These harsh economic times have seen a massive change in the way we all purchase products/ services. The taboo on bargain hunting has long been lifted and it’s all about the consumer trying to outsmart the business so they can get more for less. But this culture in turn has led to a decline in brand loyal consumers as they search around for the best deal available to them. The unsettled nature of consumer spending has helped superstores such as Tesco and Morrisons who can trade under the banner of value all under one roof – a one-stop-shop for everything, but surely this type of shopping experience is devoid of any emotional tie or specialist knowledge? So what can every other business do to compete and catch the attentions of the fickle consumer? Here are a few of our ideas:

1. Start with the basics! In recent years we seem to have forgotten that providing a service that’s good enough for customers to recommend is one of the best ways to advertise a brand. If a customer recommends a brand to their friends and then those friends recommend the brand to their friends the customer base could grow significantly. By neglecting your customers’ word of mouth promotion, all other marketing is futile. Providing a great customer experience is the easiest way to get talked about online too. Tools like twitter are all word of mouth based like real life – just to a much bigger captive audience. Plus in these harsh economic times it has become even more important to tap into the online and free marketing options.

2. A loyalty card is a good consumer incentive but it’s a big expense and a lot of businesses now have them so how effective are they? In today’s world surely customers want a consumer incentive that’s a little more immediate? One immediate option is a sale, but many sectors are already saturated with these. So how about rewarding consumers by working with a third party business? These consumer incentives can be anything from 2 nights for 1 at a hotel or free pampering treatment to a free 2 for 1 Movie and Game Rental Card. They can be vouchers that are distributed physically, online or virally.

3. Market your business and staff as specialists in the field – it’s doubtful that the checkout lady at Tesco knows anything about the electrical goods she’s selling. Make your product/service knowledge and customer service something that stands out from competitors and people might just choose you. Niche businesses will always benefit from the power of word of mouth too – but also consider well targeted campaigns like placing discounts and offers in a media that’s relevant to your industry!

4. If all else fails – if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. Offer your consumers more. Sell a loyalty and membership programme or discount club such as The Big Savings Club or The Entertainment Club to your customers, the non-competing brands will help give a good association and back up the products that you already offer. Consumers will see the loyalty and membership programme or discount club as a reward for using your brand and extension of the goods/services that you offer. One step further would be to make the club bespoke so all the discounts are presented under the umbrella of your brand, a good example of this is the JML VIP Club. Loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs area a free marketing solution as they are usually set up or run by a third party agency. In fact it can be a way for large businesses to earn substantial incremental revenue, whilst a third party such as The Rocket Marketing Group manage the programme and its members (your customers).

5. Loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs can be used to feature a discount and then distributed by other non-competing businesses. Your discount will be presented to a new sector of consumers in association with other brands encouraging new customers to become loyal to your brand. This is a quick and easy free marketing solution that is handled by loyalty and membership programme or discount club agency such as The Rocket Marketing Group. All your business has to do is offer an exclusive discount to discount club members.

Contact Us if you are interested in free marketing solutions such as developing a loyalty and membership programme, featuring your business in a loyalty and membership programme or purchasing rewards as a consumer incentive.