadian players showing just how great the demand is for these kinds of bonuses. Not every business operates in the online gaming sector, but again, free gifts are pretty simple to introduce into most business models. Service-based businesses will have to be a little more creative but could offer free initial consultations, free group taster sessions, or similar to ensure that customers get to see what your business is about without having to part with any of their hard-earned money.
Charitable Donations
Now that you’ve given directly to your customers, why not think about giving to a good cause as well? Giving to charities is a worthwhile thing for any business to do; not only will you be helping out those who are really in need, but it also reflects well on your business too. The most important part of this strategy is to support a charity that is a natural fit for your business. A fashion retailer sending woolly hats to an animal shelter doesn’t make much sense, but a fashion retailer sending surplus clothes to refugees does. This brings up another point, not every donation that you make has to be monetary. Charities that help to house, clothe, and feed humans and animals in need are often in need of blankets, toys, and food, so if you have those as part of your wastage, then make that part of your donation. If your business doesn’t have items to donate, then think carefully about how you’ll make your monetary donations work. A good method is to donate 5-25% of the purchase price of a product to a charity, depending on your markup. You could also pledge to donate a percentage of your profits in a larger lump sum once a year.
Discount Codes
Finally, email marketing has become a little less popular over recent years, largely due to the rise in social media usage. However, it’s still a really effective marketing tool, particularly when it comes to distributing gifts. If you want to boost your business as well as give a little something to your customers, then exclusive discount codes are the way to go. Send these as part of your regular mailing list to your loyal customers, and they’ll be able to benefit from deals that other people can’t get. Not only is that a win for them, but it’s also a win for your sales too.
