Where does customer loyalty lie? Retailers may offer discounts, points and get-one-free deals to try to keep customers coming back, but there are no guarantees they created loyalty. What is guaranteed, though, is that people tend to listen to what their friends and families think about a product or service. In fact, almost 7 in 10 customers who have been influenced by word-of-mouth. That’s a powerful social network to tap into. Thanks to social media, companies today can do just that to create more authentic connections with their customers. Social loyalty: the evolution of the traditional loyalty program outlines how.

1. Social
loyalty
The evolution
of the traditional
loyalty program

2. Loyalty programs
are incredibly popular.
But it’s hard to
tell if they actually
create loyalty.

3. Enter
social loyalty.

4. Social loyalty provides
customer incentives through
social communities.
Online recommendations, referrals
and group-buying are all examples of social
loyalty programs.

5. Why does social loyalty matter?
Because your customers trust their friends and
family more than they trust your ads.

6. Consider this…
Over 50% of customers trust friends and family –
less than 25% trust advertising, even when they
signed up to receive it.
Customers influenced by word-of-mouth are very
brand loyal. 67% will stay with a brand they like.

7. You can use
social loyalty to
build more authentic
connection with
your customers.

8. You can win social loyalty by:
• Encouraging word-of-mouth recommendations to create
your own network of brand advocates.
• Raising customers’ social media status, or surprise and
entertain them with unusual and unexpected offers
and rewards.
• Engaging in social communities to listen – and respond –
to customers’ needs and suggestions.

9. Make your social loyalty program
a success:
Recognize your best customers – use the
data you collect to track and reward your
top customers and influencers.
Tie points or rewards to a higher
level of rewards – unexpected,
premium experiences or
non-monetary rewards.

10. Social loyalty programs have
their challenges. Start small.
It’s a new area. Many companies are taking small steps,
such as adding a social layer to existing loyalty programs.
Social loyalty programs can generate an incredible amount
of customer data. Extracting insights from that data can be
a challenge.

11. To learn more, please contact us

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