Last Updated on April 16, 2024 by Saira Farman
The most successful and influential businesses in modern society always stay relevant. With the introduction of new technologies, changing customer needs, and an ever-expanding digital landscape, businesses must be proactive to remain top-of-mind for their target customers. As competition increases, businesses must be creative and strategic in engaging with their customers and potential customers to ensure their products and services remain relevant. Here are some of the ways businesses work to remain relevant to customers:
Loyalty Programs
The customer loyalty business model is built on rewarding customers for their repeat purchases. The more a customer spends, the more they earn points that they can spend later. Loyalty programs have been a staple in e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores for years and have proven to be very effective in generating repeat purchases and increasing brand loyalty over time. Loyalty programs can also increase customer retention rates as customers feel appreciated by businesses that reward them for their loyalty. The customer will begin to rely on the program’s guidelines and make additional purchases.
Mobile Marketing
The seemingly endless expansion of the digital landscape is transforming how businesses engage with their current and prospective customers. Technology such as smartphones and social media platforms have transformed how consumers find information, research products and services, communicate with brands, and make purchases. With the rise in mobile use, marketing budgets are increasing substantially to target the ever-increasing number of consumers using these platforms. Mobile marketing campaigns can be designed to engage with specific groups of consumers or to delay messages from appearing on phone screens until the customer is in a location where they can physically interact with them. Text automation allows businesses to deliver unique and timely content directly to a consumer’s cellphone, thus increasing relevancy in customers’ minds.
Exclusive Promotions
Businesses can build customer loyalty by providing exclusive offers to members of their custom loyalty programs. Free shipping is a common example of an exclusive promotion that may also include free or discounted products for members only. Other businesses will offer special entry into sweepstakes or contests with entries exclusively for eligible customers. Exclusive promotions are most effective when the benefits are unique, valuable, and timely to entice customers to join the program to reap those benefits.
Advertising
Advertising allows businesses to promote their products and services to targeted groups of consumers at a relatively low cost per impression, depending on which advertising platform is chosen. As technology improves, the cost per impression decreases, making digital and social media advertising more affordable than traditional print and broadcast options. Businesses can choose from different platforms based on their specific marketing needs and invest in pay-per-click ads to target specific keyword searches by potential customers.
Mobile Payment Solutions
There are several mobile payment solutions available that provide savvy and tech-savvy consumers with the option to pay using their smartphones. Mobile payment options allow businesses to automate the checkout process, streamlining it to make it easier for customers to complete their purchases. Mobile payments also attract customers looking for fast service and convenience at checkout. Mobile payment platforms are also ideal for businesses that regularly deal in cash transactions, like restaurants, convenience stores, salons, and rental car companies. Mobile payments can help combat the risk of robbery or loss with cash-based transactions by eliminating physical money.
Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool businesses use to market themselves and build relationships with prospective and existing customers. By joining social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest, businesses can create a presence where they can post content and updates about their products or services. These social platforms allow users to share content with their friends so that it becomes more visible to them and gives businesses another opportunity to appear relevant in customers’ minds. Businesses can also use social media for customer service purposes. Businesses can respond to questions or concerns from customers using social networks directly on the platform, which allows for real-time customer support and prevents future issues from happening again.
Conclusion
The rise of the digital landscape is transforming how businesses engage with consumers. The strategies and tactics used to remain relevant in customers’ minds will continue to evolve and expand as new technologies are created. Businesses can learn a lot from their competitors and their customers in an effort to improve relevancy and customer loyalty.
