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Is your promotional process a positive customer experience?

A robust promotional strategy has become an integral element of nearly every organization’s marketing mix. However, promotions without the right structure could turn a positive into a negative.

May 20, 2015

By Theresa Wabler, Blackhawk Engagement Solutions

A robust promotional strategy has become an integral element of nearly every organization’s marketing mix. However, promotions without the right structure could turn a positive into a negative.

Ask yourself the following questions from our checklist. The answers will help you examine the strength of your consumer-facing promotional programs, and determine whether or not they are creating a pleasing experience for your customers.

1. Do you keep your customer service team program-savvy?

There is nothing more frustrating for shoppers than visiting a store or website to take advantage of a special promotion and then not being able to get the customer service needed to take advantage of the offer. When your brand launches a promotion, it must truly be companywide, with everyone from the marketing team to customer service agents well versed on the details. If your customer service team hasn’t been trained to properly answer questions about your incentive offerings, there’s a good chance you’ll lose the customer at the gate.

2. Do you process promotional incentive claims in days?

In the digital age of immediate gratification and speed-of-light communications, consumers now have the expectation that promotional rewards will be delivered quickly. Waiting multiple months for a rebate payout will not yield a positive customer experience. Ideally, claims should be processed in days, and the end-to-end timeline for speedy reward delivery should be communicated to customers at the time of purchase.

3. Do you have one or two soft guidelines that allow for wiggle room?

A consumer that goes out of his or her way to take advantage of a promotional offer should be treated like a potential loyal customer and ambassador for your brand. Making small exceptions for customers that miss a promotion’s deadline by a day or two, or lose the hard copy of a coupon, will yield an even more positive and memorable brand experience. Empower your well-trained customer service team members to make such determinations on the spot.

4. Do you link your promotional program to a loyalty or referral program?

Deal seeking is an ingrained consumer behavior that is here to stay. In fact, according to Blackhawk Engagement Solutions’ 2013 shopper study, 93 percent would drive 5-10 minutes out of their way for $20. If a customer is willing to take advantage of a promotional offer, he or she is also likely to see value in an ongoing loyalty or referral program that provides additional discounts or special deals. It is a smart strategy to link the two marketing programs.

5. Do you gather opt-in data to further brand interaction?

Today’s shopper appreciates an omnichannel shopping experience. If he or she takes advantage of a promotion for a certain product, it makes sense to mail, text and email a similar offer in the future. And don’t neglect the wealth of business intelligence that a promotional program can yield for your organization – customer preferences, consumer demographics and more. Carefully review and consider this data to continually improve your promotional strategy.

To implement a successful promotional strategy, avoid churning out promotions that sound nice but don’t result in a positive experience for your customers. If your promotional program is hitting all the high notes you should see sales and customer optimization. Always look to improve, test and adjust. Additionally, quarterly checkpoints will keep your consumer incentives fresh and engaging.

Theresa Wabler is Sr. Director, Marketing for Blackhawk Engagement Solutions, an incentives and engagement company.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay