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Loyalty Programs: How Much Should Your Rewards & Points Be Worth?

This guide will help you determine the optimal value for loyalty points. We’ll dive into essential pricing principles, effective strategies, real-world...

Francesca Nicasio

Content Strategy Manager

Fun fact: 20% of customers stated that rewards programs influence their choice of where to shop. 

There are clear benefits to having a loyalty program. However, there are also some hard truths: Just because it’s driving customers doesn’t mean it’s making bank. Businesses that fail to recognize they’re overspending on rewards or misjudging their importance are more likely to suffer losses. 

To create a successful loyalty program, be sure to check whether its benefits outweigh the costs right from the outset. This means taking the time to calculate loyalty points accurately and making sure that you’re valuing your program’s points in line with your business goals and targets. 

This comprehensive guide will help you determine the optimal value for loyalty points. We’ll dive into essential pricing principles, effective strategies, real-world examples, and common challenges.

By the end of this guide, you'll be able to set yourself up to achieve consistent and lucrative returns from your loyalty marketing strategy.


 

What are loyalty rewards?

Loyalty rewards are incentives offered by businesses to encourage and reward repeat purchases by customers. They can come in the form of:

  • points
  • discounts
  • exclusive benefits

…all of which are designed to build and maintain a strong, loyal customer base.

Think of it this way: loyalty rewards are the currency of customer appreciation, and that’s why some of the world’s most customer-centric brands — including Starbucks, Sephora, and Amazon — invest a great deal in their loyalty and rewards initiatives. 

These companies know that loyalty programs encourage repeat purchases while nurturing relationships with their customers. 

Rewards programs also have a tangible impact on sales metrics. Some programs require reaching a specific cash or credit card spending threshold for loyalty points. This encourages higher splurging in a single transaction to increase basket size and average transaction value. 

In fact, our research shows that on average, a loyalty member spends 72% more than an anonymous shopper.

Principles of pricing rewards

Pricing customer loyalty rewards requires a balance between attraction and sustainability to ensure immediate engagement and long-term profitability. Your rewards must be enticing enough to capture attention without compromising your profit margins or undervaluing your products.

Giving back value in a loyalty program-1

You can achieve this balance by keeping the following in mind:

Considerations when pricing rewards

To calculate loyalty points more accurately, consider the following factors when designing your program.

1. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV is the overall expected revenue from customers throughout their engagement. Thus, it helps you determine the maximum reward program investment while maintaining profitability.  

Customers with a CLV above your average CLV indicates that they are long-term customers who are engaged and loyal. You can offer them high-value rewards, such as VIP events, limited-edition products, or loftier monetary rewards. Conversely, lower CLV shoppers can enjoy modest rewards like free shipping on certain thresholds to encourage ongoing engagement while retaining positive ROI.

2. Cost of rewards

Cost of rewards is a key metric to avoid overspending. Your total loyalty point rewards cost mustn’t exceed the incremental benefits generated by increased customer spending. 

Note: Incremental benefits don’t only mean higher sales. It can also include non-monetary benefits like increased customer retention, improved brand loyalty, and more word-of-mouth referrals.

Add the product/service, fulfillment, and administrative expenses associated with granting rewards to get your total cost of rewards. Then, compare that against the benefits to analyze the potential return on investment for different reward options.

For example, if offering a free product as a reward incurs a direct cost of $5 to your business, you should ensure this cost is more than covered by the additional spending or engagement the reward generates.

3. Competitive positioning

This factor influences your offering’s perceived value relative to competitors. If your competitors offer similar rewards at a lower price point, you may need to tweak your pricing strategy to stay competitive. Otherwise, you can justify a premium price with unique, high-quality rewards.

You can even go a step further by identifying areas where competitors fall short and strategizing to fill those gaps. Conducting market research analysis can be helpful in such a case. 

"On average, transactions made by loyalty members are worth over 60% more than anonymous transactions. Imagine even just 5% of your customer-base joins your loyalty program, and spends 60% more per transaction. Think what that would do to your bottom line."

- Rory Moss, Loyalty Expert

4. Economic conditions

Economic conditions can intensify market competition. During downturns, shoppers become more price-conscious and seek value for money. You can choose to engage in price wars or offer aggressive pricing strategies (i.e., offering higher-than-normal loyalty points) to gain customers.

Since this external factor is inevitable, you can only mitigate their effects to some extent. Leverage predictive analytics to anticipate shifts in demand and adjust your pricing like you would for competitive positioning.

5. Market demand

Responding to market demand for loyalty program rewards involves monitoring purchasing patterns, survey results, and industry trends. Insights from these activities shed light on which reward types appeal the most to your customer base.

When market demand for exclusive events is high, customers perceive these offerings as valuable and are willing to pay premium prices for them. Thus, you can charge more for experiential rewards.

Pro-tip: Market demands fluctuate. Continuously monitor your pricing strategy’s performance and adjust it as needed.

Point structuring

Customers may perceive the program as less valuable if it doesn’t meet their expectations or if the loyalty point bonus takes too long to accumulate. It can lead to decreased participation and engagement. 

Altering value perception

Here are two ways to structure a well-designed points system that serves your (and your customers’) needs:

Point Valuation

Set a monetary value for each loyalty point. It can be a fraction of the average profit margin per transaction or your CLV. 

For instance, if each loyalty point is valued at $1.00, the program becomes straightforward and highly perceivable in terms of value, making it easy for customers to understand how much they’re earning with each transaction.

It’s best to start with a conservative point value. After monitoring customer response and performance metrics, make adjustments to obtain the optimal point value.

Point-to-spend Ratio

Specify the number of loyalty points‌ customers will earn for every dollar spent on purchases. A higher ratio encourages more frequent purchases to accrue points faster. Meanwhile, a lower ratio delays point accumulation but helps reduce program expenses. 

Industry benchmarks are a good reference point, but maintain it in line with your objectives. For instance, if the goal is to increase customer retention, opt for a higher ratio to encourage repeat purchases and ongoing engagement.

Refer to these price structuring options when deciding on the reward types you’ll offer. But before we get into these, here are more strategies to calculate loyalty points more accurately.

4 steps to sustainable rewards pricing

Follow these practical strategies to optimize your reward pricing while keeping the loyalty program compelling and aligned with your financial goals.

1. Understand cost-based pricing vs. value-based pricing

Cost-based pricing focuses on covering loyalty program expenses and guaranteeing profitability, while value-based seeks to connect rewards with perceived customer value.

Cost-based pricing calculates the direct costs associated with providing rewards. It’s a safer option for startups or small businesses with limited resources. It sets prices based on tangible costs rather than uncertain market factors or vague perceived value. 

Here’s a simplified illustration without factoring in retention rates, seasonal fluctuations, competitor strategies, and other pricing factors. 

You’re running a loyalty program, costing you $22 per individual ($15 for reward product costs, $5 for marketing expenses, and $2 for administrative overhead). If you aim for a 20% profit margin, you should be earning $27.60 per customer enrolled ($22 total cost per customer / 0.8 profit margin).

Value-based pricing, on the other hand, doesn’t focus on cost recovery. You calculate loyalty points pricing based on its impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. It’s ideal for businesses that value brand reputation, such as luxury goods and high-end technology.

For instance, you could offer personalized services or products not available to the general public. This approach enhances their perceived value and can justify a higher points requirement, encouraging more purchases and engagement from members.

2. Incorporate customer feedback and insights from your data

Feedback lets you understand what your customers truly value. Solicit their ideas through surveys, reviews, and direct communication channels. 

In addition, data analytics can help you see exactly what works and what falls flat in your program. It tracks key metrics like CLV, redemption rates, and engagement levels. Use these insights to tweak your offerings and personalize rewards based on each customer base’s behavior and preferences.

3. Define your objectives

Your loyalty program’s objectives ensure that each reward contributes to attaining your bigger goals. Specify your target goals, whether it’s increasing customer retention or boosting sales.

Review your current reward offerings and assess how well they support these goals. Suppose your initial objective is to boost customer retention, but you notice that reward redemption rates are low. You can adjust your reward structure to include more experiential rewards or exclusive perks to pique more interest.

4. Analzye competitors and position yourself strategically in-market

Your competitors can overlook market gaps — and that’s where you come in. Study their offerings, including their reward types, pricing strategies, and program features. Recognize their shortcomings and make them your strengths.

Let’s say your findings show competitors lack flexibility in redeeming rewards. In this instance, having multiple redemption channels (e.g., online, in-store, and mobile) can help make your program stand out in a crowded market.

3 examples of successful rewards pricing structures

Check out these three brands that have captivated customers and driven business growth through their loyalty programs. Here are their real-world success stories:

American Airlines

american airlines rewards program structure

The American Airlines AAdvantage® program offers elite status to frequent flyers with exclusive privileges such as priority boarding, systemwide upgrades, and extra baggage allowance. AAdvantage members can also earn bonus miles with partner airlines with every purchase using any Citi®/AAdvantage® Aviator® credit card.

Anyone can enroll with no annual fee, suggesting that value-based pricing can be as profitable as cost-based pricing. The AAdvantage® program’s longevity speaks volumes about its success. The increased engagement and revenue from more airline bookings and card purchases outweigh the reward costs, resulting in a favorable bottom line.

Neal's Yard Remedies

Screenshot 2024-03-21 at 9.36.25 AM

After decades of successful sales, Neal's Yard Remedies wanted to take the next step. It was time to undergo a digital transformation to offer a truly omnichannel experience. Unfortunately, their old POS was complicated to use and lacked an open API. Neal’s Yard Remedies wanted to find a POS and loyalty solution that worked seamlessly with their ecommerce platform to deliver that omnichannel experience.

Now, Neal’s Yard Remedies run an easy-to-use loyalty program across all their sales channels. It’s clear how to earn points, and there are multiple ways to earn. For a purchase, their points to spend ratio is set at 5:1 (customers earn 5 points when they spend £1). They’ve opted for a simple framework for rewards too: 500 points are worth £5.

Alpha60 

Screenshot 2024-03-21 at 9.43.24 AM

Alpha60 takes a different approach. Brand Manager Kelvin explains that Alpha60's loyalty program is about 'surprise and delight', rather than a promotional tool used to incentivize sales.

As part of the customer-first approach, ALPHA60 decided to make the loyalty program as simple as possible. Spend a thousand dollars, get a thousand points (a 1:1 points-to-spend ratio), get a $50 voucher.

“We try not to complicate it too much and add different things in, and that really works for us. I think it’s because it’s simple for people. It’s easy for customers to understand.” Kelvin believes simplicity helps customers get more invested with their points: they always know when they have a voucher ready to redeem.

Challenges in pricing rewards

The most common types of loyalty rewards include:

  • Percentage-based discounts
  • Fixed dollar discounts
  • Free shipping
  • Free products
  • VIP experiences

Each ​​loyalty program reward has its cost implications. For instance, percentage-based discounts work well with price-sensitive customers or low average order values. They encourage larger purchases or more frequent visits, although they could hurt your bottom line if applied to high-value items.

If shoppers mostly have higher and varying average order values, setting fixed dollar discounts on specific thresholds or repurchase intervals can make pricing predictable.

E-commerce and online businesses benefit from free shipping because it eliminates potential barriers to online purchases. But you’ll have to set an average order value before you hand it off to your customers. Otherwise, it’ll erode your profits.

Offering free products or samples can boost product discovery and your loyalty program's perceived value. But like free shipping, the total cost shouldn't exceed the incremental revenue or engagement they generate.

VIP access or experiential rewards are an excellent option for building a loyal customer base. It helps enhance brand trust and differentiation by fostering a sense of belonging among top-tier loyalty members. To ensure profitability, only offer this reward when increased engagement and CLV can justify the expenditure of delivering such experiences.

Here’s a table to simplify your comparison:

Reward type

What

Good for

Consider

Percentage-Based Discounts

Customers receive a certain percentage off their purchase.

Businesses with a low average order value (AOV) or those selling commodity products where customers are price-sensitive. This can encourage larger purchases or more frequent visits.

It might eat into margins if not carefully managed, especially for high-value items.

Fixed Dollar Discounts

Offers a fixed dollar amount off, which could be on the next purchase or once a certain points threshold is reached.

Businesses with higher and varying AOVs, as it provides a predictable cost that doesn't fluctuate with the price of the cart. It's also appealing for businesses that want to encourage a minimum spend.

Ensuring the discount threshold doesn't undercut profit margins is essential. It's also less enticing for low-value purchases.

Free Shipping

Free shipping on orders after reaching a certain points number or as a tiered benefit.

E-commerce businesses or those with a significant online presence. It's particularly effective if shipping costs are a known barrier to purchase.

Should be balanced with shipping costs to avoid eroding margins, especially for low-margin products or very distant shipping destinations.

Free Products or Samples

Offering free products or samples once customers reach a certain tier or points level.

Retailers with high-margin items or those looking to introduce new products. It encourages exploration of your product range and can enhance the perceived value of the loyalty program.

The cost of goods given away should be carefully considered against the incremental revenue or engagement they drive.

VIP Access or Experiential Rewards

Providing access to exclusive events, products, or experiences for top-tier loyalty members.

Brands with a lifestyle component or those looking to build a community among their customers. Works well for businesses aiming to enhance brand loyalty and differentiation.

The cost of creating these experiences should be justified by the increased engagement and customer lifetime value they generate.

To minimize costs while maintaining attractive rewards, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spread your investment across multiple reward types to target diverse audience segments. It won’t alienate customers who may not prefer a particular reward type. If you still can’t decide, talk to an expert for tailored advice.

Free Download: PDF and calculator for structuring your points and rewards

For more loyalty program optimization insights and tools, download our new PDF and calculator on pricing points and rewards. 

Download ebook on structuring your loyalty program

Notable trends in loyalty rewards

60% of brands claim experiences are indispensable for their success. Consider delivering experiential loyalty program perks they can’t get elsewhere to drive stronger brand advocacy.

Cutting-edge AI and analytics tools are another innovation that can help refine your reward pricing strategies. With online shopping, AI algorithms can track the most viewed, added to cart, and purchased products. Understand these patterns to maximize your pricing strategy on popular items.

Businesses also gather and analyze customer data in real time, urging more personalization and dynamic pricing. That way, you can streamline the redemption process with reward recommendations or one-click redemption. Implementing dynamic pricing could mean offering personalized discounts or bonuses tailored to individual customer profiles.

With so many emerging trends, it can be difficult to know where to begin. So, start with investing in the right loyalty software to harness these innovations and create highly effective reward systems.

Optimize your loyalty program today

Well-priced rewards inspire more loyal customers, reduce churn rates, secure repeat business, and differentiate your brand. All these benefits rely on how you calculate loyalty points and manage reward offerings.

With smart loyalty software like Marsello, customer-centric rewards with consistently high ROI are now more feasible than ever. Here’s our detailed guide to building a loyalty program that resonates with your audience.

 


 

Get advice from a loyalty expert and start driving repeat sales.

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Read more: 7 Steps To Building A Profitable Loyalty & Rewards Program

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    A rewards program is anything that you use to motivate customer behavior. A VIP loyalty program elevates that strategy by making customers feel special! 

    Rewarding your customers is the fastest way to build brand awareness. Loyal customers contribute to the most sales, refer more new customers than any other type of customer, and actively market your brand for you. 

    A VIP loyalty program gives your business a structured way to reward loyal customers. Using strategies like outstanding customer service, personalizing your marketing segments, and connecting with your customers, you can give back to your most dedicated fans and drive profitable repeat sales.

    Alchemy Equipments VIP loyalty program and notification email

    How do loyal customers help with business growth


    Loyal customers grow your business because of something called the Pareto Principle. Also known as the Law of the Vital Few, this theory states that80% of your sales generally come from 20% of your customers. That 20% are usually your most loyal and regular customers. 

    From a simple ROI perspective, this is where you want to put your money. 

    Not only do your top 20% of customers contribute to 80% of your revenue, they also drive referrals. 

    A 2015 study showed that 83% of people would trust a recommendation from people they know. As well as this, shoppers who existing loyal customers have successfully referred have a 37% higher customer retention rate and have a 25% higher lifetime value than other customers. 

    Investing in your loyal fans with some kind of VIP program is invaluable. 

     

    Why is it important to have a strong VIP program


    Building a VIP program into your sales strategy is the easiest way to reward loyal customers. 

    It is also a great way to create NEW loyal customers. That’s because you are making a direct correlation between people engaging with your business or product and getting a positive reward. You are incentivizing actions that are typical of loyal customers. 

    Successful VIP programs:

        • Are simple to join 
        • Are easy to understand (i.e., customers know exactly how to earn points or move between tiers) 
        • Have a branded community built around it with branded tiers in the loyalty program 
    Focus on rewarding the customer, not just increasing revenue (that’s just a side effect of loyal customers!).


    Our Bralette Club's membership loyalty tiers explainer webpage


    How to convert your regular customers to VIP’s


    So how do you strengthen your customer relationships enough to create vocal brand advocates and lasting loyalty?

     

    1. Deliver outstanding customer service

    The best VIP rewards in the world won’t drive repeat customers if you have terrible customer service. 

    In fact, according to Microsoft, 54% of consumers globally say that they have higher customer service expectations than they did in 2020. 

    If you have to choose where to spend your yearly budget, you could put just about all of it into customer service for your most loyal customers. A person with a positive Net Promoter Score (i.,e. they would promote your business to their friends) has a lifetime value of up to 1400% more than someone who wouldn’t promote your business. 

    2. Identify your customers that provide value

    Your long-term business strategy should obviously include bringing in new customers. However, identifying your Most Valuable Customers (MVCs) is just as important. 

    Your MVCs are the ones who order frequently and have a higher value per order. In other words, your loyal customers. You probably know that it is more cost-effective to retain customers than acquire new ones. Who are your existing VIPs? 

    Here’s what bespoke jewelry brand Anna Beck had to say about finding their MVCs: 

    “Through the data, we’ve found that we have incredibly loyal customers. Once they make their second purchase, they are highly likely to be lifelong customers. Marsello allows us to easily reward those loyal customers for sticking around, it was a no-brainer. Anna Beck has only been an online retail brand for a handful of years, and a loyalty program was the natural next step.”

    Anna-Beck-Social


    Some of the ways you can identify your Most Valuable Customers: 

        • How often do they purchase 
        • How much they purchase in each order compared to your average customer 
        • What their overall lifetime value is- you’re looking for people that spend the most overtime, not a one-time big hit, and then never come back 

    3. Use hyper-personalization for your target users

    Marketing automation is the fastest way to personalize customer experience while still scaling. Research from Accenture showed that “33% of customers who abandoned a business last year did so because personalization was lacking”. 

    Ways that you can start personalizing your VIP customer experience: 

        • Create an automatic email sequence for new members 
        • Send product recommendations based on their previous purchases using segmentation 
        • Send VIP members special surprises or freebies on their birthday
        • Save abandoned carts 
        • Run a tiered loyalty program that lets them unlock exclusive rewards 

    The best part? All of this can be done through the Marsello platform! 

    Hyper-personalization makes it even easier to target VIP customers who are most likely to buy anyway. 

     

    How to create repeat customers with a loyalty program

    The cornerstone of loyalty success is repeat customers – so how do you keep your customers coming back time and time again, and how do you reduce that repeat purchase cycle?

    1. Give something in return to your customers

    You can start driving repeat customers by giving them something in return. 

    The easiest way to start? Create a reward points system. This is where customers earn 1 point for every $1 they spend (as a simple example). Once they reach a certain threshold, they can exchange it for a reward. Consider building a VIP loyalty program model into your loyalty program too; this way loyalty members can accumulate points or spend thresholds to move up to the next tier and see increased value with each engagement with your store. 

    For example, the Evermore Toys loyalty program gives their customers $10 for every $100 they spend. This simple yet elegant system of giving back to customers resulted in 156x ROI.

    Evermore_Reward


    No matter what your VIP rewards program is, it must be customer-centric. 

    2. Connect with your customers beyond purchase

    Connecting with your customers looks like community building, strategic email marketing, and content marketing. This achieves two things (besides giving you more small opportunities to engage with customers online). 

    Firstly, it increases brand awareness. 

    Content marketing and email workflows keep you top of mind even if you are not selling directly. Your online presence also contributes to the feeling of a community, especially if you refer to your VIP members specifically. 

    Secondly, it encourages repeat customers. 

    For example, signing up for your VIP program might trigger an automatic email marketing sequence. If product recommendations in the first email don’t motivate a purchase, automatically follow it up with an exclusive discount just for them.

    Footwear brand Merrell NZ does exactly this. 

    Merrell-Tiers-2


    They aim to create community through the communications they produce by linking their loyalty members and email marketing list to local events, thought leadership articles, and engaging topics. 

    They also communicate through social media to further develop these relationships and encourage customer engagement in events that are particularly relevant to the likes of hiking, outdoors, sustainability, and socially progressive causes.

    By combining their loyalty program with an effective email marketing strategy, they developed brand awareness, loyalty, and customer buy-in. 

    Rewards-Email

    3. Turn your customers into brand advocates


    Turning existing customers into brand advocates increases revenue without increasing your marketing budget. So how do you get people to talk about you? 

    Running a VIP program makes customers feel seen and appreciated. That’s the first step for creating brand advocates. You can even give them store points in exchange for sharing or engaging on social media. 

    Next, create excitement around launches or events. This gives them things to talk about on social media or in their network. 

    If you have an active social media presence, make sure to share content that they tag you in! User-generated content is excellent social proof for curious followers.

    Lastly, provide an outstanding product or service. Customers will be thankful to have a product they can count on and will naturally want to shout about it. 

    Want an impressive example of customer engagement? Go check out what Our Bralette Club is doing with their community. 

    Not only did they have a reward redemption rate of 71% in 2020, but they are also extremely active on social media to deepen relationships with their biggest fans. That’s how you turn customers into advocates. 

     

    4. Provide opportunities to incentivize your customers


    Incentivizing isn’t just about buying more. You can create multiple opportunities for customer incentives

    That’s because loyalty programs are all about motivating particular behaviors that grow your business. 

    Examples of ways you can incentivize your customers by rewarding points:

        • Sharing or tagging you on social media
        • Referring a friend or family member 
        • Signing up to be a member
        • Signing up to your email list 
        • Following you on social media 
        • Surprise them with points on their birthday. 

    The lingerie brand, Our Bralette Club lets customers earn basically every time they interact with them. Join the club? Reward. Make a purchase? Points. Collect 1800 points? Enjoy 15% automatically! 


    Bralette_Widget


    This is a stand-out approach that helps to keep OBC’s loyalty program fresh and engaging. 

     

    5. Provide rewards in the form of experiences

     

    You don’t just have to give VIP members discounts or points. You can also use experiential customer rewards

    Experiential rewards are just that- they give customers something they can experience. It creates a long-lasting emotional connection, creates life-long brand advocates, and rewards your high-spending, loyal customers. 

    For example, Sephora’s Beauty Insider Community is a tiered loyalty program. If you are in their “Rouge” top tier, you don’t just get discounts and free shipping. You also get first access to new products, free samples, exclusive beauty events, and meetups. 

    Experiential rewards help you go above and beyond for loyal customers. 

     

    Final words

    Building a VIP loyalty program creates a feeling of community, rewards your loyal customers, and builds brand awareness. If you are looking to improve your marketing ROI and lifelong customer loyalty, use Marsello to create a VIP loyalty program that benefits both you and your customers. Marsello is the ultimate all-in-one loyalty program software, perfect for eCommerce, in-person stores (or both!).

    A complete guide to creating effective tiered loyalty programs

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    Tiered loyalty programs are a business owner's secret weapon to establishing life-long customer relationships. Get it right from the start with our...

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    Loyalty programs keep customers coming back using rewards and referrals. But what about tiered loyalty programs? What makes them so uniquely effective for engaging customers and boosting revenue? 

    Tiers prove value to customers throughout their entire customer journey which means that you are consistently enticing customers back.

    Consumers who engage with high-performing loyalty programs are 78% more likely to spend a premium. So the more you reward people, the more loyal they will be! 

    Let’s dive into what a tiered customer loyalty program is, why it is so effective, and tips for implementing a tiered system in your own business. 

    Marsello-Loyalty-Tiers


    What is a tiered customer loyalty program?

    A tiered customer loyalty program is a customer incentive strategy that rewards people the more they spend. Once a customer spends a certain amount or earns a certain amount of points, they move up a level. 

    This could look like a “bronze, silver, or gold” membership, or something like a regular membership versus VIP membership. 

    But how does a tiered loyalty program work? 

    You have probably seen examples of this with airline frequent flyer programs. The more customers spend with a single airline, the more points they accumulate. When they move up, they are then rewarded with bonuses like access to lounges and priority boarding. 

    A tiered system gives more rewards to people higher up to encourage loyalty and higher spending. 

    You may not have a VIP airport lounge, but your business can still take advantage of a tiered loyalty program!

     

    What are the benefits of a tiered loyalty program

    You might be wondering if there are benefits to using a loyalty tier instead of regular rewards. 

    There are a couple of benefits of rewarding loyal customers in this way. 

    Firstly,  it encourages brand loyalty because the more loyal they are, the more rewards they get. It is beneficial and exciting for them to keep purchasing from you over competitors because their customer experience is only going to improve over time. 

    Look at loyalty programs like Amazon Prime. Premium members spend about double what non-members spend and shop twice as much in a 12 month period. 

    The second benefit is that it encourages higher spending. When people have free “points” to use, they will come back. A gift-card study found that 59% of people spent more than they had on their gift cards. 

    Incentivizing people with points and rewards means they are more likely to spend more than they intended.

    Lastly, you can increase the value of the rewards incrementally. Lower tiers still have points and rewards, however, higher levels (i.e. people who spend the most with you!) could have experiential rewards as well as points. 

    For example, beauty brand Mecca runs a loyalty program called the Beauty Loop. Their top-tier members get experiential rewards like surprise gifts 3 times a year, access to exclusive beauty events, and dibs on limited edition products.

     

    Strategies to create a successful tiered loyalty program


    Getting started can feel like the most daunting part of planning your customer loyalty program or adding tiers. Give yourself a good grounding knowledge with these strategies:

     

    1. Provide clear value to customers at every level

    One of the obvious benefits of customer tiers is that nobody misses out on benefits. It just gets better over time! A successful tiered loyalty program will provide value at every level.

    Using the airline example again, a bronze customer might get complimentary food and drink. A silver customer might get priority boarding and free luggage allowance. A gold member might get lounge access, priority boarding, double luggage allowance, and first-class seating. 

    Each tier is rewarded, which improves customer experience, which then encourages more spending and loyalty. There are clear benefits at each level that make loyal customers feel special.

     

    2. Keep it simple for the customers


    If you want higher engagement with your tiered loyalty program, you have to keep it simple. Your customers should know exactly what they need to do to qualify.

    How can you creatively simplify your loyalty program? Here are some ideas 

        • Have a visual loading bar that shows them how much they need to spend to get to the next level 
        • Display the different tiers side by side and show the different value levels
        • Don’t have too many conditions to move up each level – make it worth their time too! 

    Anna-Beck-Social

    An example of a simple loyalty customer is jewelry boutique Anna Beck. Customers automatically receive 100 points just for joining their rewards program!  Since starting their points system, Anna Beck has experienced a 728.33% increase in revenue, directly attributable to their loyalty program.

    Simplicity is a good rule of thumb no matter what loyalty program design you have. 

     

    3. Brand your tiered levels


    As well as having a branded community, consider having branded customer tiering.

    Each level should differentiate customers and reward them for their loyalty and engagement.

    You can keep it simple with a gold-silver-bronze model, or push the creative boundaries like inclusive-lingerie brand Our Bralette Club.

    Our Bralette Club has a branded loyalty program called the Peach Party. That means that all customers get to be part of the community. However, they take it to the next level with their different tiers. 

    Our Bralette Clubs membership loyalty tiers explainer webpage

    They have a simple spend threshold system that unlocks new and exciting benefits for customers. Instead of just 1-2-3, they are called “Seed”, “Bloom”, and “Peach”. 

    Their tiers are 100% on brand and invite customers into a fun, inclusive community.


    4. Use experiential rewards for your customers


    Experiential rewards are bonuses that go beyond the transaction. The goal is to exceed their expectations and give them a customer experience they won’t find anywhere else.

    Online competition is fierce for loyalty programs. 44% of consumers aren’t happy with rewards programs because the bonuses feel “irrelevant”.

    It’s not enough to just add discounts for something your loyal customers would probably buy anyway.  Adding experiences to your loyalty rewards program will help you stand out. 

    Experiential rewards you could use for your VIP customers could be things like: 

        • Giving access to fun, exclusive events run by your brand
        • Sending freebies on their birthday 
        • Running giveaways/competitions for similar interests 
        • Gamifying their points to spend on things other than products.


    5. Blend gamification into rewards


    Gamification is an excellent strategy for increasing engagement with your loyalty program. Loyalty program gamification is when you take fun, game-like elements and integrate them into the user experience.

    Examples of gamification are things like earning points, random bonuses or prizes, unlocking surprise rewards, and lottery-type strategies where anyone could win if they purchased in a certain time frame. 

    BCode is a great example of loyalty program gamification. After launching their double points campaign, bCODE saw exactly the kinds of results they could hope for, including a 94% increase in loyalty points spent! 

    Gamification engages your customers and differentiates you from other businesses wanting their attention.

     

    Tips for an effective tiered loyalty program


    If you are going to run a tiered loyalty reward program in your own business, there are a few things you need to implement to be successful.

    1. Customers come first


    Of course, loyalty programs benefit your business – loyal customers, referrals, and improved customer experience all contribute to increased spend per customer.

    However, if you want real engagement with your customers, they need to come first.

    It may be tempting to create a tiered loyalty program that only encourages people to spend more. We promise that you will be a lot more successful and they will love buying your products if you prioritize their experience over revenue.


    2. Regularly monitor results


    You can’t “set and forget” customer loyalty building!

    Part of putting your customer first is to regularly monitor engagement and results and make changes if they aren’t responding. A good loyalty program will have high engagement because people ENJOY spending money with you. 

    To analyze customer experience and run a truly successful rewards program, you should invest in UX analysis and loyalty program software that tracks results automatically.


    3. Effectively communicate with your customers


    Building a loyalty program involves actually building loyalty. To do this you need to communicate with customers at every touchpoint.

    This can be either passive communication or direct communication. 

    Passive communication is how clearly your loyalty program is set out. 

        • Do customers know exactly how to join?
        • Is it obvious how many points they need to get to the next level?
        • Are they aware of the benefits of moving up a level?


    Take pet boutique Smack Bang for example.

    When customers log in to their easy-to-read interface, it is obvious how customers can earn more points.

     Marsello-SmackBang-Loyalty-Widget

    Direct communication is when they interact or make a purchase. 

        • Do you send follow-up emails to ask about their experience?
        • Are you gathering feedback?
        • Do you use language that makes them feel “part of the club” and thanks customers for being loyal? 
        • Could you surprise them even if they haven’t made a purchase recently? 

    The Pareto Principle (also known as the Law of the Vital Few) states that 80% of all sales come from just 20% of your customers and that 20% are usually loyal, returning customers. 

    Make sure you are communicating with your “Vital Few”.

     

    4. Have a single view of all your campaign progress


    The last tip for an effective tiered loyalty program is to centralize your data. You should be able to see your campaign progress at a glance.

    This is especially important if you have both online and in-store rewards. Don’t make it difficult for customers to spend points with you!

    Loyalty programs can improve marketing ROI, drastically increase revenue, create lifetime loyal customers and drive brand awareness. However, you can’t take advantage of all those great benefits if you can’t easily track your campaign progress.

     

    Final Words

    A tiered loyalty program is a clever way to reward customers who spend the most. Using strategies such as gamification, effective and timely communication, and branding your tiers will guarantee higher engagement. Ultimately, giving your customer the VIP treatment will benefit your business! 

    To track your campaign progress, increase ROI, and reward loyalty points with ease, try building your loyalty program with Marsello! 

    6 Tips for creating a point system for rewards

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    The ultimate goal with a loyalty points system is to leverage customer loyalty & grow your business. Learn how to create rewards your customers will love.

    Quick links:




    The ultimate goal with a reward points system is to motivate customer behavior that grows your business. However, it is also a good way to build brand loyalty and reward your most loyal customers. 

    The Pareto Principle (also known as the Law of the Vital Few) states that 80% of all sales come from just 20% of your customers and that 20% are usually loyal, returning customers. 

    Creating a rewards program lets you focus on that valuable 20%!

    If you have ever wondered 

    • What a reward points system is, 
    • How to set up a simple rewards program for loyal customers, and 
    • How you can increase your revenue with a loyalty program

    Then you are in the right place.

    Related: How Mecca Built One Of The World's Best Loyalty Programs


    Marsello-Rewards-Point-System

    What is a reward points system?

     

    According to Shopify, rewarding points is the most common type of customer loyalty program. A reward points system is an incentivization strategy that increases spending through earning in-store points or credits. 

    Customers earn points on their account when they purchase. They can then redeem points the next time they shop or use them for other freebies and perks. Some loyalty programs also let customers accumulate points and move from a “regular” member to a “VIP” member in a tiered program. 

    Evermore Toys is a great example of a simple points rewards system. Their mission is to create high-quality toys for their customers, and they implemented an elegant customer loyalty program that increased their revenue by 738.87%.

    Customers earn 1 point for every $1 they spend; when they reach 100 points they get $10 off their next purchase. Evermore Toys saw a 95% per month increase in loyalty points over a one-year period, showing that you don’t need a complicated loyalty program to get results.

    Evermore Toys Points Reward System explainer page from their website


    6 tips for designing a points reward system for your business

     

    To implement a reward points system for customers, there are a few key systems you need. Your business and your customers are unique. 44% of consumers aren’t happy with rewards programs because the bonuses feel “irrelevant”. So it’s worth a bit of creative strategy! 

    The most successful loyalty programs are specific to your brand community and are extremely customer-focused. 

    Related: 7 Steps To Building A Profitable Loyalty & Rewards Program

    1. Identify the main goals of your customer loyalty program

    Obviously, your loyalty points system benefits your revenue potential. However, you can do so much more with it! So the first step to a successful points system is to identify what you want to achieve with it. 

    Here are a few questions you can ask yourself: 

        • Do you want to build brand loyalty by creating a unique community?
        • Do you want to reward your MOST loyal customers by creating a tiered reward system? 
        • Do you want to delight customers with unexpected surprises? 
        • Do you want to encourage more spending or points accumulation? 
        • Do you want people to share your business on social media or get people to refer their friends? 
        • Are you going to run “points promotions” to encourage higher spending in sales? 

    All loyalty programs motivate particular behaviors. When you are starting out it is best to choose just one or two goals so that you can track their progress and then build from there.

     

    Download the free CLV Calculator
    Most retailers use loyalty programs to increase the average lifespan and value of a customer. Use Marsello's free calculator to quickly estimate your average CLV.

     

     


    2. Determine how customers will earn the rewards

    Next, you will need to determine HOW customers actually get rewards. 

    You might want to keep it simple like the Evermore Toys example above. They spend a dollar, they earn a point. There’s nothing wrong with avoiding complications.

    Loyalty programs also offer points for customer behavior such as

        • Sharing on social media 
        • Earning freebies on your birthday 
        • Giving product reviews
        • Referring a friend

    Take Our Bralette Club as an example. Their loyalty program members can earn points when they make a purchase, for every friend they refer, for Tweeting about the brand, and even just for getting a year older on their birthday.

    Our Bralette Clubs loyalty widget on a light pink banner

    Other models include tiered rewards systems. This is where members can move from regular member to VIP status once they cross a spend threshold. VIP customers could have benefits such as Double Points (every dollar is 2 points) or other bonuses like automatic free shipping. 

    You will also need to consider online versus in-person shopping. Can customers earn and spend points no matter where they shop with you? Using a points reward software like Marsello makes loyalty programs completely seamless across eCommerce and POS.

    3. Determine how these rewards will be awarded to the customers

    Once customers have earned their points, it’s time to reward them! Do you have a system for how they can claim points? 

    Firstly it is important to have a login for members where they can easily see their points program total. Seamless integration with your eCommerce checkout and POS is critical for a successful loyalty program. Don’t make your customers work for it! 

    Next, identify the timeline. Can they redeem points as soon as they earn them? Will they receive a coupon or code for their next purchase? Will you send them something for free? 

    Lastly, consider what form their rewards will be in. It doesn’t just have to be points they can spend in-store. 

    Here are a few ways you could reward your customers in a points program:

        • Offer secret sales for people with  a certain number of points 
        • Collaborate with other businesses to do giveaways with similar products 
        • Give away freebies when they buy multiple items 
        • Do live in-person events for your most loyal customers 
        • Offer other bonuses like free shipping or first access to new products 
        • Set up an affiliate program where they can make actual money for referring new customers 

    Nigerian shoe brand bCODE has an outstanding loyalty program strategy. When they first launched their online rewards, they created a double-point promotion as well as a spend threshold. 

    The bCODE's points promotion email campaign


    With their email marketing and social media campaign, they encouraged increased sales, loyalty program sign-ups, reward redemptions, and more! They also encouraged bCode customers to sign-up by sending an email campaign that detailed how shoppers could sign up to the newly expanded loyalty program and earn points in the lead-up to the weekend’s promotion.

    With a 94% increase in loyalty points spent, you know they are rewarding loyalty right! 


    4. Identify the value of your rewards

    If customers earn points-per-dollar, you will need to identify the value of your rewards. You can categorize rewards from low to high value based on how loyal customers are. 

    Will they get a discount voucher? Do their points add up to free shipping? Can they move up a membership level if they reach a spend threshold? 

    If you have a tiered loyalty program, the value of the rewards can go up with each level. 

    For example, a first-tier member could earn points that add up to a discount voucher. A second-tier member could earn double points. A third tier, VIP member could have free shipping, triple points, and access to exclusive events. 

    Remember, your most loyal customers bring in the most amount of revenue. It is worth going above and beyond to improve their experience with higher value rewards.

    Look at outdoor apparel & footwear brand Merrell NZ. As soon as you sign up for their rewards program you can start moving up the tiers. Their silver and gold tier members enjoy generous discounts when they earn a certain number of points. Merrell NZ makes it simple for members to earn points with amazing rewards and a simple loyalty program widget.


    Merrell NZ's VIP tiered loyalty program online widget


    5. Associate a name/brand to your loyalty program

    No matter how amazing your product is, you are facing a huge amount of competition. Your customers are probably being asked to join a huge number of other loyalty programs. 

    To make your customer reward system stand out, we recommend branding it. 

    How can you make your loyal customers feel like they are part of a special community? This is where customer experience comes into play for modern business. It’s not enough to simply sell to your customers. Associating a brand name with your loyalty program makes you memorable. 

    For example, Marsello user Our Bralette Club has a membership loyalty program called the Peach Party. Peach Party members enjoy generous discounts and free products, and most importantly the branded name makes them feel part of the club!


    6. Promote your rewards point program

    Finally, you need a system for promoting your points reward program. You can’t reward customers if they don’t know it exists! Don’t be afraid to promote it everywhere online and in stores. 

    This isn’t just for new customers or new business. When Evermore Toys rebranded, they used a clever email marketing campaign to encourage existing loyalty members to engage with the newly branded store and earn more rewards.

    Evermore Toys' loyalty program announcement email on a bright yellow banner


    We have a few tips for promoting your rewards system online:

        • Let people register for an account at the checkout and remind them to sign in
        • Have a banner on your website telling people about the benefits of becoming a member and earning points 
        • Let customers know on your social media platforms 
        • Use an omnichannel marketing platform that combines your reward system online with your POS 
        • Automate your email marketing strategy to communicate effectively with new and existing members- you need to promote at the right times to ensure high engagement!

    Your loyalty program is all about serving your customers even more. Shout its benefits from the rooftops!

     

    FAQs


    How do businesses track the cost-effectiveness of their points system to ensure it's generating a positive return on investment?

    Businesses can track the cost-effectiveness of their points system by analyzing customer engagement metrics, such as increased purchase frequency, higher average order value, and the redemption rate of points. Comparing these metrics against the program's operational costs provides insights into its return on investment (ROI).

    Can you provide examples of challenges businesses might face when integrating a new points system with their existing CRM or sales systems?

    Integrating a new points system with existing CRM or sales systems can present challenges like data sync issues, software compatibility problems, and the need for employee training to manage the new system effectively.

    What are some strategies for re-engaging customers who have accumulated points but have not redeemed them for a long time?

    To re-engage customers with dormant points, businesses could implement targeted marketing strategies such as personalized email campaigns reminding them of their points balance and its value, limited-time offers to boost points redemption, or introducing new, attractive rewards. Add urgency by expiring points and tiers — let customers know they have limited time remaining to cash in and receive their rewards.

     

    Final words

     

    A reward points system is an effective way to increase your revenue. It rewards your most valuable customers and goes beyond a transactional relationship. By branding your loyalty club, designing an easy-to-follow system, and promoting it for every new and returning customer, you will see incredible ROI on your rewards program. 

    If you are looking for the easiest way to set up a loyalty program for your eCommerce or in-person store, you’ve already found it. Marsello makes it simple to set up, market and run a successful point system for rewards. Start rewarding your customers with Marsello!

    Read more: 7 Steps To Building A Profitable Loyalty & Rewards Program

    Boost loyalty for hospitality with Marsello, Lightspeed Ordering & Bopple

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    Integrated omnichannel loyalty for hospitality has never been so easy! Read how Marsello, Bopple, & Lightspeed Ordering bring seamless hospitality loyalty...

     

    From the humble coffee card to 2-for-1 deals, the hospitality industry is no stranger to a loyalty-focused marketing strategy. But things have progressed rapidly from physical loyalty cards – the future of hospitality is digital, even when it’s brick-and-mortar.

    The possibilities for digital hospitality don’t just stop at loyalty programs either! From adaptable real-time menus and online QR table-ordering to increased upselling with less work from staff, the digitalized hospitality experience is paving the way for personalized, data-driven dining experiences that automatically drive customer loyalty and retention.

    And Bopple is here to bring that to you by integrating with Lightspeed POS for restaurants and Marsello – the perfect omnichannel partnership!

     

    What is Omnichannel Hospitality

    The gap between physical stores and online channels is lessening – in fact, they’re becoming one and the same experience. And the hospitality sector is no different! From online wine tastings to contactless ordering with QR codes, the way we indulge in dining is tightly integrated with the way digest digitally. 

    Creating a seamless experience that enhances each and every customer touchpoint is at the heart of an omnichannel strategy, but it’s so much more than that! With a multi-channel approach, you’re able to capture valuable customer information that empowers smart, data-driven, customer-centric business decisions, ensuring you get results from your investments and see a trackable return on investment.

    A light-blue banner with the Marsello, Bopple and Lightspeed logos lined up side-by-side


    With, Lightspeed Ordering powered by Bopple and Marsello, you have a powerful, tightly integrated tech stack that works together to drive undeniable results and increase customer relationships, engagement, and returns. Let’s dig a little deeper into each app: 

    Bopple: Whether you’re running a one-off physical pop-up, or you’re an established restaurant, Bopple has what you need to succeed online. With COVID-specific features like QR check-ins and ordering and essential tools like customer database tracking and frictionless checkout, Bopple was developed with the digital hospitality owner in mind!

    Lightspeed POS for Hospitality: Digital POS has cemented itself as the new normal and Lightspeed Kounta POS is fast becoming the go-to tool for savvy hospitality business owners. So you’ve sold out of a dish? Update your digital menu on the fly! Running a special or a deal? Promote it directly to your social media channels and flow that campaign into your Marsello-powered marketing! With everything online, you’re able to edit and adjust all important areas of your business in real-time, without time-consuming admin.

    Pair your Bopple and Lightspeed Kounta POS apps with Marsello for a tightly integrated, one-stop tech stack and answers all your omnichannel hospitality needs.

    Marsello not only offers personalized loyalty programs that are integrated in-house and online, but the options are endless! Encourage friend referrals from customers, nurture customer loyalty, reward purchase behaviour, and turn insights into opportunities with detailed reporting and automated customer segmentation.

    Tied together, it’s easy to see how Lightspeed Ordering powered by Bopple and paired with Marsello Loyalty is a recipe for success and an unrivalled omnichannel solution. 

     

    Learn More about Boople Marketing Automation

     

    What does an omnichannel approach mean for hospitality customers?

    Customer experience! The long and the short of it is that your customers’ experience of your business is streamlined and interactive. Just look at how Chat Thai uses their omnichannel tech stack to maximize customer experience and drive loyalty!

    A banner with Chat Thai's online ordering menu and online rewards window overlapping eachother

    Chat Thai’s modern branding and crisp aesthetic lead customers to expect a modern dining experience and that’s exactly what their customers receive!

    From digital ordering to customer loyalty, all Chat Thai’s customer data is captured with the help of Bopple’s digital tools like QR-code sign-ins and contactless payments. Orders are processed through a Lightspeed Kounta POS, and, combined with Marsello, Chat Thai can easily manage their customer information and create a seamless marketing strategy that re-engages their customers at every touchpoint thanks to an omnichannel loyalty program.

    And their customers love it too! In fact, in the first 2 months of using Marsello loyalty with their Lightspeed Ordering powered by Bopple, Chat Thai has seen a 375% increase in reward redemptions!

     

    Did you know, customers who order digitally spend more?


    From ordering in person, to simply ‘ordering in’, it’s apparent that customers who order digitally are more likely to spend more. In fact, one study suggests that customers who order digitally will spend as much as 25% more on average. The team at Lightspeed put this down to a few potential factors. Digital menus:

        • Give the customer a primarily visual experience. Perfected product photography goes a long way in encouraging diners to order more by encouraging an increased hunger response. Consider this your customers’ first impression of what to expect from their order – remember, enticing realism will go a long way! Just look at how Chat Thai presents their menu. It’s enough to get your stomach rumbling and taste
        • Increase the opportunity to upsell. Essentially, a digitized menu and ordering experience automates the upselling process. With beautiful images and an enjoyable, easily navigable online experience, customers are much more likely to explore the entire menu and maybe order an extra side dish or replenish their drinks throughout the meal.
        • Allow for increased flexibility. Think about it like improving customer experience. For example, when it comes to busy businesses and the re-ordering process, digital ordering gives the customer the ability to adjust their order easily and in real-time. No catching the eye of waitstaff, no miscommunications or worries about dietary requirements. And this in turn equates to increased average order values and improved long-term customer loyalty.

    The benefits of moving towards digital hospitality for retailers are limitless. With tools like data-driven channel management, customer-driven loyalty engagement, and automation across all touchpoints, omnichannel hospitality is the answer to smart, customer-centric business growth.

     

    Get the omnichannel experience for your customers

    So you’re ready to make the move to an optimized omnichannel tech stack designed specifically for hospitality business owners – that’s what we like to hear!

     

    Book a demo to get started today

    5 Best Shopify Plus Apps for Omnichannel Retailers

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    We’ve selected our top apps for Shopify Plus retailers. From marketing & foot traffic tracking to CRMs & order fulfillment, find the best apps for your...

     

    Shopify Plus provides rapidly growing enterprise-level retailers with a unique set of features and support, setting the precedent for Shopify Plus Certified Partner Apps and ensuring Shopfiy Plus retailers see rapid results like month-on-month ROI and improved customer lifetime value, no matter what Shopify Plus tools they chose to use. 

    But how do you know which apps will set you up for success? And which of the Shopify Plus partner apps are best designed to grow your omnichannel retail business both in-store and online?

    Never fear! We’ve selected our top 5 picks with room to grow. Discover our Top 5 Shopify Plus Partner Apps for Omnichannel Retailers below:

     

     

    Marsello’s Top 5 Omnichannel Shopify Plus Certified Partner Apps

     

     

    1.  Marsello-Logo_50


    Powered by Shopify Plus and your point-of-sale, Marsello is the only customer marketing software that integrates seamlessly in-store and online – the ultimate omnichannel marketing tool! By combining data-driven automation, email, SMS, and loyalty programs, Marsello can empower you to deliver targeted marketing for your business that gets results you can trust with closed-loop attribution that tracks your marketing against sales.


    Did you know that Marsello is the only marketing software that integrates in-store and online for Shopify Plus retailers, no matter what POS system you use? With an average return on investment of 98x, it’s no wonder why multi-channel retailers choose Marsello to run their marketing and deliver a seamless omnichannel customer experience that gets results.

     

      • Made for Shopify Plus retailers – Marsello integrates seamlessly across your in-store and online sales platforms to provide a true omnichannel customer experience.
      • Data-driven marketing – Using your customer data, Marsello allows you to deliver targeted and timely marketing that saves you time and gets results.
      • All-in-one marketing platform – Send email and SMS campaigns, use templated designs to simplify your marketing, automate timely communications, collect customer feedback and acquire new customers with referrals, customize and brand a loyalty program to suit your business; Marsello offers all the tools you need to master retail marketing.  

    •  

    “Omnichannel retail is customer-centric – driven by the way that modern consumers want to shop. Customers research products to inform their purchase decisions. When they feel fully informed, they are able to make emotion-based decisions confidently and, finally, complete a purchase that they know they’ll love – even for transactional purchases. Making the most of your marketing channels means you’re able to inform and excite your customers and shoppers just like them, no matter where or how they like to shop.”

    – Brent Spicer, CEO at Marsello

     

     

    2.   Endear_logo_dark


    Endear is the first and only clienteling app certified for Shopify Plus merchants. Its CRM and messaging platform is made especially for retail sales teams and tracks how messages convert into sales, both in-store and online. Endear empowers retail teams to engage customers over remote channels like email and text while the app takes care of measuring how outreach is performing, including data points like average order value, location of last purchase, and time to convert.

      • Unified messaging – Now every message your team sends on your brand’s behalf is all in one place. Whether sent 1-to-1 or 1-to-many, your customers will never know the difference.
      • CRM – Segment customers based on their behavior in-store and online using filters like product purchased, total spend, zip code, and AOV.
      • Lookbooks – Create and send curated product recommendations right from the app to shorten a customer’s path to purchase. Plus, Endear integrates with your POS so you’re never recommending items that are out of stock.
      • Analytics – Keep your team motivated and see exactly who and what is driving sales each month.
      • Endear everywhere – Cloud-based and available on iOS mobile devices, you can take Endear’s capabilities anywhere and reply to customers anytime.
      • 1-click integration – Shopify Plus merchants can enjoy easy, one-step installation through endearhq.com or the Shopify app store to enjoy a real-time feed of customer data and order history.

    As the digital space gets more competitive and privacy laws more stringent, now is the time for brands to focus on extending lifetime value of the customers they acquire; the best way to do that is through a high-touch, seamless omnichannel experience.

    – Leigh Sevin, Co-founder

     

     

    3.   logo-dor-red


    Dor's first-of-its-kind, battery-powered thermal people counter counts the heat signatures of store visitors and is supported by its proprietary machine learning algorithms to maintain and increase the accuracy rates. Dor’s sensor is a peel-and-stick solution that uses a cellular connection which makes it easy and secure to install for both independent and enterprise retailers. Dor customers can see their store’s peak hours and optimize their staff scheduling, integrate Dor into their POS systems and see the conversion rates of their customers and measure their marketing effectiveness by attributing the foot traffic data to their marketing campaigns. 

     

      • Peel and stick thermal sensors over any door and start counting your foot traffic right away. 

      • One-click integration with your POS allows you to view revenue, foot traffic, and conversion rate all in one place. 

      • Dor uses a cellular network – no WiFi is required in your space. 

      • View and compare foot traffic trends in every store you manage, at any time, from any device. 

      • Avoid downtime with the proactive support from your dedicated customer success manager 

      • Export data via CSV or connect additional tools via API for infinite applications.


    “According to shopping behavior research by the Harvard Business Review, 73% of the participants used multiple touchpoints, including the online channels and physical stores, during their shopping journey. This shows us that omnichannel retail is already an essential part of the buying journey. Retailers have to support purchasing trends with other data points such as foot traffic, peak hours, and conversion rates to understand their customers’ needs inside and out, then improve their channels accordingly.

    – Michael Brand, CEO at Dor

     

     

    4.   plobalapps-logo-2


    Plobal Apps’ Shopify Plus offering gives retailers the tools to create their own stand-out, fully customizable mobile apps. Improve customer experience with on-brand, UX-driven mobile channels that help you to deliver a unique brand experience, easy-to-use checkout, and personalized engagement with Plobal.

     

      • In-app campaigns establish seamless customer experience – Run advanced, personalized in-app marketing campaigns and push notifications to drive installs and increase sales.
      • Social media connectivity – connect your app to social media to target new marketplaces and grow your community.
      • Build customer loyalty – offer exclusive and exciting in-app discounts specific to that app channel and selected products.
      • Omnichannel integration – integrate your app with multiple other platforms and Shopify Plus partner apps to create the ultimate toolkit.

     

     

    5.  shippo


    Shipping fulfillment has cemented itself as an essential part of customer experience. With the ability to compare rates and ETAs across 58+ global carriers, Shippo gives Shopify Plus retailers the ability to send their products worldwide without the stress of customs mishaps or misplaced packages. With end-to-end tracking, both the retailer and customer can rest easy knowing that orders are exactly where they need to be. Shippo’s features include:


      • Carrier rate comparisons – save money by comparing which carrier offers the best value delivery within the customer’s shipping region.
      • Sync across sales channels – no matter where you sell, sync your customers’ orders with tracking information so the customer can stay informed at every step of the way.
      • Automatic and CSV upload label creation – automate the shipping label creation process or generate labels from CSV imports.
      • Create a seamless returns framework – improve customer experience with hassle-free returns they trust.
      • Ship globally – international shipping is made easier with pre-filled customs forms.

     

     

    Final words

     

    An essential part of mastering omnichannel commerce is finding the tools that work best to make your business run smoothly – from marketing and customer engagement, to order fulfillment, your store should run like a well-oiled machine no matter which channel your customers chose to shop from. The above apps will help you to do just that by providing valuable data, insights, and processes that will improve your customer touchpoints and brand experience.

    What apps are you using to bridge the gaps between your sales channels? What tools have become essential to your business success and continued growth? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!

    Boost your leads using diverse cross-platform marketing

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    Learn how to make the most of your sales channels and marketing platforms by first understanding which platforms will perform best for your business.

     

    Cross-platform marketing is becoming an essential part of any marketing strategy as customers become more diverse and move between more platforms as part of their buyer journey. Understanding how to make the most of this approach will allow you to have more positive engagements with your customers, leading to a higher rate of return.

    There are certain challenges to be aware of when it comes to starting out in cross-platform marketing. However, there are also specific benefits that you aren’t able to achieve through more static, siloed approaches. Understanding both of these will help you develop effective strategies that help you create more enjoyable interactions for your customers.

     

    What is cross-platform marketing?


    Marsello_atlas_cross_platform_Marketing_internal_3


    Cross-platform marketing creates an integrated experience for your customers. They are able to move between platforms such as your social media, eCommerce website, marketplaces, and physical stores during their research and purchase process. Information is maintained and integrated as they move, providing a tailored experience that feels like one fluid representation of your brand.

    The key difference between this and multi-platform marketing is that the emphasis is on allowing customers to move seamlessly between platforms. With cross-platform marketing, the messaging is not statically held in silos, instead, it adapts to the needs of the customers. The customer, not the product, is the center of the marketing activities.

     

    What are the common challenges of cross-platform marketing


    Before you begin building a cross-platform marketing strategy, it’s important to understand the challenges that you’re likely to face. This can help you better prepare for them and still achieve success with your strategy.

    Cross-platform marketing is more complicated than single-platform marketing by its very nature. This means you need to spend more time considering how to reach the right users at the right time. With a huge array of platforms available, it can be hard to predict where customers are going to be and when. You will need to learn how your ideal customers use your key platforms and use this information to inform your marketing strategy. . What works well as a television commercial won’t necessarily translate into a TikTok video.

    In the digital age, there seem to be endless amounts of data to process. However, the quality of this data isn’t always as high as marketers would like. Without a cross-channel marketing platform to bring all of this data into one place, it can be challenging to integrate it well. This also influences knowing the right channels to advertise on.

    With cross-platform marketing, attribution can become more tricky. As the customer moves between multiple platforms, it is difficult to define which tactic was responsible for the sale. A more holistic view of attribution must be used, knowing that all tactics contribute towards sales.

     

    7 cross-platform marketing tips to help boost leads

     


    Marsello_atlas_cross_platform_Marketing


    Often,
    the hardest part of creating a marketing strategy is knowing where to start. Your cross-platform marketing strategy will go a long way by understanding your customers and where they will engage with your brand most. Read our 7 tips to get a good grasp of how to implement a really solid strategy.

     

    1. Make use of buyer personas


    By building buyer personas, you’re able to better understand your potential and existing customers. Using real data and insights, you can better understand what segments of your market are motivated by and interested in. This flows through into the content you create and the platforms you show up on.

    To create a buyer persona begin with gathering data on the types of people you want to include. Again, this should include existing as well as potential customers. As you bring all of this together, look for commonalities. This includes demographics, purchasing behavior, ways of consuming content, and preferred platforms. A great way to get started is to couple your analytics data and paid advertising to create demographic-based segments from your current customers and create look-a-like audiences, refining your ad group segments as you iterate. You can assume these customers are more likely to convert than more generalized ad groups because they have similar ‘attributes’ to your current customers.

     

    2. Use platforms that resonate with your users


    There is an ever-growing list of platforms that you can use to market to your customers. Understanding which of these your target markets are using ensures that you’re selecting the correct cross-channel marketing platforms. These include email marketing, SMS, your website, social media channels, news or information websites, and more.

    When building your buyer personas, consider platform selection as part of this process. This will allow you to build customer journeys that move across the right platforms for the right customers in a way that feels natural and fluid. You can then also create content that is platform-specific and relevant.

     

    3. Use a single platform to analyze all your data

     

    Flatlay of a laptop and open notebook with a cellphone showing graphs and a pen and pencil laying on a bright yellow background

    When creating content and customer journey’s that move across multiple platforms, there can be vast amounts of interrelated data to report. Although you can’t attribute sales to a single platform or interaction, you want to be able to see all of the interactions that lead up to a sale.

    This is why using a single platform to analyze your cross-channel marketing data can simplify your reporting. Having one source of truth that can track your customers between platforms and through the entire journey makes reporting more accurate. Marsello’s integrated platform can help monitor the entire customer experience.


    4. Create content for users at every stage of the buyer journey


    Depending on where they are in the buyer journey, your customers are looking for different types of content. When mapping out a content strategy, it needs to align with your customer journeys. Your content could be designed to inspire, educate or differentiate; at the end of the day, it needs to be created with your customer in mind – giving them both what they need, while also directing them to interact with your content as you intended.

    Your content strategy should include the three key stages of the journey – awareness, consideration, and decision. Begin by looking at the gaps in your current content and where you could supply more information that would help trigger purchase. This could include email marketing that drips features to help build up a detailed picture of your products. Customers may need step-by-step instructions or videos showing novel user cases (depending on what your product offering is). Your content should educate and delight; it should keep your customers engaged and encourage them to delve deeper into your product offering.

     

    5. Explore the benefits of social media

     


    Social media icons displayed on an iPhone being viewed by someone sat at a table with a cup of coffee

    Social media channels have many benefits. They allow you to use visuals to educate and inspire your audience. It also allows for two-way communication, creating a personalized experience for your customers. Websites, print media or television only allow for you to communicate outwardly to your audience. Social media allows you to engage with your audience conversationally, increasing customer engagement and strengthening customer relationships.

    Cross-media marketing doesn’t mean that you need to show up on all platforms. Instead, find channels that work well together and are used by your buyer persona and ideal customer profile. Then you can invest the resources in creating channel-specific content rather than attempting to be everywhere and not performing well on any channels.

     

    6. Use data generated to make favorable business decisions


    By showing up in multiple channels for your customers, you are able to gather better data to help with your decision-making process. It will help to finesse your buyer personas with detailed customer behavior data such as platforms used and effective messaging. You’re better able to identify trends and patterns as they emerge.

    This data allows you to contextualize your audience’s preferences and decisions. Data-driven decision-making naturally builds on this as you are able to point to key metrics to help influence future campaigns. Each campaign then becomes the opportunity to test and further refine your data.

     

    7. Use a cross-channel marketing platform


    Marsellos in-app insights page showing retailers data and revenue results
    Using a cross-channel marketing platform allows you to work more efficiently and effectively track data across platforms. Marsello’s omnichannel approach integrates with your other platforms to create a seamless customer experience. You can track customers throughout channels as well as creating platform-specific campaign content.

    For example, it allows you to monitor who has engaged with a specific email marketing campaign. You can then follow up with SMS outreach to increase your success rate. Alternatively, you can automatically resend campaigns to those who haven’t opened or engaged with adjustments to better understand what your audience responds to and to increase open rates.

    My Sisters Closets 24 Hour Event email campaign.

     


    My Sister’s Closet does a wonderful job of maximizing their multi-channel marketing for their buyer personas. Their marketing moves seamlessly from email campaigns, SMS marketing, loyalty programs, to social media and even podcasts. They create content that they know will delight their customers all while encouraging sales. With a tightly integrated tech stack that starts with Shopify Plus, Shopify POS and Marsello, the MSC team are able to make data-driven decisions based on their most engaged customers. In fact, My Sister’s Closet has seen an astounding 641% increase in marketing-related revenue since using Marsello to manage its marketing.

     

    Final words

    Cross-platform marketing helps you to boost your leads. It allows you to reach your customers at different times, in different places using different messaging that all ties together to complement your brand and improve customer experience. This means that your content can be more tailored and specific to each interaction and creates more enjoyable interactions for your customers.

    Using an omnichannel platform like Marsello can help streamline this process. By integrating with your POS and eCommerce platforms, customers are accurately tracked throughout their entire journey. You can then better attribute sales to your specific marketing campaigns and interactions, giving you data that you can trust to further refine your marketing.

     

    Start omnichannel marketing

     

    Improve retail customer engagement with these 7 marketing touchpoints

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    How do you ensure your customers‘ experiences are enjoyable, memorable, & seamless across all your stores? Short answer: marketing touchpoints.

    A customer hands a card to a shop cashier to pay for goods


    Retail customer engagement is described as the emotional connection between a customer and a brand. The more you nurture the relationship outside of the financial transaction, the more you will gain trust, loyalty, and repeat customers. 

    You probably already understand the importance of customer engagement, but how do you start implementing it? How do you create a retail experience that is enjoyable, memorable, and seamless between your in-person and online stores? 

    The answer is marketing touchpoints.

    In this blog post, we will explain the role of multiple touchpoints in the customer journey. Using examples of customer engagement, we provide tangible advice for you to start implementing changes to improve retail sales and increase customer loyalty.

    Quick links:

    Marketing touchpoints’ role in the customer journey

    7 marketing touchpoints to improve retail customer engagement

    1. Engage customers with an in-store mobile experience
    2. Build a strong omnichannel strategy
    3. Identify your customers’ behavior
    4. Use live chat support to enhance a retail customer experience
    5. Leverage technologies like AI and AR for in-store customer service
    6. Combine your customers online and offline customer behaviors
    7. Run a customer loyalty program
    Final Words

    a person uses a blue bank card to shop online

     

    Marketing touchpoints’ role in the customer journey


    Marketing touchpoints are any moments or methods you use to connect with a customer. This is both in-person and online and can be automated with the help of AI technology or personal customer service.
     

    Increasing the number of positive interactions with customers is crucial for retail engagement. Increasing sales is not just about the checkout process: consumers want retail experiences. Did you know that 49% of customers claim to have made impulse purchases after a personalized experience, and 86% of buyers are more likely to spend more with great customer experiences (Segment Survey)? 

    The marketing Rule of 7 states that consumers need to hear a message 7 times on average, however, you don’t always have to use direct advertising methods (i.e. telling people what is for sale and how much it costs) to be top of mind.

    a customer faces a smiling cashier in a physical store

     

    7 marketing touchpoints to improve retail customer engagement


    Customer engagement is the sum of multiple moments with your business.
     

    To scale your retail and online business, you are not just making sales. You are creating experiences through continuous customer engagement. That requires consistent touchpoints with your customers wherever they make a purchase. 

    Below are 7 ways you can naturally increase contact with your customers without just directly marketing to them or enticing them with discounts.


    1. Engage customers with an in-store mobile experience


    Online shopping and mobile access don’t have to be the competition for your in-person store. 78% of young adults use their mobile devices while shopping. You can use it to your advantage!
     

    Providing an in-store mobile experience can increase retail engagement by making it an interactive shopping experience. 

    For example, Sephora realized that customers were checking their phones for third-party reviews, prices, and recommendations. To increase their retail engagement with in-store mobile experiences, they created an app that gave customers reviews and comparisons without having to turn to Google. They also utilize AI to allow customers to try on products virtually by uploading selfies. 

    Some simple ways you can create an interactive in-store mobile experience include:

    • providing free Wi-Fi for customers 
    • offering a system where shoppers can choose the music in-store 
    • displaying QR codes that give customers more information on products, menus (for hospitality businesses), and discounts
    • creating unique hashtags for social media and encourage people to share their shopping experience 
    • creating or making use of an app that lets customers see reviews, products, and discounts.


    2. Build a strong omnichannel strategy


    An omnichannel marketing strategy is when you integrate both in-person and online retail seamlessly.
     

    An omnichannel retail strategy puts the customer actions and reactions at the center. It combines all marketing facets from eCommerce, email automations, website CTA’s, and targeted ads to in-store POS purchases and loyalty programs

    An omnichannel method ensures that visitors become customers and customers become repeat customers by automatically integrating targeted touchpoints at every step of the purchase. 

    Omnichannel marketing strategies include methods such as:

    • capturing customer data from your eCommerce and brick-and-mortar store to drive measurable growth from your marketing. 
    • making it easy for customers to move between online and in-person purchases through customer accounts. 
    • driving customer retention through loyalty programs and apps where customers can spend rewards through your POS and eCommerce store. 
    • sending targeted and intentionally timed email automations that are designed to encourage repeat purchases and triggered by your customers’ habits. 
    • reaching customers through multiple channels (e.g. email, SMS) with discount codes and targeted product recommendations.

    Smack Bang's loyalty program widget displaying program rewards on their website

    New Zealand-based pet care store, Smack Bang does this effortlessly with the help of Marsello loyalty programs. This clever loyalty program has a 100% customer engagement rate! Their app interface is on brand, shows customers their loyalty accrued points, and integrates with their in-store POS, Lightspeed Retail. This allows their customers to redeem rewards in their oh-so-cute boutique store in the city, or online for optimal convenience. 

    Marsello uses all of these strategies to help you increase sales, drive customer loyalty, and effortlessly integrate all of your marketing efforts into one single platform. No more losing customers when they leave your website, no more guessing where your marketing budget is spent, no more making up campaigns as you go!


    3. Identify your customers’ behavior


    Retail engagement is all about knowing your customers’ shopping habits. The customer is king, but the data you use to market to them is the crown. If you can individualize their retail customer experience with data-driven strategies, you both win.
     

    Marsello uses customer segmentation to automatically group your customers based on their behavior using RFM. This allows you to market directly to customers at various points in their purchasing journey, as well as exporting the segments into other tools such as social media. 

    Yucc's 2019 Black Friday campaign with customer segments highlighted.

    This highly effective marketing strategy can drastically increase sales. For example, Yuccs, a European brand behind sustainable and ultra-comfortable shoes, uses Marsello to segment their customers to optimize conversions. For Black Friday 2019, the Yuccs team sent targeted, personalized email campaigns based on each customers’ lead origin and brand interactions (e.g. a loyal customer would see a different message than a Facebook ad lead). This campaign resulted in a 38% revenue boost and continued to a 1057% increase in average weekly revenue

    If you are looking to add segmentation to your next campaign, this Guide to Customer Segmentation will help get you started.


    4. Use live chat support to enhance a retail customer experience


    Customer support will improve your retail engagement because it improves customer satisfaction.

    Customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) are a basic measurement of a customer’s overall satisfaction with a brand or product. 52% of consumers say they have made an additional purchase from a company after a positive customer service experience, so this needs to be an integral part of your customer engagement strategy. 

    Utilizing live chat technology on your website shows customers that they can get help easily if they need it. Research shows that customer satisfaction is increased by businesses that value customer’s time more than other satisfaction measures, such as price. Your customer support and average query resolution time matter!


    5. Leverage technologies like AI and AR for in-store customer service


    Improving your customer service doesn’t just mean more manpower in your store. Artificial intelligence in customer service is changing the way businesses can engage customers both online and in person.

    For example, stores like North Face help customers to find the perfect coat by asking them a series of questions about where they will be and what they will be doing. Other larger stores use apps and AI to help customers navigate the store and find items quickly (no more wandering up and down isles).

    Another example is setting up your omnichannel strategy to capture customer data and set up customer accounts in-store. This way they can access customer service and loyalty programs seamlessly.

    AI allows businesses to scale customer service without sacrificing the benefits of treating each customer as an individual. AI gives you the tools to individualize customer experiences (something that is rated highly by customers) while still being able to scale over time.

    A cellphone shows a customer using AR to try on a pair of AllBirds(source: allbirds)

    Augmented reality (AR) is also fast becoming a popular way for retailers to help themselves stand out while offering an outstanding customer experience. One retailer who knows a lot about ‘standing’ out is Allbirds. With a handful of brick-and-mortar stores and international lockdowns keeping customers house-bound, the celebrate eco footwear brand launched their standalone app, giving shoppers the opportunity to ‘try on’ Allbirds from the comfort of their own homes and get an idea of the shoes and colors they like best.

    While creating your own AR-powered app may not be on the cards for every retailer, the point is that Allbirds created a unique customer experience that ensures the company stands out while the customer’s experience is prioritized. What could you implement easily that would create world-class shopping experiences that will have your customers telling all their friends?


    6. Combine your customers online and offline customer behaviors


    Although online shopping options are increasingly in demand, in-person shopping isn't going anywhere yet. That’s why it is so important to have a strategy that combines data from physical and digital consumer behavior if you have both in your business. This can be simple with CRM software that captures their details in-store and online.
     

    For example, if someone abandons their cart in your online store, automatically tracking their behavior might look like emailing them a discount code, which then triggers a Facebook ad sequence for your local store where they can see the product in person. 

    Another example is customer loyalty programs that allow shoppers to interact with your business in person and online. Integrated systems (like Marsello) let you track customer behavior in person – as you would on your online store – so you can send perfectly timed emails, bonuses, and referral programs to improve retail sales.

    This is the power of using omnichannel marketing to stay top of mind!


    7. Run a customer loyalty program


    Want to turn customers into repeat customers? Customer loyalty programs are an effective way to increase marketing touchpoints and engagement.
     

    Loyalty programs can be extremely effective for increasing sales because they give customers a reason to keep purchasing from you specifically. 

    Some examples of customer loyalty programs you can integrate are:

    • Reward points whether they shop online or in-person that can be redeemed virtually or in-store 
    • Reward spend thresholds with things like free shipping, discounts, and exclusive products 
    • Enable automated emails triggered to send immediately after they purchase to let them know they have won rewards or won VIP status 
    • Encouraging and rewarding them for sharing on social media 
    • Creating a VIP program that rewards higher purchases and loyalty 
    • Start a referral program that lets people who are already fans do the marketing for you (and reward them, even more, when someone purchases!).

    caroline lifestyle's loyalty widget that gives website users details on loyalty rewards

    Fashion brand Carolina Lifestyle offers customers an incredibly generous loyalty program that has consistently high engagement rates. Using Marsello, their loyalty program has generated $1.6million AUD for the label, has customers returning every two months to purchase on average, and their loyalty points have a 93% redemption rate.

    Improving customer loyalty increases other KPIs such as retention, customer satisfaction scores, net promoter scores, and higher purchase amounts. Cha-ching! 

    The best part? None of this needs to give you headaches! Marsello lets you do all of this effortlessly for both your eCommerce platform and POS. To learn how to make the most out of your loyalty marketing, check out The Loyalty Marketing Guide: 8 Strategies for Gaining Customers for Life.

     

    Final words

    Retail customer engagement is the secret sauce to gaining customer loyalty and improving their experience with your brand. These integrated marketing touchpoints are the difference between making a single sale and letting customers get immersed in your retail world and keep coming back for more. 

    Looking for an easy way to integrate all of these marketing touchpoints and more? Marsello is the all-in-one marketing channel for eCommerce and in-store retailers!

     

    Start omnichannel marketing

     

    Building an omnichannel retail strategy with Firestone Digital

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    Marsello's Partnership's Manager sits down with Sam at Firestone Digital to chat about the future of omnichannel retailers and agency involvement.

    Marsello x Firestone Digital above the words Agency Partner Interview

    Firestone Digital is unique in the world of Shopify Agencies. Where most have built businesses around the bustling world of eCommerce, Samantha Firestone, Director of Firestone Digital, and her team have taken the view that the world's best retailers are those who have embraced an omnichannel strategy to grow their revenue, strengthen customer relationships, and future-proof their businesses.

    And Sam’s right. Research shows us that consumers are demanding a consistent customer experience no matter how they choose to shop. Meanwhile, retailers are increasingly looking for experts, like Sam, to identify the technology they need to deliver that experience.

    The way Sam sees it, retail is about more than margins and stock on hand.

    I believe that people like to buy from people, and the reality is many of our retailers sell similar products as their competitors. For my clients, it's important that the in-store experience creates a unique connection with the consumer and that the customer feels comfortable in-store. We extend that to our client's Shopify store, where it's critical that the feeling a customer gets online reflects the experience they get in-store.

     

    Developing a data-driven omnichannel strategy

    Behind the aesthetics of customer experience is the data, and this is where an Omnichannel strategy comes into its own. Having a marketable customer database is native to eCommerce, however, a true omnichannel strategy captures customer purchasing data wherever the customer chooses to shop – and this is what led Sam to Marsello. 

    Make no mistake about it; a customer database is the most valuable thing you can have as a retailer. Established customers are people who have already visited your store; they've already joined your community, they have already purchased from you – these are the people you want to sell to.”

    But without a solution to seamlessly capture instore purchasing the data, retailers are only seeing half of the picture: 

    This is what I love about Marsello! It integrates with Point-of-Sale so that the marketing activity we are running is driven by all purchasing behavior, both in-store and online.

    sam_firestone_digital_quote_blog

    Creating a go-to tech stack

    We all have our favorite ‘go-tos’. Firestone Digital's 'essential’ technology recommendations are chosen to support a retail strategy that they know works. 

    I always have a recommended tech stack. The truth is my clients want advice; they want someone else to do the hard work to find out what's out there! We always recommend Shopify for eCommerce, Lightspeed for POS, and Marsello for marketing. We also have a suite of products we add to the mix as needed. It's important to us that we have a relationship with the apps we recommend. This means we know the developers, we work closely with them, and we trust them to support our clients as well as we do.

    One of Sam’s clients, Frankie Say Relax, launched with Marsello at the beginning of June this year with Firestone’s tech stack (including Marsello). By using a combination of automation, targeted one-off email campaigns, SMS and by launching their loyalty program, Frankie Say Relax has grown their marketable database by 10% and has generated 45x ROI on their Marsello subscription.

     

    Final words: building an agency partner network

    Marsello is growing, and having recently been included in the Shopify Plus Certified App partner program, we are looking for leading Shopify agency partners like Firestone Digital. We look forward to working alongside more and more Shopify agency partners to bring powerful, measurable marketing technology to the world's omnichannel retailers. 

     

    Work with Marsello

    How to develop a retail email marketing strategy – 7 do’s & don’ts

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    Navigate retail email marketing for yourself with our 7 dos and don't to combat simple mistakes that often occur in email marketing strategies.

    7_tips_atlas_blog_marsello_banner

     

    It’s common knowledge that your retail email marketing strategy should help to grow your business by helping you maintain regular contact with your customers. Rather than waiting for them to come to you, you can reach out to them to encourage a wide variety of interactions, from making a purchase to referring other customers to your store.  

     

    Your marketing strategy should include a collection of one-off, automated, and follow-up emails. As you begin to build out these strategies, it’s important to be aware of some of the essential ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of email marketing. This will help ensure you create email content that drives customers back to your store, converts them, and keeps them coming back time and time again.

     

    Quick links:

    1. What is retail email marketing
    2. Why is a retail email marketing strategy a must for business growth
    3. 7 Do’s for a successful email marketing strategy
    4. 7 Don’ts for a successful email marketing strategy

     

    What is retail email marketing

     

    Retail email marketing begins with gathering email addresses from both current customers and leads, be that at the checkout or through initiatives like advertising campaigns. From here, you can start fleshing out captivating campaigns designed to excite and entice email recipients whilst also driving the goal you initially set for the campaign

     

    Think of email marketing as a singular channel that can be used to contact customers in a variety of different ways with unlimited success criteria. Emails are flexible too. They can be produced on a schedule, such as monthly or weekly, or just whenever you have new content to share with customers. Or they may be produced on an ad-hoc basis when there is news to share, like a product launch. They can be tied to other campaigns, like SMS or social media. But there are a few things to consider when developing your email strategy.

     

     

    Why is a retail email marketing strategy a must for business growth

     

    A retail marketing strategy can help you achieve multiple goals. With your existing customers, you can:

    • Stay front-of-mind with reminders, which is especially important if there is a long time between purchases,
    • Communicate and build excitement for promotions with teases, early-access and exclusive offers,
    • Strengthen customer relationships by maintaining customer engagement,
    • Send timely reminders to encourage repeat purchases, based on past purchase details,
    • Encourage customer referrals through incentives and reminders.

     

    With potential customers, you can: 

    • Promote your brand story and build trust by sharing more about your business,
    • Help leads understand the variety of products you offer and what solutions you can offer them,
    • Nurture new customers as they move through awareness, consideration, and onto decision,
    • Offer updates such as product releases or new menus that could excite them.

    Consistent communication is especially important for products that require some research or a long lead time.

     

     

    7 Do’s for a successful email marketing strategy

     

    A mac laptop sits open with gmail loading on the screen

     

    When building email into your retail marketing strategy, there are several actions you can take to ensure it’s a success. The first for these begins with how you grab your audience’s attention. Then, ensure your content is action-driven, concise, and easily digestible. Finally, make sure you’re reaching the right people, and creating an outstanding customer experience ensures ongoing engagement.

     

    1. Have a great subject line


    Subject lines can make or break the impact of your email marketing campaign. Those few words have to convey to your audience enough to make them want to open your email and read more. A great way to improve your open rate is to use personalization. Adding a customer’s name to your retail email subject line makes them 26% more likely to be opened. This can easily be achieved by adding a merge tag to your subject line or email content.

     

    Once you’ve decided on a few different options to use for your subject line, it’s a great idea to use A/B testing. This allows you to get back real data on what your audience responds positively to.

     

    2. Use an official email ID 


    You’re a professional business and want to come across as such to your customers. Using a generic, free email address that ends in something like @gmail.com or @outlook.com will not tell your customers that you are an established business. Instead, using an email address that ends in your business name will convey to your customers that you are legitimate.

     

    For example, we use xxx@marsello.com for our email marketing; this means when our customers see it in their inbox, they’ll know exactly who it’s from and what it’s about and helps to build trust in emails from ‘@marsello.com’ accounts.. You can use services like Google, Outlook or Squarespace to get official email addresses for your business.

     

    3. Experiment with different CTA’s

     

    7_tips_atlas_blog_marsello_image_8


    Your call-to-action is another place where using A/B testing will help you to manage your content and improve your results. Your audience may like buttons that prompt them to “Buy Now!”, or they may need more information first and prefer an invitation to “Learn More Here”. A/B testing gives you data on what is going to drive the best results with your specific audience.

     

    You can also test out different creative options. Alternate featured products, imagery, color themes, and button placement can all provide valuable data. You can then review click-through rates if you’re looking to raise brand awareness. Or, if you’re looking to drive purchases, look to see which emails resulted in the most purchases to further refine future emails.

     

    4. Keep your message concise and to the point


    Your audience is busy. They want you to get to the point. Whatever you’re emailing about, whether it’s a new product or a sale, let them know upfront. In journalism, this approach is about not burying the lead. Think in the same way. Tell your audience what you want them to know in the opening of your email.

     

    One way to do this, especially relevant for newsletter-style retail emails, is to give an overview at the top. Let them know what’s further down the email so they can skip to the parts that are interesting to them. This means they won’t miss out on important information and you’re also respecting their time.

     

    5. Create content aligned to your content marketing strategy

     

    3 people work from an open laptop, selecting colour images


    Email marketing for retailers is more than just creating emails. You need to also consider where you’re sending your customers and what other information will support them on their purchase journey. Creating content provides more ways for your customers to interact with your business and products.

     

    There are various types of content you can create. You can undertake photoshoots, create video content, start a podcast or write blog posts. This content can then be shared across social media, your website, and in your emails. It can show your customers more ways to use or wear your products, care instructions, or behind the scenes of the production.


    6. Create a targeted email list

     

    Using targeted marketing lists ensures you are getting the right messages to the right customers, at the right time. Personalization goes beyond just adding a customer’s name. It also means sending relevant information. This could be abandoned cart notifications, when new products are launched or when specific products go on sale. Whatever is right for each customer segment.

     

    Segmenting your list leads to an increase in your open rate. Your audience will know that when they receive an email from you, it’s relevant and worth opening. This makes them more likely to click on links and to complete purchases. Marketers have found segmenting your audience can increase your email revenue by 760%.

     

    7. Create a great user experience


    Your overall retail user experience needs to extend to your email marketing. Begin by not overloading your recipients with information or options. Trying to take on board too much will only overwhelm your customers and lead to them not taking any action at all. You have 11 seconds to convey your story to your customers. Use it wisely.

     

    Also, take into account Hick’s Way. It states that the more options there are, the slower we are to make a decision. And the more likely we are to not decide at all. Think about which choice you’d make faster: between chocolate or vanilla ice cream or between 100 flavors. Using only a single call-to-action throughout your email will help keep your customers focused and not lose them to decision fatigue.

     

     

    7 Don’ts for a successful email marketing strategy

     

    A phone with a mostly blank screen with just inbox in the top left corner

     

    Now that we’ve covered what you need to make sure you have done, let’s cover off what you need to make sure you’re not doing. Negative customer experiences can quickly undo any good work you’ve done. 

     

    1. Send overly promotional emails


    The overly hard sell rarely works. Your customers, and potential customers, don’t want to feel like you’re constantly in their inbox pushing your products. Instead, you want to show up, offer advice, provide information, and ensure your customers think of you when they’re ready to purchase.

     

    When writing your emails, check and see that there is value for your customers in each one. It could be information on expiring loyalty points, new season launches, or upcoming events. It could also include discounts but the value of the email doesn’t have a monetary value. Find various ways to provide value to your customers to ensure they continue to open your emails.

     

    2. Not optimizing emails for all devices

     

    A hand scrolls between using a tablet and iphone. A cup of coffee also sits at the top of the frame

     

    When you are designing your emails, you’re likely to be doing it on a desktop. However, when your customers read them it’s likely to be on mobile. Ensuring each email is optimized for mobile devices ensures your customers can read them easily and that the design is intact.

     

    The key elements to look for when optimizing your emails are images and layout. Large images can be slow to load on mobile devices. Some people will also have images turned off to reduce data usage. Ensure your images are small and that your email still makes sense without them. This can mean making sure they don’t contain essential text. Also, review your layout on a smaller screen to see how it is adjusted. Make sure images and text are in the right order and text isn’t cut off.

     

    3. Purchasing an email list


    Privacy and personal data should always be taken seriously. It might seem like a good idea to purchase an email list. You can reach additional people you wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. You can grow your audience and turn more people into customers. However, there are severe downsides to purchasing an email list.

     

    Because these people have not given you permission to email them, they may mark your emails as junk or spam. Then email providers are likely to start marking all future emails as spam. This can prevent you from emailing customers who have signed up to hear from you. If you’re considering purchasing a list, our advice is don’t.

     

    4. Not adding an option to unsubscribe


    Customers want to feel in control of their email inboxes. Being able to pick who they are receiving emails from is an important part of this. Just because someone no longer wants to receive your emails doesn’t mean that they are no longer a customer. They may be closing an email account or prefer to get updates on another platform.

     

    By creating an enjoyable, simple unsubscribe process you’re more likely to keep the customer. The button or link to unsubscribe should be easy to find within your email. Once clicked, take them to a branded page with options. It might be certain content that they don’t want to receive. Or you may be emailing them too often. Providing them with the ability to adjust their email settings may mean that they stay subscribed. 

     

    5. Not personalizing your email campaigns

     

    a woman uses a video conferencing software at an open-plan office space


    Adding personalizations to your emails is a great way to make them more engaging and relevant to each customer. This can be done at the level of market segments. If you sell a range, contact customers with specific products. This will increase the relevance of the emails and improve the customer experience. 

     

    Personalizations are also relevant at the customer level. Including the customer’s name in the subject line increases the likelihood of it being opened. Also sending abandoned cart or loyalty point expiry emails that are customer-specific helps to nurture your customer relationships.

     

    6. Manually creating every email


    You only have so much time to create and send emails. But you need to be using them to stay in regular contact with your customers. How to make this whole process more efficient? Templates and automation. First, work out what sort of emails you frequently send, then build simple templates that you can use for each type.

     

    Using a system like Marsello that allows you to automate your emails will save you time. You can build emails that will be sent based on certain triggers, ensuring that all messages get sent when they’re relevant. This can help encourage sales by prompting customers when they’re most likely to purchase.

     

    7. Overusing images in emails


    Images might make your email look pretty on a desktop, but what about on mobile? The majority of emails are opened on mobile devices. So two of the key ways to make your email campaign successful is to ensure your email makes sense without the images and loads quickly. 

     

    Data usage caps mean that some people will have images turned off on their emails. If there is key information in your image, your customers might not be able to understand your email without it. So make sure the email makes sense without any images. Also, ensure that any included are an appropriate size to decrease loading time. 

     

     

    Final Words

     

    When designing your retail email marketing strategy, there are a few simple tricks to ensure it is a success. Using an automation system like Marsello can help speed up the setup process. It will also ensure you are reaching your customers at the right time, which means not missing out on potential sales.

     

    Are you interested in building a successful email marketing strategy for your retail or eCommerce business? Request a demo from the Marsello team to see how you can create tailored, personalized emails to drive traffic and sales.

    ent here…

    Top 8 Omnichannel retail trends to look out for in 2021

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    Learn which omnichannel retail trends will continue to shape the online and in-store retail landscape in 2021 and beyond. Have you mastered these trends?

    Marsello_Blog_Atlas_Omnichannel_Trends_image_1

     

    Omnichannel retail trends will continue to shape the retail landscape in 2021. Consumers are continuing to demand exceptional customer experience, both online and in-store. It also includes the transition between the two. If there’s friction, you risk losing customers. Omnichannel marketing provides a seamless transition for your customers.


    So what do you need to be implementing in your business? After helping hundreds of businesses build successful omnichannel marketing plans, we can see the trends emerging. We know what is going to turn visitors into customers, increase customer loyalty and improve revenue. Here are the important trends to watch and how to implement them.

     

    Quick links:

    What is omnichannel retailing
    8 Omnichannel retail trends to follow in 2021
    Increased digital transformation
    Shopping-enabled social media experience
    Bridging the gap between the online and offline experience
    Contactless customer experience
    Increase in personalized shopping experience
    Wide use of digital payments
    Driving store traffic via mobile promotions and loyalty programs
    Increased use of AI and Machine learning
    Final words

     

     

    What is omnichannel retailing?

    Omnichannel retailing is a retail strategy that integrates all of your offline and digital channels. By taking a customer-centric approach, high-touch shopping experiences take place across multiple channels.

     

    For example, when retailers integrate these channels, customers can check inventory online before heading in-store to complete their purchases. This creates a positive customer experience which drives customer loyalty. And the more loyal your customers are, the more likely they are to become brand advocates.

     

    Omnichannel marketing ensures that customers receive a cohesive shopping experience. By creating a seamless experience between sales and marketing channels, you can build trust and brand engagement.

     

     

    8 Omnichannel retail trends to follow in 2021

    The major retail omnichannel trends that we are seeing are an increase in the rate and amount of change. Customers want to purchase in new places and in new ways, especially contactless methods. Personalization and loyalty are creating better customer experiences. These can be driven by machine learning and AI technologies. Here are the key trends to follow and embrace:

     

     

    1. Increased digital transformation

     

    A person writes in a notebook while working from a desktop computer

     

    Retail digital transformation has accelerated in the last year. Those that didn’t have a digital presence suddenly found that they needed to set up a website, ordering platform, or digital communications strategy. This trend will continue as businesses see benefits and customers continue to expect digital offerings.


    Your business needs to be set up for digital experiences. This way as shoppers transition across your different channels, their customer experience can be continually refined and improved. Processes that were once hastily set up can now be rethought and improved. By using data from existing customer experiences, you can tailor these processes to become exceptional.

     

     

    2. Shopping-enabled social media experience

    Social media has become a great way to show off your products, grow your audience, provide customer support and drive traffic to your website. While it’s still a powerful tool for enabling all of these things, it's also developed into so much more. Increasingly, businesses and ensure their social media channels are shopping enabled, meaning their customers don’t need to leave the platform they're browsing from to make a purchase.


    Social media retail is more seamless than taking them onto your website to complete the transaction. The more friction you can remove, the higher your conversion rate will be. You can even go one step further and, if it's in your marketing strategy, make the most of influencers by making their posts shoppable. All of this provides you with more data on which posts are driving the most sales while also improving the customer experience.

    Let's see this in action.

     

    Sustainable Tomorrow is an innovator of environmentally-friendly bamboo electric toothbrushes based in Ireland. They maximize the impact of their eCommerce store by making use of Shopify's Facebook integration, giving shoppers the ability to make a purchase straight from the company's Facebook page. 

     

    A women brushes her teeth with Sustainable Tomorrows toothbrush. A linked product tag floats overtop.

     

    By removing steps from the shopping process, Sustainable Tomorrow is able to elevate its customers' experience with the brand and hit the ground running with positive customer relationships. From here, it's much easier for the brand to nurture customer loyalty and maximize their customer lifetime value. We can't wait to see Sustainable Tomorrow's growth with their bamboo electric toothbrushes and other sustainability-focused products.

     

     

    3. Bridging the gap between the online and offline experience

    Augmented reality is a great way to blend online and offline experiences. It allows customers to view products to see how they’ll look in real life. You can use this for virtually trying on make-up, clothing, or shoes. Or allow customers to see how home furnishings or televisions will look in their space.


    Integrating mobile experiences into your retail store can help make the shopping process faster for customers. Large format or big-box retailers can help guide customers to the exact aisle where the product they’re looking for is located. Or utilize click-and-collect to speed up check-out processes.


    Let’s look at an example from a big player.

     

    AllBirds took the world by storm with their revolutionary wool sneakers – but for a long time, they were solely an eCommerce store. Even now, their brick-and-mortar stores aren’t available in every country that they ship to. So how can their customers get an idea of the product in action? How will it look on them and does it suit their style or needs? Recently, AllBirds released their own app which allows customers to try the sneakers on with AR technology.

     

    A phone rests on a green background with AllBird's AR technology in use on the screen.Source: AllBirds

     

    What did the multinational retailer have to say about the exceptional addition to their customers’ shopping experience?

    Shopify continues to be a very important partner, but as a vertical retailer, we understand the importance of providing unique, brand-aligned experiences for our customers,” an Allbirds rep told Retail Brew.

     

    4. Contactless customer experience

    The COVID-19 experience for many retailers has been tough. However, it has encouraged the adoption of some technological advances. Especially around contactless shopping and omnichannel retailing. This can range from paying via an app for in-store purchases to curbside pick-up.

     

    Setting up digital customer loyalty programs is a great way to implement a contactless customer experience in your business. Reducing the need for loyalty or stamp cards means one less physical interaction. It also allows you to improve your loyalty system with better tracking, segmentation, and data collection. This can help you with targeted marketing campaigns in the future.

     

     

    5. Increase in personalized shopping experience

    Understanding your customers and providing them with tailored messaging is becoming increasingly important. It’s also easy to implement with the right omnichannel marketing platform. Utilizing the data you collect from customers online and in-store allows you to reach out with relevant, timely information.


    Creating tailored messaging can mean reaching out with specific offers that you know are likely to trigger a purchase. Automation allows you to use triggers such as unredeemed discounts or loyalty points to make contact with valuable information. This personalized shopping experience makes customers more likely to engage with your SMS and email marketing.

     

    Let’s look at another augmented reality example to understand how AR can be used to create a personalized shopping experience – particularly in these post-pandemic times where travel is largely inaccessible but personal interaction is craved so deeply.

     

    Vivant Wines have gone above and beyond to create a customer experience that will leave any shopper buzzing. At-home, personalized wine tasting through a dedicated Vivant-created platform!

     

    Michael Baum, owner and creator at Vivant, was motivated to “recreate the magic of wine experiences without the carbon footprint of physical travel.” On creating the immersive experience, he said, “We have brought together an international team of wine educators, product designers, software engineers, and media producers to create a new platform where people can meet responsible winemakers around the world and taste their wines alongside expert wine advisors, wherever they are.”

     

    Marsello_Blog_Atlas_Omnichannel_Trends_image_3

    Source: Vivant Wines

     

    Customers purchase an ‘experience kit’ through Vivant's website, selecting a variety of wine tasters such as 'Food and Wine Pairings'. Each listing includes a summary of each wine they'll receive and details on when the next online tasting session will occur. They’re then able to join the dedicated immersive tasting experience, offered through Vivant’s platform. In these sessions, customers are introduced to knowledgeable industry professionals and educated on the wines they’re tasting. 

     

    While this kind of example isn’t necessarily accessible to every retailer, it’s thinking outside the box and engaging customers in a new and enthralling way we love! It doesn’t get much more personalized than this. And with a clear customer funnel and purchase intent, it’s easy for Vivant to re-engage these customers and nurture their loyalty.

     

     

    6. Wide use of digital payments

    Digital payments were on the rise long before 2020. But it is one of the online retail trends that has picked up the pace. Many customers are using Apple Wallet or AliPay to be able to shop without their cards. Also, peer-to-peer platforms like Venmo and cryptocurrencies are becoming more widely accepted.

     

    Customer demand is driving up the use of cashless alternatives. In 2017, the industry was worth $3 trillion. By the end of 2021, it’s estimated to be up to $6.6 trillion. Allowing your customers to pay how and when they want will increase sales.

     

     

    7. Driving store traffic via mobile promotions and loyalty programs 

    Omnichannel marketing also needs to include triggers to encourage purchase. Customer loyalty programs are a simple way to drive customers back in-store or online to repurchase. Automated triggers, rewards, and reminders put your program on autopilot so that you know you are reaching your customers at the right time.

     

    The-BCode-Points-Promotion-Campaign-Case-Study

     

    Using loyalty programs can help create buzz. bCODE, a brick-and-mortar destination for Skechers and Havaianas in Nigeria, did just this when they launched theirs. Utilizing a ‘double points’ campaign, they achieved a 20% open rate and a 94% increase in customer’s average loyalty points spent.

     

     

    8. Increased use of AI and Machine learning

    Machine learning and AI are allowing retailers to provide better personalization. By better understanding your customers, what they like, and what they need, you can provide them with tailored marketing. This enhances the overall customer experience, which leads to higher customer lifetime value.

     

    Marsello-Email-Campaigns-Black-Friday-Yuccs

     

    Yuccs, a sustainable and ultra-comfortable shoe brand, uses this approach to create powerful email marketing campaigns designed to engage different customer segments and increase conversions. For example, in 2019 they segmented clients based on multiple factors - lead origin as well as their existing interactions and purchases. This level of customer understanding and personalization saw a 38% revenue boost.

     

     

    Final words

    Omnichannel retail trends will continue to have an impact across the sector in 2021. Adopting these in your business can drive more traffic to your store or website. They can initiate sales, improve loyalty and increase customer lifetime value.

     

    Understanding which of these options will work best for your business can be challenging. The team at Marsello can help you design and implement an omnichannel marketing strategy that is right for you. Get in touch with the team today to request a free demo.

    What is marketing automation & how can retailers take advantage of it?

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    Marketing automation is arguably one of the most essential secret weapons in an omnichannel retailer's arsenal... but how do you know you're doing it well?

    Birds-eye shot of feminine hands holding a tablet and scrolling through images. House plants sit on the table around the hands.

     

     

    With marketing automation, you can reach the right customers at the right time with the right information to drive sales. Whether you have retail stores, an eCommerce site, or both, automated marketing can help build and maintain effective marketing systems.


    Once turned set up, automated marketing systems can help you stay in regular contact with your customers while building customer loyalty with data-driven content such as product recommendations. With frequent contact designed to foster customer loyalty, retailers can actively drive customers back in-store or online (known as customer retention) with minimal ongoing effort.

     

    Essentially, automated marketing is the curated combination of strategic marketing and software, and a good automation system will allow you to stay front of mind with your customers while improving your relationship with them. And once it’s all set up, marketing automation software keeps running in the background as always-on marketing.

     

    Quick links

    1. What is marketing automation?
    2. How does marketing automation software work?
    3. The advantages of marketing automation for eCommerce businesses
    4. The advantages of marketing automation for brick-and-mortar stores
    5. Final words

     

    What is marketing automation

     

    Automation software allows you to send timely emails and SMS campaigns based on your customers’ behavior. ’Triggers’ are linked to specific behaviors or actions, like an initial purchase or an abandoned shopping cart– in turn, this automates a communication (email or SMS campaign) that includes targeted and action-relevant information designs to encourage a purchase.


    By understanding your customers and their ‘journey’ with your store from lead to loyal customer, you can set up automated campaigns that engage shoppers at any number of key moments. This could be when they are most likely to re-purchase or even recapturing them before they churn. With automated systems, this all happens automatically with the help of triggers, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to engage with your audience.

     

     

    How does marketing automation software work?

     

    Marketing automation works by following your customers through their journey and engaging with them at set key moments (triggers). The first key moment is after the customer’s initial purchase. Once completing their first purchase, shoppers have established a positive view of your business and are likely to buy additional items. You can use this information to reach out to these high-value customers and encourage them to shop with you again. Another effective time is when customers have placed items in an online cart but have not completed the purchase.


    The second phase of automation is the follow-up to these emails. If the emails have not encouraged your customers to initiate a purchase, you can send reminders and limited-time discounts to further prompt them to shop.

    Other key moments could include birthdays or anniversaries. Automated marketing doesn’t stop at obvious triggers too. With customer segmentation, the options for customer retention see massive expansion. For example, you could create an automated campaign that triggers when customers from your ‘best’ customer segment make a purchase, thanking them for making a purchase, encouraging them to share their experience on social media or in a review, and offering them an exclusive VIP discount for their ongoing loyalty. Or you could tailor your automated birthday flows so your best customers feel a little extra love on their special day by curating a birthday automation specific to that segment.

     

     

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    The advantages of marketing automation for eCommerce businesses

     

    1. Saves time while nurturing customer relationships

    eCommerce marketing automation will save your business so much time. Rather than using valuable and limited resources to build countless campaigns, you’re able to implement personalized, perfectly timed marketing that feels authentically engaging but also requires minimal upkeep.

     

    Personalization is an easy addition too. Most campaign builders use drag-and-drop modules or blocks to make building campaigns as straightforward as possible. Easily include personal details like merge tags (which automatically include the customer’s name) or recommended products (based on previous purchases) to improve the relevance and effectiveness of your marketing.

     

    Automated marketing also ensures your messages are timely; special offers for birthdays or follow-ups for unredeemed discounts send personalized campaigns as soon as the customer ‘enters the flow’ by completing the set trigger action. With eCommerce automated marketing, spending time checking on client data and then sending relevant emails is a thing of the past.

     

    2. Provides personalized experience

    Customers don’t want to receive marketing materials that aren’t relevant to them. It’s frustrating and may even decrease your open rates as customers lose interest or feel spammed. Instead, creating personalized marketing means that your customers are more likely to open your emails time and time again, engage with the content and complete a purchase (thereby increasing their loyalty).

    Simple examples include using your customers’ names in the subject line of your emails. You can also insert recent purchase information if asking for feedback or suggested products based on previous buying behavior.

    Another great example is including abandoned cart information to people to encourage customers to finalize their purchases. Ozzie Collectables do precisely this by using automated email flows to remind customers about the contents of their abandoned cart. Ozzie Collectable sends a total of three emails within this flow (if the customer hasn’t already gone back and finalized their purchase).

     

     

    Ozzie Collectables' cart recovery automated email flow with time delays shown.

     

    Ozzie Collectables have seen outstanding benefits from making the most of automated marketing. While seeing 214x ROI with their Marsello marketing, it’s automated email flows that have generated 38% of their total revenue. Read their success story and others like them.

     

    3. Advanced reporting helps decision making

    When do your customers want to hear from you? What kinds of emails drive a higher sales volume? Are there segments of your audience that just need a reminder, not a discount, to encourage purchases? Are your customers reading your emails and then heading in-store to purchase?

    Advanced reporting of your marketing automation can answer all these questions and more. It can help you better understand which pieces of content your audience is responding to. This can help you further refine and improve your marketing.

     

    4. Helps improve revenue

    Marketing and eCommerce automation is an easy way to increase average customer revenue with fast results. As well as improved loyalty, staying front-of-mind with your customers will also help increase the revenue you generate from each customer (also known as customer lifetime value).

    One way to do this is through discounts to price-sensitive customers. Discounts work best when they’re curated and not offered with a blanket approach – basically, you don’t want to offer all your customers a discount because some will buy your products at full price with just a simple nudge in that direction. Automation can be used to offer exclusive, limited-time discounts to customers who might need this extra incentive, and you can best find this customer data with the advanced reporting we mentioned above.

    Automated follow-ups and reminders can also drive purchases and revenue. These can be related to sales, loyalty points, or special offers. By excluding customers from your automated flows as soon as they complete a purchase or utilize an offer, you’re ensuring that customers only receive relevant marketing and that you don’t accidentally lose revenue with single customers receiving multiple discounts. But the best part? You’ll be able to build this exclusion into your email flow, making your reporting accurate and ongoing management of recipient lists hands-free.

     

    5. Improves customer experience and lifetime value

    Acquiring new customers can be expensive. In fact, it’s around 5x more expensive to acquire new customers than it is to keep existing customers. So rather than investing all your marketing spend into building new customer relationships, you are better off spending money to improve customer experience. This increases the customer lifetime value as their loyalty grows and customers stay with you, spending more over an extended timeframe.

     

    Marketing automation can provide a better experience for your customers by ensuring they are informed and engaged at every touchpoint. Whether it's an update to their loyalty point status or special offers, any information that will improve their interactions with your business are valuable assets to an automated marketing strategy.

     

    6. It helps marketing across multiple channels 

    Your customers are moving across the internet, from email to social to websites. Being able to automatically reach them across all these platforms can help reinforce messaging.

    Your audience will need to hear from you multiple times before taking action. Reaching them on different channels means that this doesn’t have to be done all in their email inbox and gives you the freedom to be a little creative with your different campaign touchpoints. Syncing the audiences you use for Facebook advertising with your marketing lists ensures coherent and consistent messaging across platforms. Just make sure that all of your marketing efforts feel seamless and recognizable, thereby adding to their customer experience.

     

     

    A woman sits in front of a bright window while editing images on her laptop.

     

     

    The advantages of marketing automation for brick-and-mortar stores

    1. It builds an effective workflow 

    Retail marketing automation can help you nurture your customers. With good segmentation and data, you can understand the warm leads that need a little prompting to come in-store, and you can create campaigns that update loyal customers who just want to know about new products that have landed so they can be first in line at your door.

    With automation, you can also learn which incentives and reminders help to bring customers in-store and which communications or content doesn’t work as well as expected. Results-focused experimentation will also help you tailor your automated promotions, time-sensitive emails, and directive prompts to best suit your audience. It's these insights that you can use to build workflows that are guaranteed to see the results that you’re hoping for – whether that's increased sales, improved loyalty, or just brand awareness.

     

    2. Helps build interaction with customers

    Building loyalty can be a crucial driver in retail success. You want to ensure your customers think of your store as the first port of call for your product offering. Customer loyalty can decide the fate of a retail store.

    Retail marketing automation combined with loyalty marketing, sales, customer experience, and data-driven triggers will help you develop your customer relationships. By keeping the conversation going throughout all channels (emails, SMS, social media, etc.) and touchpoints, you’re able to strengthen the customer’s connection to your business and improve their confidence that your store is the answer to their needs.

    Whether you’re creating complicated automations based on customer segments, their needs, and specific behavioral triggers, or you’re simply automating an “It’s on its way” shipping email, it’s the curated communication and dedication to improved customer experience that’s going to see results.

     

    3. It helps provide an incentive to loyal customers

    Incentivizes offer a powerful opportunity to draw customers in and increase engagement. It's simple really. By offering loyalty points, special products or events, or limited-time discounts, you encourage actions like purchases or the creation of loyalty profiles, which are trackable events and easy to follow up with more incentive-driven communications. It’s about ensuring your automations offer the right encouragement to the right customers at the right time, driving their behavior with perfectly planned messaging and CTAs.

    By using customer data you can track who your most loyal customers are and reward them. But improving customer loyalty isn’t just restricted to those customers who already love your brand. Don’t forget your at-risk or inactive customers. By analyzing your customer data, you can track those that need an incentive to repurchase to help develop their loyalty. Win-back campaigns are a powerful tool for encouraging customers back to your store when they haven’t shopped with you for a specific amount of time. If you know your average customer purchase frequency is around 10 days, you could set up an automated win-back email that triggers when customers haven’t shopped for 30 days, offering them a discount or reminding them of your fantastic product offering.

    Our Bralette Club does just that!

     

     

    A GIF-filled automated email flow from Our Bralette Club with product offerings and baby-pink themes

     

     

    With eye-catching graphics animated into scroll-stopping GIFs, data-driven product recommendations, undeniable discounts, and beautiful, recognizable branding, OBC has been able to re-engage at-risk customers, see open rates sky-rocket, and generate revenue that could have potentially been lost had they not made contact. 

     

    4. Increases feelings of ownership for customers

    Humans enjoy feeling a part of something bigger than themselves. We also often identify with the places we shop or the brands we purchase. Using personalization and segmentation can help you craft emails that create a sense of belonging in your customers.

    Building this sense of belonging, or ownership builds customer loyalty to your business. And as we’ve said, loyal customers spend more over time and are more likely to become brand ambassadors, recommending your products to others.

     

     

    Smack Bang's website loyalty widget with options for points earning overlaid on a background image of a pug.

     

    Pet product specialists, Smack Bang, know all about this. They’ve seen increased loyalty indicators results such as a 100% loyalty engagement rate, and a reward redemption rate of 38% but the results don’t stop there! Smack Bang knows all about the importance of timing and, during Wellington, NZ’s COVID-19 lockdown, they took the time to update the design of their loyalty widget. With a fresh new look and added incentives, they were able to ensure they stood out to customers both in-store and online, encouraging more sales while also maintaining their world-class loyalty engagement rate.

     

    5. Improved sales in retail

    Email marketing can drive traffic in-store and online by utilizing relevance and value. By reaching out to your customers at the right time, you’re more likely to bring them to your retail store. This relevance can be related to loyalty point promotions, special offers, or new product launches. Think of it like this: only make contact with your different customer groups when there is something relevant to them. This will increase your email marketing success from open, click, and engagement rates, to directly attributable revenue.

    Retail sales increase when you provide value to your customers throughout your campaigns. Just make sure to tailor the messaging to provide what each market segment perceives as valuable.

     

     

    Final words

     

    Marketing automation can help both retail and eCommerce marketing teams achieve sales and traffic. With systems designed to maintain contact with your customers, you can build loyalty and increase ROI. Automating these systems frees up your time and ensures contact is made at the right time.

    At the end of the day, you want personalized, timely marketing that excites your customers and improves their experience – but you want this to happen automatically. It’s about using your customer data to create a curated and specific experience that feels intentional to your customer, with minimal upkeep required from you after the initial set-up. Thankfully, if your marketing service provider has your back, the basics of these automations will be largely set up for you, and easy to add your own branded, personal touch. Learn more about Marsello automated campaigns and all our other features, reach out to our team through the chatbot, or book a demo.

    Marsello is officially a certified Shopify Plus App Partner

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    Marsello has been selected to join the Shopify Plus Certified App Partner Program. What does this new partnership mean for Marsello retailers?

    Woman using at IPad from behind a shop counter with purple and blue marsello brand colours bordering the image.

     

    The retail environment has changed rapidly in the last 18 months. The demand for responsive, powerful software has grown almost as rapidly as the eCommerce and retail industries themselves – and as a result, software providers also needed to evolve to ensure they meet the requirements of growing brands and enterprise retailers. 

     

    To meet the needs of these retailers, Shopify created Shopify Plus and its coveted Shopify Plus Certified App Partner program. Shopify Plus’ partner program is open to apps that are shoulder tapped because they have proven that they can meet the complex needs of larger retailers. To be specific, Shopify Plus Certified App Partners must offer retailers the highest “performance, security, privacy, and support” – in fact, of the 6000 or so apps on the Shopify Marketplace, only 60 are Shopify Plus certified. 


    We’re proud to announce that Marsello has been selected to join the Shopify Plus Certified App Partner Program and is the only certified marketing app that integrates both in-store and online whether a retailer uses Lightspeed POS, Shopify POS, or Window-based legacy software.

     

    Quicklinks:

    What sets Shopify Plus apart

     

    While Shopify has been a household name in the retail sphere for quite some time, Shopify Plus is home to the eCommerce and POS provider’s largest retailers. And it’s a non-negotiable that these enterprise-level businesses have confident access to apps that are proven to support their continued growth. 


    Shopify Plus provides high-growth retailers with solutions that help them develop and scale with confidence and ease. From (vastly) improved online traffic management and full eCommerce store customization capabilities, to multichannel integration, emphasis on user experience and site speed, and an approved app program (the Shopify Plus Certified App Program), Shopify Plus retailers are equipped with all the tools to see rapid and continued success.

     

     

    What is the Shopify Plus Certified Apps Program

     

    Shopify’s marketplace is bursting with apps that are all vying for retailers’ attention. While having plenty of options is a powerful position to be in, retailers don’t often have time to test all the available options and make a well-researched decision. This is especially true for big retailers who are beyond the stage of experimenting. As they cater to some of the biggest and best retailers, Shopify Plus needs to be able to provide these retailers with app recommendations that meet certain standards. This is where the Certified App Program comes into play.

    The Certified App Program essentially vets their best-performing Shopify partner apps within certain categories. We are proud to say Marsello has met Shopify Plus’ partnership requirements, offering Shopify Plus retailers the only true omnichannel marketing app.

     

     

    Marsello: the only retail marketing Shopify Plus App Partner that integrates in-store and online for retailers using Windows POS

     

    So what does Marsello offer Shopify Plus retailers? That’s easy! Marsello’s ability to integrate in-store and online means that Shopify Plus retailers can attribute each and every customer interaction to their marketing efforts, no matter where that interaction occurs.

    With last-touch attribution, industry-leading marketing tools (from email and SMS campaigns to loyalty marketing and automated flows), Marsello is built to help retailers big and small achieve great things with their marketing. In fact, Marsello retailers see an average of 98x return on investment!

     

     

    "The Shopify Plus Certified App program is designed to meet the advanced requirements of the world's fastest-growing brands," said Mark Bergen, VP Revenue. "We're happy to welcome Marsello to the program, bringing their insight and experience in Marketing Automation as well as Loyalty & Rewards to the Plus merchant community."

    How Marsello became a Shopify Plus certified partner

     

    Shopify Plus requires that any partner app that wishes to become certified must meet a baseline of the following requirements:

    • Support: 24/7 access to app partner support
    • Security and privacy: Trusted and secure information and data handling
    • Performance: Advanced app performance and integration standards.

    At the end of the day, Shopify Plus Certified App Partners must have a proven successful history of working with Shopify Plus retailers, while also ensuring the ability to continue this success with any other Shopify Plus merchants who may wish to use the app in the future. Marsello’s mission has always been to empower retailers to create stand-out marketing that supports their business at every step of the way, on every sales channel. Becoming a Shopify Plus Certified App Partner allows us to ensure we’re offering the highest quality product and experience while supporting all of our retailers to grow, scale, succeed and sell more!

     

     

    "The Shopify Plus Certified App program is designed to meet the advanced requirements of the world's fastest-growing brands," said Mark Bergen, VP Revenue. "Marsello's accreditation in becoming a Shopify Plus Certified App Partner is a testament to the hard work we've put into the partnership over the years. As the first New Zealand-based app to become a Shopify Plus partner, we are excited to play a part in helping omnichannel retailers scale their businesses." – Brent Spicer, CEO at Marsello

     

     

    Marsello x Shopify Plus retailers making the most of their marketing

     

    Let’s take a look at how some Shopify Plus retailers are already using Marsello to make the most of their marketing. 

     

     

    International swimwear sensation, Triangl, sees 5182x ROI with Marsello

    An email marketing campaign from Triangl overlaid on a photo of turquoise blue oceans.

     

     

    Triangl found international success selling a color-blocked neoprene bikini that took beaches worldwide by storm. From celebrity endorsements and rapid growth to scaling beyond eCommerce and staying ahead of the fast-paced fashion world, Triangl needs total confidence in any tool they add to their kit, and consistency in their email marketing is no different.

     

    "The increase in our results was also driven by improving our Welcome Email Series where the content seeks to build community, encourage user-generated content, showcase new arrivals, engage customers in upcoming releases, and get involved in our Travels via the Blog."

     

     

    Triangl’s focus on consistency and customer experience has helped them to curate a loyal following of customers that love to engage with their content. And by integrating their email marketing with both their eCommerce and brick-and-mortar stores, the stand-out swimwear brand are making the most of every customer interaction. In fact, Triangl aren’t just seeing results, they’re seeing remarkable growth – 5182x return on investment with Marsello to be exact.

    Learn how Triangl uses Marsello to power email marketing that compliments their brand and delights their customers.

     

     

    Cosmetics & Fragrance Direct’s omnichannel marketing creates a consistent customer experience

     

    Marsello-Loyalty-Cosmetics-and-fragrance-direct-banner

     

    Cosmetics & Fragrance Direct, an Australian beauty stockist, are experts in curating ‘flow’ between their in-store experience and online stores. Recognizable branding and consistent messaging go a long way in customer experience. Cosmetics & Fragrance Direct knows this and has been careful to ensure that the customer experience of transitioning from in-store to online to engaging with marketing efforts feels seamless, effortless, and recognizable. 

     

    With Marsello, they can rest easy knowing that every customer interaction is accurately tracked and organized within their marketing funnel thanks to last-touch attribution reporting and seamless omnichannel integrating with their Shopify Plus eCommerce site and their Lightspeed POS sites. The TL;DR? Cosmetics & Fragrance Direct knows that their marketing goes out to the right customer, with the right message, at the right time because they have ensured that their marketing integrates with all their sales channels. And with 17x ROI just from their one-off email marketing campaigns alone, the team behind Cosmetics & Fragrance direct also knows that their marketing efforts are reaping the benefits.

     

    Read about Cosmetics & Fragrance Direct’s omnichannel marketing success.

     

     

    Final words 

     

    Marsello’s approval as a Shopify Plus Certified App Partner cements our continued commitment to retailer growth and development, as well as our dedication to our partnership with Shopify Plus. We continue to push the envelope for what retailers can expect from their marketing applications and we’re excited for what this certification means for our work with current Marsello retailers as well as future users. 

     

    Retail marketing is a fast-growing, fast-paced environment and we thrive on challenging ourselves to continually provide a platform that meets retailers’ primary marketing needs while also going above and beyond with customer service, experience, product development, and integration possibilities. We excitedly welcome the future of true omnichannel retail.

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