Real-Time Email and Your Loyalty Program

There are two ways to consider using email to communicate with your members:

1. Instant (Real-time) email; and
2. Batch email.

As a real-time provider of loyalty services, we think that the first of these two options is a very effective way to enhance your relationship with customers.

Instant (Real-Time) Email
Sending out individual personalized emails based on real-time transaction data from your loyalty program is an effective method of reinforcing the habits you want your customers to have.

Some of the transactions or events that deliver great opportunities to communicate via real-time email with your customers are:

• upon receipt of any bonuses they receive from the transaction;
• upon receipt of any prizes they are awarded from their transaction;
• upon delivery of a coupon based on their last purchase amount;
• when they are approaching a reward;
• upon successful enrolment in your program;
• on a customer's birthday, anniversary or other milestone date;
• on an upgrade or downgrade in their membership status;
• on a renewal of their account;
• on a notification of account deactivation;
• for a follow-up survey; and
• to thank them for a recent transaction.

You might also want to consider real-time email alerts for your staff based on customer transactions. Examples could include:

• staff members receiving a bonus coupon via email based on signing up customers for the program; or
• a manager being notified when a customer spends a certain dollar amount in your business.

Batch Email
You can also take the "traditional" approach to email by sending a batched group of emails to your membership base, or targeted towards a select group within your loyalty program. The frequency of this type of communication can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of your business.

Some events that you might consider communicating with your customers about include:

• new locations
• general sales on products
• delivery of program points updates monthly/quarterly.

While we prefer the "real-time" email, any form of communication that helps your customer bond with you and your loyalty program is important. By providing positive, real-time communication, you can reinforce the action that your customer just performed and encourage them to do it again.

Permission Is Required
One of the most important steps in using email to communicate with your loyalty program members is getting their permission to do so. If you don't get permission to communicate with customers when you collect their email address, it may start the relationship out on the wrong foot. Certain legislation in the United States, for example, outlines how you should get permission from your customers to send email to them.

Making it easy for your customers to unsubscribe if they no longer want to receive your communication is another facet of a good loyalty program. Remember that you should always respect your customer's wishes.

As you can see, email can play a vital communication role in your loyalty program. By providing the immediacy that email offers, you can reinforce the transactions that you want your customers to continue in a cost-effective, targeted manner.

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