CRM, loyalty programs and relationships with brands

CRM loyalty programs

Customer loyalty is often a fickle beast. It can be tough to know what will attract customers to your brand, difficult to know what turns them off, and almost impossible to understand why they stop buying. That’s why CRM is so important. Here’s what you need to know.

Firstly, what is CRM?

Customer relationship management (CRM) strategies are essential for every business, whatever its size and industry. It refers to the way companies manage and analyze all the interactions with their customers. This is done with the goal of improving relationships with clients and driving sales. So, it’s important that you‘re able to properly manage your CRM if you want to have an understanding of your customer loyalty. With CRM in place, you could turn that fickle beast into a purring kitty cat.

Next up, what are loyalty programs?

An important part of every comprehensive customer relationship strategy, loyalty programs have been used for many years. They came about because retailers wanted access to customer information so they could be recognized and rewarded for their buying behavior. Numerous studies have found that customers tend not to be loyal to a particular brand, but the addition of a loyalty program can improve these statistics.

Good news has emerged recently that there are a few digital trends that’ll shape customer loyalty. But how will these digital trends like chatbots, artificial intelligence, and Blockchain, impact customers' relationships with brands? Let’s have a look.

Artificial intelligence

We’ve written many articles about AI and the impact it is having and will have, on our lives. With AI, the more you interact with a brand, the more it will learn about you and your preferences. By delivering this level of personalization, customers will be loyal to brands like they’ve never been before.

Related: How businesses can use AI to improve customer service and CRM

Blockchain

What is a blockchain? Think about a ledger in which all financial transactions are recorded. This allows for transparency and ensures that no suspicious deals are taking place. In the marketing sphere, this is significant because of its potential impact on loyalty programs. Consider how the Harvard Business Review described it: "The technology most likely to change the next decade of business is not the social web, big data, the cloud, robotics, or even artificial intelligence. It’s a Blockchain.” This is because transparency breeds trust and trust leads to loyalty.

Related: Blockchain and the future of AI

Chatbots

You’ve probably interacted with a chatbot in the past few minutes and not even realized it. They offer marketers the opportunity to chat with customers and resolve issues. The natural interaction between customers and brands is increasingly normalized. Customer service, rewards, and fulfillment are all things that can all be dealt with using chatbots.

Related: 3 reasons for businesses to adopt chatbots for CRM

If you’re intrigued and would like to learn more about these disruptive digital trends and how they can impact your CRM, why not read more about Touch, our chatbot-driven solution that can be used for customer support? We live in a mobile always world, one where customers have their phones in their hands rather than at their ears. Touch does away with outdated, slow call centers and in a world where 62% of smartphone users turn to their phones to solve problems, reliable mobile chatbots are essential.