Loyalty Programs that Do More with Irresistible Multisensory Appeal
What will brand loyalty look like in the post-pandemic world?
Some observers say it will be more fractured than ever, with digitally-savvy consumers surfing from brand to brand as easily as they navigated the process of having groceries delivered when the pandemic made in-person shopping too risky.
But while a digital world makes it easy to shop across brands for virtually every need, well-designed loyalty programs remain a surprisingly effective way to engage your audience. Some surveys show that as many as 37% of consumers have joined a loyalty program at some point to take advantage of discounts, sneak peeks or participate in an experience.
“Experience” is the key differentiator here. With everyone from pharmacies to fast food purveyors to financial services companies baiting the hook, consumers easily become jaded to the flood of offers promising something special in exchange for signing up or signing on. If you’re going to earn loyalty in this environment, you’ve got to get their attention first.
Pave the Path to Loyalty with Multisensory Engagement
The most successful loyalty programs are those built around more than a transactional engagement: they create an engaging experience.
It’s the difference between selling exercise equipment and promoting a sense of health and well-being. It’s the difference between marketing efforts that rely on information alone and marketing efforts that stop prospects in their tracks with a multisensory experience. It’s the difference between boooring and “wow.”
Don’t just offer loyalty prospects the same-old discount when you can offer them a chance to participate: play to win, try your hand at a quiz, take a whiff of an appealing scent, or see what’s waiting to be revealed beneath your messaging.
A game card, a quiz, or a scratch-off promotion, alone or in combination with other high-quality special effects like scent, texture or chromic reveals, is a proven method of standing out from the crowd.
Scent is an especially irresistible sales tool, with its power evoke memories and emotions, and can be used to create an experience up front, or even after the sale. What experience do you want to create when your package is opened? What’s the difference between a product that arrives in a box and a product that arrives smelling like a summer memory?
And games, quizzes and other forms of interactive marketing are far more appealing in combination with special effects like glow-in-the-dark, textures, scratch-off elements, or chromic reveals. A little glitter never hurts either. Go for wow first. Loyalty will follow.
What is Your Game Plan?
At H&H Graphics, we have helped some of the biggest and best known brands in the world build loyalty and brand awareness with special effects promotions, games, packaging and even products. Nobody ever said “yawn” to taco scented wrapping paper.
When your prospects reach out to touch, or smell, or photograph, or scratch-off your messaging, you win.
What will your next loyalty program promotion look like once you know what is possible with multisensory special effects?
Reach out to our R&D team to find out.
