A loyalty program is the bow that wraps up your customer retention program in a gift that keeps on giving.
You start your customer relationship by delivering excellent service and quality products priced for value. The acquisition marketing that brought you this customer shifts to customer retention marketing that includes a thank-you note and/or follow-up call after that initial sale and continues with regular contact such as social posts, service reminder/anniversary emails, newsletters and holiday cards.
As these marketing tools build your relationship, the maintenance agreement program provides an official designation. It’s the mutual commitment you share that provides mutual benefit. For the customer, that’s priority service, discounts, improved energy efficiency and longer-lasting equipment. For you, it’s regular cash flow from tune-ups scheduled at a more convenient time than an emergency breakdown (more convenient, that is, for you and the customer).
You may already know that it’s six to seven times more costly to acquire a new customer than to keep a current one. The maintenance agreement program helps you not only keep that customer but also provides a path to generate additional sales on a schedule.
Across industries, 83% of customers say that loyalty programs encourage them to keep doing business with a company. When a marketer launches a maintenance agreement program, this sign of loyalty comes with perks that customers have invested in – and will lose if they don’t use. Thus, return purchases are even more likely.
Companies and customers see loyalty through different eyes. Studies show that 73% of customers say loyalty means that businesses should be loyal to them; however, 66% of businesses say loyalty means that customers should be loyal to the business.
For marketers, the maintenance agreement is a tool both for delivering loyalty to your customers and for securing your customers’ loyalty to you.