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How to personalise your customer service & why you need to

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Customers have more choice than ever before about where to spend their hard earned dollars. With so many competing retailers as well as a wide range of ways to purchase, working to personalise your customer service is becoming even more important. Many businesses would say that they already have personalised marketing in place, but do they really?

Research shows that customers have grown more sophisticated than the basic personalisation that many businesses offer. Strategies to personalise communication, like the annual birthday email for example, are not having the traction many would expect.

In a recent survey, only 7% of respondents said they would be likely to engage with a birthday email, and similarly only 8% would engage with a brand if addressed by their first name in marketing campaigns. This shows that the basic strategies being employed by many Australian businesses to personalise their communication are having little affect.

Why is personalising your customer service so important?

Personalising your customer service and shopping experience can result in higher conversions, and a better customer experience. It ensures that in a sea of emails or marketing communications received by your customers, your message is relevant and has cut through. It costs an average of 5 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one coming back, and existing customers spend 67% more than new. So, it’s important to ensure that your customers want to come back and are receiving cross-sell opportunities that are likely to get them to buy.

If you’re still not convinced about the return that personalising your customer process could have for your business, check out these stats from a recent survey:

* Only 22% of shoppers are satisfied with the level of personalisation they receive.

* 31% of customers wish their shopping experience was more personalised than it is now.

* 57% of customers are willing to share personal information in exchange for personalised offers.

* 62% of customers expect customers to send tailored offers to them (not generic ones).

How can you personalise your customer service easily?

While personalising your communication & marketing to each customer takes time and effort, there are some simple, automated ways to help you stand out from the crowd. From ways to gather data to automated email platforms, tailoring your message to each customer is easier than you think.

Step 1: Gathering the data

The first step in creating personalised marketing campaigns tailored to your customers is to focus on how to gather the data required. Specific information about each customer’s shopping habits, product choice and the campaigns they are likely to engage with, will help you ensure you’re getting the biggest return for your efforts, translating into more sales and a better return on your cross-sell activities. Here are some simple ways you can capture this information easily:

Membership cards: Membership cards scanned at each new transaction will provide you with information on when, how and what customers purchase. They can also help your customers feel special to your business.

RFID event passes: RFID enabledevent passes scanned at each booth will allow you to track attendee habits, how they move around the event and what sessions and products they engaged with the most. This information can help you build better future events that result in increased customer interaction.

Online shopping data: Use information stored in your online store to send relevant new products and discounts to past customers. This will likely lead to higher conversions and happier customers.

Your tools to gather data could also benefit from some basic personalisation, such as custom printing each membership card, event pass or loyalty card with your customer’s name and details. This is achieved simply through variable data printing from Redegroup. Our team start with a base template for your cards, creating personalised fields for each new customer. These fields can include everything from text to barcodes, and we can even personalise the image to what the customer likes to purchase from you.

Step 2: Creating your marketing campaigns

Depending on your customers and the goals for your next marketing campaign, this step will look different for each business. However, there are some great easy ways to create and roll out your new personalised communication to your customers.

Automated email platforms: Automated email platforms like MailChimp are great, but you will have to extend your campaigns beyond the standard birthday email or generic monthly newsletter to really leverage the data you have gathered. Use your email campaigns to send custom emails triggered by a specific event or behaviour. For example, send a discount offer to customers off their next purchase from your Winter line shortly after they have made a similar purchase. This will help make sure the customer is coming back to your business for their next purchase, with a cross-sell opportunity that they’re likely to take up.

Automated SMS programs: There are a range of automatic SMS programs that you can sign up to that won’t break the bank. Send out relevant SMS messages to customer segments when the time is right. For example, your art gallery may want to send a reminder about an upcoming contemporary art show to any customer who has engaged with a contemporary art show in the past. The data you have gathered on attendees to previous events will allow you send this personalised invitation to a list of specific customers.

Automated Mailhouse services: If you would like to have your brand in your customer’s letterbox rather then their inbox, or you want to send physical gift cards and offers, our MailHouse service at Redegroup can help. We can personalise plastic gift cards and attach to a wide range of stationery, designed for your business & campaign! This allows you to get back to running and growing your business instead of messing around with databases and printing.

Redegroup can help!

Redegroup believe that your existing customers are vital to the strength and growth of your business in the future. Engaging with existing customers comes from personalising the shopping experience for your customers and members. We can help! From plastic membership cards to combo cards and everything in between, we can help you create a personalised customer program that will keep your customers coming back.

Click here to order a sample pack of our key tags & combo cards or click here to request a quote from our team.

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How to sell more gift cards in your business

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Growing a business is hard. With intense competition online, retail traffic falling & new competitors popping up every day, attracting new customers to your business can be difficult. Gift cards are a great way to get some new business through the door & get your brand out in the market. And with hundreds of thousands of gift cards sold around the Christmas period alone, if you’re not running a successful gift card program you could be missing out on a big piece of the retail pie. 

Why gift cards?

Gift cards are a great way for your loyal customers to share their love for your business with their own friends & family. Whether they’re giving or receiving, your gift cards are finding their way into the hands of people who have never interacted with your business. This makes it a perfect marketing & branding opportunity for your business.

Not to mention that gift cards are easy to stock & sell, and can encourage repeat business, which is crucial when you’re trying to grow sales. The problem is, gift cards don’t sell themselves. Here are a few tips to give your gift card sales a bit of a boost:

Make sure your gift cards look amazing

The biggest point to remember is that your gift cards are going to be given as ‘gifts’. So they need to look amazing and represent your business well. Shoddy or cheap looking designs, low resolution prints & cheap plastic aren’t going to make for a great looking gift and could turn off your customers. And it’s not just the actual card that matters. The card will likely come in a carrier of some kind – a tin, a message card or a small box. Whatever the packaging, your gift card & carrier need to look amazing! The better it looks, the more your customers will be happy to buy and give them away to someone special.

Make sure your gift cards are visible on the counter or at your online checkout

The old saying is true today: out of sight, out of mind. The same can be said of anything in retail. If your gift cards are hidden from your customers as they shop in your store or buy online, it’s likely they will never think to buy one. Make sure that your gift card display is positioned on the front counter so everyone can see them. Ask your employees to remind customers of your gift card offering at the end of each purchase.

Offer online gift card purchasing

It’s essential that people can buy gift cards easily from your business, so make sure to provide a way for them to purchase without having to come into the store. Many of those purchasing cards might be buying for someone who loves your business and so haven’t been to your store before – so make it easy for them! If it’s too hard, they will likely go elsewhere. Most businesses have an online presence now days, and this could be a fantastic way to increase your gift card purchasing.

Ramp up marketing around holiday periods

Mothers Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas and other holiday periods are prime times for gift card purchases. Plan for an increase in marketing for your gift cards in the lead up to these holiday periods. You could send an email to your customer database, put up shopfront posters with “treat your mum this Mother’s Day” or post on social media. Think about your business and where your target customers are congregating and advertise your gift cards there.

Get creative & sell an experience

Instead of just selling gift cards for a specific value, why not put together a great package or experience? Putting together a beautiful Mother’s Day experience for mums at your day spa (special relaxation massage & facial for mums) or fashion store (personalised styling session) will add a lovely personalised touch to the gift card. In doing this, you are clearly articulating who the gift card is for and planting the thought in the minds of potential buyers: “mum would love that!” It will also convince those that view gift cards as a little impersonal and provide the opportunity to give a thoughtful gift.

Run a discount with any gift card purchase

If you’d really like to ramp up your gift card sales, think about offering a discount for customers with any gift card purchase. For example, a 15% discount on their next purchase for each gift card bought will give your customers a great incentive to buy and get them thinking about who they could buy it for. While this is a higher upfront cost for you, it could well be worth the return with exposure to brand new customers. Get creative! Figure out what your customers love and build it into your gift card marketing.

Track your gift cards

As with anything in your business, it’s important to track your gift cards & the return they bring back into the business. Review how many gift cards you’re selling, what percentage of those are redeemed and if the gift card holder is spending above the gift card amount when coming back to your business. It’s important that you understand exactly how valuable gift cards are so you know whether or not to prioritise them. While many big businesses like Myer & Village Cinemas have gift cards to thank for a large part of their annual sales, small business can benefit too – by using gift cards as an effective marketing tool.

We can help you promote your gift cards

The team at Redegroup have helped hundreds of businesses with their gift card programmes. We can help you find the right custom design & shape for your plastic gift cards & card carriers, to ensure your business is being represented properly. And we don’t just print the cards and leave you to deal with the coding. We generate the data and choose the right coding to work with your system. Find out more about our gift cards here.

You can also order a free sample pack of our cards or get a quick quote.

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Major changes to Gift Card rules to roll out Australia-wide

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Only months ago NSW and South Australia officially changed the minimum expiry date from 1 year to 3 years on all gift cards sold & used within the states. And now, it looks like the rest of Australia is about to follow suit.

With the legislation approved in Sept 2018 and scheduled to roll out from August 2019, there may be some small changes to come from Liberals MPs who are concerned with how small businesses will fare. According to Fairfax, retailers who break the rule or don’t display the expiry date clearly will face a maximum $30,000 fine.

The change has been a long time coming

Shoppers have been frustrated by the 1 year minimum expiry on gift cards for years with the idea for the 3 year minimum expiry first being tabled in 2012. According to research from  finder.com.au, over $148 million has been wasted on expired gift cards in the last year alone. The Morrison government is now taking steps to ensure that the money your family & friends spend on gift cards for you – is spent.

Consumer groups have rated these minimum expiry terms as one of the top frustrations consumers have with Australian retailers. And with countries like the U.S. imposing a five year minimum term for all gift cards – the change seems to have been a long time coming.

While most retailers currently apply the minimum requirement of 1 year, bigger retailers like Woolworths, Bunnings & JB Hi-Fi have already made changes, removing expiry dates from their gift cards all together. But there are worries the changes might mean big issues for smaller businesses & their cash flow.

Get expert help with your new gift cards

If you would like expert help on putting together the terms and conditions for your new gift cards, talk to the Redegroup today on 1800 815 512. We know the ins and outs of the new changes and are ready to help you!

Get a quote from us 

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Paper vs plastic loyalty cards

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The paper loyalty card, with a hole punch or stamp to indicate a purchase, is still surprisingly popular in the cafe & hospitality world. So, we wanted to outline the reasons we just love a plastic loyalty card – and you should too! Read through our reasons to swap your paper loyalty cards for plastic & get ready to throw out your good ol’ hole punch.

Why are the benefits of plastic loyalty cards?

 

#1. They last longer

One of the best things about plastic loyalty card being used by customers, is that they have a much longer life than their cardboard counterparts. Your customers don’t have to be continually picking up a new card – they can keep the same one forever accumulating points and earning them rewards. And being plastic, they’ll last even longer in your customer’s wallet.

And as the plastic environmental debate rages around us, we feel we have to stick up for the humble plastic loyalty card. Don’t get us wrong – we’re all for eradicating single use plastic products – such as straws and disposable cutlery. Plastic loyalty cards are far from a single use item, and should outweigh the energy it takes to create 10 or more paper cards.

#2. They create less work for your staff

We all know how busy it can get in a cafe at lunchtime or the morning coffee rush. Anything you can do to make the line go quicker is worth it, right? While paper loyalty cards have to be hold punched, stamped or signed (which often results in the staff member looking for the closest pen / stamp), plastic voucher can be scanned, instantly tallying the purchase points for their next reward.

#3. They can give you extra information 

As plastic loyalty card can be kept forever by your customer, it can accumulate a lot of extra information about your customer that you wouldn’t have had with the cardboard or paper version. What coffee do they like? When’s their birthday? What rewards do they prefer? are all examples of information you can store about your customer on their very own plastic scan-able loyalty card. It gives you more ability to tailor the buying experience to the individual customer – making their purchase more enjoyable.

Redegroup can help you swap your cardboard for plastic

Our expert team at Redegroup can help custom design your very own loyalty cards for your business, and set them up in your POS system. Find out more about our loyalty cards here.

And we don’t just print your order and leave you to deal with the coding. We generate the data and choose the right coding to work with your system. We can even provide a live sample for you to test before the printing of your order is complete.

Click here to order a sample pack of our key tags & combo cards or click here to request a quote from our team.

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The resurgence of the key tag: why it’s your best branding opportunity in a digital world

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You might look at the humble plastic key tag and be sceptical of its relevance in the market today. But the key tag has some hidden marketing power. In a world of contactless payments and loyalty card apps, it means fewer people are carrying bags and wallets.

While these advances in technology have seen more people leaving their wallets at home, everyone still needs to carry their keys, giving businesses a powerful branding opportunity.

They have some pretty potent branding power, but they’re not all fluff. They can also provide some valuable insights for businesses into consumer spending habits and help shape your promotions in the future.

Why are key tags becoming so popular?

 

#1. Everyone carries their keys

While wallets are becoming less of a requirement when leaving the house, most people still require their house or car keys. If you can get your customers to put your brand on their keys, you’ll be benefiting from a huge amount of free advertising. On the flip side, there’s not much space available on a key ring so you’ve got to come up with some valuable reason for customers to give that limited space to you.

#2. They’re low cost but high impact

It’s not often that a marketing opportunity comes up that’s as low cost and high impact as the key tag. They’re cheap and flexible enough to be personalised to your business with different shapes and colours. Want a key tag in the shape of a donut for your donut shop? Easy! Key tags can be laser cut into any shape and printed with your own images making them easily personalised to your campaign or business.

#3. They can double as a loyalty card

They don’t have to be all about branding either. Key tags can have a number of other uses for you and your customers. In fact, making them more useful to your customer could guarantee you the space on their key ring. They can be printed with barcodes or security chipped, allowing them to double as entry passes into VIP sections or lockers, or used as a customer loyalty card.

#4. They can give you valuable insights into your customer

Printing them with a unique identifier means that every time they’re scanned, your business is gaining valuable insight about your customer. If you’re using it as a loyalty card, you can get some fantastic insight into the purchase habits of your customers, what they like to buy and which promotions might get them more engaged with your business.

#5. They can help customers engage easily with your business

If you’ve ever been stuck at a register digging through your wallet trying to find the right loyalty card for the store you’re in, you’ll appreciate the ease of having a loyalty card or access pass on your key ring. Are you a retail business? Your customers likely have dozens of loyalty cards in their wallet. Make yours easily accessible and high visible by giving them a key tag instead. Are you a gym or members association? Your members could swipe their key tag for easy access to the members-only section or locker.

Redegroup can help you with your key tags or combo cards

Our expert team at Redegroup can help you custom design your key tags with your brand, personalised barcodes or other unique tracking identifiers to help your customers engage with your business and promote your brand easily. Key tags usually live in pockets and handbags and need to be very hard wearing – there’s nothing worse than trying to scan a key tag when the code has worn off! Our high quality tags also include under-laminate printing at no extra cost, making your key tags last longer.

And we don’t just print your order and leave you to deal with the coding. We generate the data and choose the right coding to work with your system. We can even provide a live sample for you to test before the printing of your order is complete.

Click here to order a sample pack of our key tags & combo cards or click here to request a quote from our team.

Check out our Combo cards

Our combo cards are made up of a plastic loyalty card with the option of 1 or 2 key tags attached, giving you the opportunity to have your brand in the customer’s wallet, on their keys or lanyard. Find out more about our combo cards here.