In the world of business, customers are undeniably one of the most valuable assets a company possesses. They are the lifeblood that keeps a business thriving, and their importance becomes magnified during the fourth quarter (Q4). In this article, we'll delve into why nurturing customer loyalty and retention is paramount during this period and explore how gift cards can be leveraged to demonstrate customer appreciation, foster current and future customer loyalty, enhance customer service interactions, and drive year-end sales.
1. Show Sincere Customer Appreciation
For many corporations, Q4 typically falls at the end of the calendar year, so ensuring your end-of-year appreciation is unique from other vendors is important. The most important piece of customer appreciation is driving value for the recipient and the sender. Gift cards can provide a unique customer appreciation gift by:
- Providing a gift flexible enough to drive value with a diverse audience
- Making gift sizes adjustable to fit any budget
- Offering customers choice when they redeem the value of the gift.
The Engage2Reward™ Choice Card allows vendors to provide incredible flexibility to customers by giving a gift that allows the recipient to redeem the value of the card at over 250 different retailers for any eGift card of their choice through the Engage2Reward™ platform.
2. Promote Ongoing Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty translates into repeatable revenue. As your staff is working to close deals at the end of the year, it’s important to focus on the customer experience. Providing an exceptional experience now, including adding incentives and rewards to the Q4 customer journey, can drive future customer loyalty. Adding rewards to Q4 customer interactions and deals can:
- Give employees an opportunity to directly drive customer loyalty
- Offer an extra touch and personalization to a customer interaction
- Provide extra leverage to close a Q4 deal and maximize Q4 revenue
Customer rewards need to drive value in order to drive long term loyalty and build positive relationships. Gift cards, especially with the flexibility of the Engage2Reward™ Choice Card provide an opportunity for personalization and to drive value with the customer recipients by providing a gift they can use and that creates a memorable experience for the customer and their friends or family.
3. Enhance Customer Service Interactions
Customer service interactions are often dreaded by customers and can come to gain a bad reputation with long hold times, unhelpful customer service representatives and unresolved customer issues. However, customer service interactions don’t have to be this way.
Well trained service representatives can change a perennial negative into a positive customer interaction by bringing solution orientation and expedient service to customers. However, not every problem can be solved right away. Giving customer service reps additional tools, like gift card rewards, to use in particularly challenging situations can help to:
- Delight customers by creating a positive experience where a negative one was expected
- Drive loyalty by creating a holistic positive customer experience
Providing small incentives and rewards when a customer is inconvenienced can go a long way. They can have a direct impact on how the customer remembers interacting with your company and your employees, and have a big impact on customer loyalty and even revenue driven interactions (like contract negotiations) down the road.
4. Drive Year-End Sales
When anyone in business hears Q4, they automatically associate that phrase with driving year end sales. It doesn’t matter if you’re a salesperson or the person in the organization furthest from a sale. Driving year end sales takes everyone in the organization’s effort to be successful. Adding gift cards and other small incentives to Q4 deals can support propelling year end sales by:
- Pushing a fast close to any deal
- Smoothing over often intense negotiations
- Providing the salesperson with a tool to save a deal that may be slipping
Rewards, like gift cards, are powerful tools to drive desired behavior and getting customers to sign their next contract is no exception. Providing a small reward for signing a deal, especially at the time of year where many corporate gifts are being exchanged can be a great way to boost sales and bring any deal over the finish line before the end of the fiscal year.
Conclusion
Q4 is a critical time for any business. Finishing strong, while focusing on customer retention and loyalty strategies to boost sales for Q4 and beyond is a unique challenge. Keeping employees focused and providing the right resources, like gift card rewards, helps ensure they maximize the value they bring to their customers and their ability to hit the organizational goals can be the critical factor in closing your organization’s year strong.
Learn more about how Engage2Reward™ Choice Cards can boost your Q4 sales today!
