It seems like almost everyone has a reward program these days. What used to be a way to separate yourself from the competition has become more of a nuisance for customers. Heck you can’t buy a donut these days without someone trying to shove a reward program down your throat. If you buy 10 donuts, you get the 11th one free. Who cares? Can’t I just buy a donut? What started out as a great idea is a reason some businesses are losing customers right now.
Here are some things SHB Consultants is seeing with reward cards in general that just make them pointless at times.
- One more card to carry in your wallet/purse. Like the world needs more paper or plastic.
- Constantly being beat up at every store you go to with “Are you a member of our rewards program? Would you like to be?” Not only do they ask this question once but many ask multiple times. It borders on harassment. Can’t I just buy something and then the clerk thank me for my business?
- Having to pay money to be a member of your rewards program so I can now be called a valued customer. That makes no sense. If I give you hundreds of dollars in business, shouldn’t I already be considered a “valued customer”? Why do I have to pay you to get that ranking?
- Our rewards members get discounts. Why not charge everyone the same price? That’s just irritating. Are you telling me you have been overcharging me this entire time? Customers are tired of trying to figure out the real price of items/services. Are there no honest legitimate businesses anymore?
- Setting odd parameters on your reward members. For example: GNC demands their Reward Members purchase items before the 7th day of the month to get the discounted price. Thus, they are overcharging their “valued customers” the other 23 days of the month. I hope the person who came up with that idea gets fired. That is terrible.
- Getting your customers to fill out their information again if they haven’t been there for 3 months. Ulta has this rewards program. I guarantee they have people’s information on file. Yet, they demand you fill it out again. Great! More paperwork. Just what every customer wants. No thanks!
- Making the customer bring in the rewards card in order to get the discount. That is just crazy.
What’s wrong with the above programs? They all make the customer jump through hoops. We are in a recession. Doesn’t it make more sense that the business should be the one jumping thru hoops? However, it is obvious that some businesses didn’t get that memo. During a recession it is vital that you do everything you can to win customers over and keep them coming back. You can do this by making things simpler for your customers. The more complicated the rewards program or the more work the customer has to do, the more likely they will run screaming from your store.
We aren’t saying that all rewards programs are bad. However, think about it this way. The overall objective of a rewards program is to get customers to return to your pharmacy. So, figure out a way to get them to return but don’t put a lot of expectations on the customer. Make doing business with you as simple as possible.
Keep-Your-PharmacyOpen challenges you to evaluate your rewards program if you have one in place. Don’t ask the company who sold you the program for advice. They aren’t going to tell you what you need to know. Ask your customers what they think. Then modify the program (or drop it if necessary) to take care of your customer’s needs.
If you would like to discuss this topic further, give us a call (800)603-2519. We would be happy to visit with you on this hot topic.
