Launching and maintaining a loyalty program for your CBD store can jump-start your business.
By engaging regularly with people who already know and love your brand, you can increase word-of-mouth referrals, boost revenue and elevate your store’s presence with current and future clients alike.
But just how do you go about making a customer loyalty program that flies above those of your competitors?
Solidify your payments infrastructure
Without a secure and reliable way to accept funds from your in-person and online customers, your CBD shop cannot thrive.
Because of the nature of the products you sell, industry-related factors, extra regulations and a higher risk of business failure and customer chargebacks, all retailers in the CBD sector fall into the “high-risk business” category.
This means that ideally, you will need to partner with a company that can offer a merchant account for CBD retailers.
Although you cannot collaborate with conventional processing companies because of this high-risk designation, your relationship with a specialty provider, particularly one with expertise in the CBD sector, can be invaluable.
Yes, you will have to pay higher fees and may undergo additional scrutiny when applying. However, the heightened level of industry-specific assistance, security focus and customer service truly can be an asset for your business in a very competitive arena.
Personalize your loyalty program
Once you have partnered with the right CBD-friendly provider, talk with them about launching your loyalty program. Your focus should be to create one that has your unique customers’ needs and demands at the forefront.
If possible, sponsor an app that allows you to send personalized offers to members, updates them regularly and simultaneously – and with their permission – collects demographics and other data that you can use to refine the offers they receive even further.
Reward customers right away
With most conventional loyalty programs, it takes a while to reap any tangible benefits. Upend this convention by giving members an instant discount that can be redeemed on the day they sign up.
Base points on spending
Some programs give rewards according to the number of products purchased. A better idea is to motivate higher purchase amounts by rewarding points based on the dollar amount that a person spends.
Use your loyalty program to promote your brand
When a member reaches a particular milestone, the standard practice is to reward them with a free or discounted product.
Something that you will see less frequently occurs when a store dispenses branded items, such as baseball caps or T-shirts in recognition for attaining a spending benchmark.
The advantage of this strategy is that your loyal customer will instantly become a brand ambassador, literally wearing your logo on their body. What better way to get the word out about a store they love?
Create a tiered loyalty program as an added incentive
A great way to keep people engaged as members of your loyalty program is to adopt a tiered structure. With each rung that someone climbs, they can attain a more lucrative discount or prize.
Perhaps even more important, they will gradually feel closer to your brand as they become an ever more valued part of your ambassador team.
Personalize your milestone gifts
Your rewards program does not need to be one-size-fits-all. Make your most valued clients feel extra special by using your POS data to review their product preferences.
Then recognize their accomplishment by gifting them with the tincture or oil you already know they love.
Make signing up easy
Just as is the case with the checkout experience, your priority should be to make becoming a loyalty program member as fast and easy as possible. To that end, don’t ask for unnecessary details that take more of the customer’s time to submit.
If you really want this information, you can always obtain it later, encouraging submission by furnishing a small incentive in exchange for the added contact details.
Keep your staff in the loop
Regardless of how simple or complex your loyalty program may be, it is essential that your staff understand it in full. Vagueness or incorrect information can damage your brand, and may limit the effectiveness of this marketing strategy.
Finally, and this should go without saying, back up all sales initiatives with high-quality CBD products.
When you sell the gold standard of merchandise, you will provide constant proof to your best customers that their loyalty is well-placed, and their referrals are being made to a store that aligns with their preferences and priorities.
A CBD store with a loyalty program built on a strong foundation of industry-specific payment processing, creativity, staff participation and personalization has every chance of flourishing in this busy and potentially lucrative marketplace.
