Gone are the days, when customer packaged goods (CPG) brands could rely only on advertising and promotions.

While traditional advertising can still help companies improve customer reach and brand awareness, they can no longer build strong, profitable relationships with their best customers on their own.

With the advent of smartphones and the alarming rate at which they have become a ubiquitous part of customers’ daily lives, CPG marketers have earned a tremendous opportunity to connect with shoppers in ways that weren’t possible before. 

Shoppers have become more inquisitive than ever, armed with their smartphones they undertake research, seek recommendations from friends on social media, and check reviews online before deciding -- what to purchase.

Connecting with end consumers has become imperative for CPG brands. Until now they have always found themselves at the mercy of their retailers and distributors to connect with customers and build brand loyalty.

The convergence of mobile marketing, social media, and email have  paved a new way for brands to build one-on-one relationships with their end customers. CPG brands can now construct their own loyalty initiatives to engage directly with their best customers without hampering their relationship with the retailers and distributors or using inconvenient mail-in methods. 

Omni-Channel Loyalty Programs 

Omni-channel loyalty for CPG brands enables data-driven campaigns based on consumers’ shopping behavior and creates an emotional bond with their customers, resulting in a significant increase in ROI.

When a company’s marketing goals encompass both sales and nurturing advocacy among customers, an omni-channel loyalty program is exactly what they need. This is because it builds a campaign that is present throughout all customer touchpoints, from print and broadcast to social media and email -- it covers all the bases. 

Omni-channel loyalty programs can transform CPG brands in the following ways.

Amass Valuable Customer Data

Very few CPG brands sell products directly to their end consumers.  Instead, most brands are heavily dependent on their retail and distribution partners. This wall of retailers makes collecting customer data almost impossible. 

CPG brands are often missing out on thorough demographic data, customer contact information, and purchase behavior data, which severely limits their ability to connect with and engage customers to build true brand loyalty.

That  is where omni-channel loyalty comes to the rescue. 

Omni-channel loyalty programs offer CPG brands a way to directly interact with their end consumers and even collect everything from demographic data to purchase behavior information with tactics such as loyalty packaging, app integration, and receipt submissions. They establish a dedicated line of communication with a business’s best customers, helping them optimize upsells, increase repeat purchases, and successfully launch new products.

Holistic Customer Experience

Omni-channel loyalty programs, as the name suggests, can be executed at every touch-point where customers are present. Brands can interact with their end customers irrespective of the place of purchase- online, in-store, at a retailer, etc., and create a holistic experience that helps dramatically boost customer satisfaction.

Omni-channel loyalty programs let you provide a similar experience to your customers throughout their journey and based on their past transaction history you can tactically place personalized offers at touchpoints  to heighten customer engagement and boost repeat purchases.

Here’s an example: Imagine running a photo-sharing  contest positioned around the most shared and most popular images to date. Combine that with rewards that resonate with customers’ buying history, abandoned cart history, most loved products, etc. Encourage your customers to share images of your products and,-refer friends to earn these rewards, which can be redeemed while shopping online or in physical stores.‍

Transform the Purchase Cycle

By connecting transactional loyalty data to touch-points throughout the purchase cycle — from awareness to product research and to post-purchase activity — CPGs can now build relationships at every stage of the customer journey.

For example, when a customer participates in their loyalty program, a brand gets insights about their buying behavior, interests, and demographic details such as gender, birthdays, and much more. Companies can leverage this data and devise a strategy to influence their customers’ buying behavior. 

They can trigger emails providing a special discount when a product that customers were interested in is running out of stock, when the price of a product that customers abandoned before check out is cheaper, when a customer has a birthday or anniversary, and more.

They can also send emails educating customers about upcoming sales, new arrivals and offers; let customers know their point standings, expiring rewards, levels achieved… And the list goes on and on. All this can result in a remarkable uptick in repeat purchases.‍

Omni-Presence

With omni-channel capabilities, brands can promote their loyalty program and offers at every possible touchpoint . They can ensure that offers get maximum visibility by showcasing them in prominent places on-site, by sharing on social media, at their physical stores, and through emails.

The most important factor of an omni-channel loyalty program is convenience. Customers can participate, contribute, refer and earn, regardless of the place or mode of purchase. Omni-channel loyalty truly helps brands create a holistic and seamless experience for their customers and engage them throughout their journey.  

Social Annex delivers the only fully integrated Advocate Marketing and Customer Loyalty platform. 
Gone are the days, when customer packaged goods (CPG) brands could rely only on advertising and promotions.