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that requires them to bide their time, while
others will welcome a coupon that lets them
save money immediately.
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If this sounds nothing like the loyalty
rewards program at your company, it’s time
for a change. A traditional home comfort
rewards program is designed to foster
loyalty by allowing the customer to accu-
mulate savings year-by-year for an eventual
equipment upgrade. That was an excellent
plan 10 years ago, in an era when customers
were more inclined to be loyal.
Many of today’s consumers, unfortu-
nately, will move on from a home comfort
company for no good reason, so you need
to go the extra mile to hold on to them,
and your rewards program is one piece
of that. Customers likely won’t stay for
the rewards alone, but as long as you are
providing great service and value, the
rewards program is part of an overall great
customer experience that leaves little room
for improvement.
A flexible program is also a great tool
that can help improve customer relations
in lots of different situations. For example,
when the company lets a customer run out
of fuel or is an hour late for an appoint-
ment, you can award some bonus reward
points as part of the make-good. Be sure to
do everything you normally would do after
a customer service error first, and then add
the points after the fact, preferably by e-mail
the next day to create a nice, happy ending.
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In addition to allowing flexibility on
redemption options, a rewards program
should be based online at your company
website. Running the program through your
own website allows you to use the rewards
program portal as a marketing hub where
customers gain exposure to your current
special offers.
Whenever a customer pays a bill or makes
a purchase, you should immediately award
them points from the rewards program.
If the system is automated, the points can be
awarded automatically, and the system can
notify the customer by e-mail or text.
The text or e-mail should be thought-
ful and appreciative and should include
a link to the reward points portal and a
brief message inviting them to visit their
rewards page and see how close they are
to qualifying for the different merchandise
and coupon options.
The rewards portal itself should be one
of your primary marketing pages, along
with the home page and the customer
account login section. Those pages will get
the most views, so they provide excellent,
low-cost opportunities for promoting your
most timely products and services.
Use the pages in the reward points por-
tal as billboards for your most compelling
offers, particularly the ones that leverage
coupons that can be “purchased” with
reward points. Be sure to offer coupons at a
variety of “price points” so you are offering
something for everyone, regardless of how
many points they have accumulated. That
way, everyone can take advantage of the
rewards program in the manner that they
prefer. Some customers will hold out for
one of your bigger prizes while others will
be less patient and cash in their points for a
coupon they can use now.
Whether they cash in now or later, the
program is providing the kind of reward
that they prefer. Companies might prefer
that customers wait to redeem, so that they
are carrying a large points balance that
would be hard to walk away from, but you
can’t herd customers any better than you
can herd cats. Some people don’t like to
wait, so it’s better to present a nice range of
options and get out of the customers’ way.
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Of course, the ultimate goal is to retain
your customers, and that is even more
important in heating oil and propane sales
than in most other economic sectors.
Starbucks or Delta Airlines – companies in
other industries with established rewards
programs – don’t have nearly as much to
lose from customer defections as you do.
A Delta frequent flyer can take occasional
trips on other airlines without hurting
Delta, but when your customer shops else-
where, they’re probably gone for good.
If you are suffering too many defections,
attack the problem with purpose, because
it threatens your very livelihood. Look
for patterns in the defections that have
occurred and root out any systematic prob-
lems that are costing you business. If you
have employees who alienate customers,
retrain them as soon as possible.
At the same time, review all your
customer service procedures and make
them as customer-friendly and easy to use
as possible. The more business customers
can do online, the better you look, because
many people don’t want to get on the phone
unless they absolutely have to.
Make sure you have protocols for
every kind of customer phone call and that
employees know the protocols and follow
them. Avoid being short-staffed in critical
areas at critical times.
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Don’t expect your rewards program to
“take care” of customer loss issues. Instead,
make a commitment to outstanding service
throughout your operation and integrate the
rewards program into that approach every-
where you can. Look for new and innovative
ways to reward customers that will make
them feel good about being with you.
Also, be sure to brand your rewards pro-
gram in harmony with the company brand,
so that it reflects well on the company and
is clearly yours and not part of a syndicate.
If you’d like to target customer retention
with a flexible rewards program, please give
me a call at 800-796-3342. Our OnPoint
program is flexible and online, and you can
use it through any company website.
Marketing
