Tag Archive for: Retention

How To Monetize And Profit From Loyalty Programs

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The full potential of loyalty programs wasn’t realized until the 1980s. Today, they are everywhere in our customer-focused economy. But are loyalty efforts profitable?

The answer is yes. Research suggests that some highly lucrative loyalty programs by elite airlines generated over 10B$ in earnings alone in 2015.

So, that raises the question – how do you turn your business’ cost center into a profit center? Let’s start with the cost factor. Labor and technology represent most of the cost of a loyalty program. While technology will add value to your business, the workforce is ultimately responsible for enhancing customer’s experience. Loyalty programs are designed in a way to provide scalability, stability, predictability, and agility to the business.

The ultimate purpose of loyalty programs can be summed up in one sentence – “Figure out your customer behavior, offer the best incentives to make them spend more with you.” The secret to achieving this goal is marketing. To make it clear, let us stick with the fastest-growing segment of travel consumers – millennials- for the time being. A recent study on millennials suggests that 85% of them look for the best possible deals online, including freebies, discounts, rewards, and other amenities.

Here are different ways to offer your members the best perks:

Discounts and rewards

Customers search for member-only rates while booking a flight or accommodation. Travel clubs offer exactly this and choosing a travel club with such inclusions in the loyalty program will drive revenue earlier than expected.

Freebies

Who doesn’t love a freebie in the form of a free night or discount coupon? Now if the customers are able to redeem miles or points for a freebie, they will feel special. Not only will they covet miles but also the elite status. They can check their balance any time, consume them at their will and that will generate definite revenue in the long run.

Other discounts

Imagine if they get discounts beyond travel. Travel clubs that combine travel and lifestyle benefits have an edge over other businesses. Getting lifestyle benefits will be like an added bonus for your members. When they are not traveling, they will be able to use the exclusive discounts for retail, shopping, dining, and entertainment. Not only this will enrich their experience as loyalty program members, but also give them a reason to come back to you and spend more.

Personalized rewards

According to a study, over 75% of travelers have no problem in paying extra for added perks. The travel clubs can utilize this fact to encourage their members to spend more. How? Simply by offering them ways to earn extra miles or points by purchasing add-ons such as seats with extra legroom etc. Plus, loyalty programs can give your customers more options to choose from such as several fare options, personalized itineraries, and visa assistance to name a few. More targeted offers = wider range of customers. So it will work like a tiered loyalty program more or less. By rewarding the high-spenders, you encourage them to come back and spend even more.

Virtual profit by the virtue of referral

A study suggests that 76% of travelers count on their friends’ recommendation of a travel service or product. That’s why loyalty programs encourage referral schemes that benefit both the existing customer and your travel business. Marketing your business using loyalty programs is a wise investment with compounding returns. From cost center to revenue center, monetization of loyalty programs certainly contributes to your company’s profits. Especially when it is a one-of-a-kind loyalty program offered by iTravelDirect. The analytics surrounding iTravelDirect’ loyalty program combined with technological innovation plays a vital role in understanding the customer thereby driving more revenue into your business.

A Complete Guide For Better Member Retention

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Most subscription-based companies struggle to retain and maintain their membership base. Unlike the traditional one-time sale model, the subscription model relies on delivering month-to-month value to the subscribers and providing them member benefits. It is easier for customers to subscribe when the monthly charges are reasonable and deliver maximum value. This can guarantee a steady revenue stream by locking customers into repeat business.

Why Retention is Important for Subscription-Based Companies
Acquiring a new customer can cost around 5-7 times more than retaining an existing customer. Member retention is a key performance indicator for subscription-based businesses, especially those operating on a monthly model. With growing technological advancements, the subscription-based model is becoming ubiquitous.

Travel businesses like travel clubs that follow the subscription model typically charge their customers a monthly fee. As more customers join every month, the revenue keeps accumulating. The longer the customers subscribe, the more valuable they become. Therefore, to save on marketing costs, subscription-based companies focus more on member retention than acquiring new ones.

Evaluating Churn or Turnover Rates
Another key metric for growth is the subscriber or member churn or turnover rate. This helps in quantifying member retention because a lower churn rate corresponds to a higher retention rate. Customers may leave for many reasons, but research indicates that 9 out of 10 subscribers or members abandon a business due to a lack of customer support.

Therefore, companies should focus on brainstorming new strategies to reduce the churn or turnover rate and increase member retention. One way to do so is by improving the customer experience and practicing better customer management strategies to make them feel valued. Member retention is the foundation of the company’s growth and too many companies undervalue this metric.

How to Increase Member Retention
If your churn rate is going up, it means that you must double down on your efforts to improve customer satisfaction. Creating a loyal customer base results in more profits and a recurring stream of revenue.

Here are a few reasons to prioritize member retention over member acquisition and set the tone for sustained growth –

  • Increase Customer Lifetime Value – Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue that a business gets from each customer in the entire period of the customer relationship. It is an important business metric that predicts the total money each customer is expected to spend (on average) with that business, product, or service. The main goal of subscription-based companies should be to maximize Customer Lifetime Value.
  • Better Asset Utilization – When you focus on member retention, you will not be spending as much money on advertising and marketing campaigns. You can focus more of your resources towards supporting existing customers.
  • Increased Return On Investment – Even a slight increase of 5% in customer retention can increase revenue by 25 to 95%. (Source) Therefore, member retention efforts have a positive impact on business growth and its overall ROI.
  • More Sales –When your customers already love your products or services, it is easier to introduce new products and sell them as well. By focusing on upselling to your loyal customers, you can add more profitable sales and expand the CLV.
  • Word-of-mouth Marketing – Word-of-mouth marketing is the best strategy for customer acquisition and retention. It is also completely free. It is easy to convert loyal customers into brand loyalists who spread the word on your company’s behalf. Additionally, you can ask for referrals from your most loyal customers. Better retention strategies will lead to more acquisitions.
  • Valuable Feedback – Loyal customers are often open to giving valuable feedback and suggestions to improve your business. You can leverage customers’ ideas and implement their feedback to continually improve your business and position it for faster growth.

Six Ways to Increase Member Retention
The more customers you can retain, the faster you can achieve your business goals. Below are listed 6 often-missed but practical strategies to increase member retention for subscription-based companies –

  • Smooth Onboarding Process – The first impression can make or break a deal. If customers have an initial positive experience with your brand, they are more likely to stick around for a long time. Therefore, take time to develop a seamless onboarding process. If possible, consider personalization to deliver at or beyond the customer’s expectations. To build an engaged community, it is important to deliver the quality of services they are expecting to receive.
  • Personalized Offerings – Personalization is crucial for creating a loyal customer base and positive ROI. By understanding customer preferences, purchase history, and other relevant information, you can deliver personalized offerings tailored to each customer’s unique needs. You will need a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to fulfill personalized offerings.
  • Improve the Customer Experience – Customer experience plays a huge role in member retention. Most customers leave businesses due to poor customer experiences. Improving customer experiences also cultivates loyalty. You can take feedback from dissatisfied customers through a survey as a part of the client retention strategy. Next, focus on implementing those suggestions to create a positive and meaningful customer experience.
  • Reward Most Loyal Customers – If customers do not feel valued or appreciated, they will look for your replacement with a competitor. Therefore, it is important that you do not take customer loyalty for granted. Encourage your most loyal (VIP) customers by rewarding them at important intervals. You can send bonus gifts, upgrades, or value-added services to express your gratitude.
  • Listen to Your Customers – It is important to actively listen to your customers and understand their experience. Customer service is the chance to make even the most dissatisfied customers feel better about the relationship. Make sure to use the right communication platforms that your customers prefer. This allows you to listen to them in the right way. You can also implement a chatbot on your website or address grievances through social media platforms. Over 89% of customers abandon the business after a horrible experience. Therefore, make it a point to proactively reach out to the customers and engage with them productively. Also, pay extra attention to inactive customers and gather feedback for areas of improvement.
  • Notice the Churn Rate in Advance – The most obvious way to improve retention is by paying extra attention to the signs of churning or turnover in advance. These warning signs will help you strategize and take action to stop customers from leaving. Let us suppose that a customer has been inactive for 6 months and has not indicated any plans to make a purchase in the near future. You can use your research insight to send follow-up emails and find the reasons to prevent them from leaving.

Member Retention Strategies from iTravelDirect
iTravelDirect has been recognized as the world’s best white-label travel club builder. We help subscription and membership-based companies offer a customized and privately-branded travel club at affordable prices. Our travel club platform can be leveraged as a potential member retention strategy to increase revenue while also boosting member utilization, loyalty, and retention.

SoftCash Travel Rewards Strategy

A SoftCash travel rewards program utilizes travel as a motivator to reward high-value customers and engage them with exclusive travel rewards. Your business can purchase soft cash credits to reward and encourage your customers. These credits offer additional benefits to customers which can be used to claim trips, user fees, and other incentive-based needs. SoftCash is a great tool to enhance member retention and foster loyalty among your VIP customers. Customers can even check the rewards and real-time updates to see their earnings and redemption status.

Friends and Family Trackback Travel Rewards Strategy

A Friends and Family TrackBack travel rewards strategy is an easy-to-use reward tool that allows your members to share referral links with non-members and introduce them to exclusive discounts. This is a win-win situation for your business, as it will generate additional revenue while also increasing brand awareness among non-members. This ensures that you spent less time on the nitty-gritty of marketing strategies and focus on creating a brand reputation to generate a consistent revenue stream.

Travel Club Membership Benefits

iTravelDirect offers an array of benefits and customizable offerings for your members at the best price. Depending on your business size and requirements, you can offer benefits across various categories such as flights, hotels, car rentals, cruise bookings, and more.

You will be provided with a state-of-the-art booking engine that is equipped with the latest technology and a large travel inventory to offer real-time booking rates to the members. Members can also utilize value-added benefits and daily lifestyle discounts to offer a one-stop shop for all your member needs.

Here’s a quick list of some options you could provide:

  • 24/7 personal assistant whenever they need it,
  • Complimentary flight insurance,
  • Access to private medical-jet services in case of a travel emergency,
  • Fast access to visa and passport services.
  • 24 x 7 roadside assistance,
  • Multi-language support from all across the globe.
  • Access to thousands of exclusive collections of tours and activities

This is just a small sampling of the type of benefits you could make available to your subscribers and members. All these benefits will ensure the utmost peace of mind during travel. But it doesn’t stop there. The superior subscriber and member support offered by iTravelDirect on your behalf ensures high member satisfaction and improved retention rates.

How To Retain And Grow Your Subscriber And Member Lists

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With the promise to opt-in or cancel at any time, subscription businesses have truly empowered the contemporary consumer. As a result, the success of a subscription-based business relies on a customer-minded focus to achieve sustained long-term growth.

While subscriber- and membership-driven businesses are now working aggressively to acquire new customers in the post-Covid environment, it can be expensive and time-consuming as well. The key to effectively mitigating the cost of acquisition is to also have a healthy retention dynamic.

So, what’s the secret to achieving a healthy retention rate that fuels growth and revenue? Customer retention does not cost nearly as much as acquisition, and even small improvements in retention rates can produce huge financial impacts. It is possible to ensure a steady stream of income and significantly reduce the churn rate with the help of several retention strategies. Let us check out some foundational options and then a relatively new option!

1. Thank Your Customers
One of the best retention strategies to ensure that customers stick with you is to add value to them and treat them nicely. Expressing your gratitude from time to time is an excellent way to show that you care and appreciate them as customers. This goes beyond the transactional relationship. If you help them feel like they matter all the time, it is more likely they will continue being a loyal customer.

2. Offer Multichannel Support
Each customer has a preferred way of reaching out to your business. Offering support on as many channels as you can gives clear access to your customers so they can communicate with you whenever they want. Whether you choose to engage them via a live chat tool, email support, social media, or a traditional call center, use as many options as possible to make sure you keep them well-informed and happy.

3. Keep Your Customers In The Loop
Purchase frequency is the backbone of a successful subscription or member-based business. Email marketing is one of the best ways to keep your customers in the loop and stay engaged. Sharing an email with onboarding tips for new members or special “return rewards” for inactive customers can trigger better retention. However, it is also crucial to avoid spamming your customers with unnecessary or lengthy emails. Keep them short, crisp, relevant, and beneficial.

Another way to encourage repeat purchases is by sending follow-up emails. You can send an acknowledgment email after their purchase and even recommend products/services related to their initial purchase. This will make your brand more approachable to your customers and they will be less likely to drift off to your competitors.

4. Use The Element Of Surprise
Everyone loves a nice gesture or a surprise. Unexpected rewards are a great way to build thoughtful relationships with your customers and convert them into brand loyalists. Even a small gesture like a complimentary service or special rewards on purchases during special days can delight your customers and make them come back for more.

5. Act On Customer Feedback
Share well-crafted surveys with your customers asking them what works and what doesn’t. You’ll likely receive informative and helpful replies from loyal customers that can be used to make strategic business decisions. Gathering customer feedback can only serve to strengthen product design and reduce churn rates.

When the inevitable mistake happens, use that feedback to sharpen and improve your approach to prevent it from happening again. In the meantime, acknowledge the mistake and correct it as soon as possible. An important part of subscriber and member retention is transparency and strong mutual trust. Sweeping a mistake under the rug will serve to negatively impact customer perception of your organization.

6. Improve Customer Service
Customer service can make or break a company. When done well, it creates loyal consumers. When not properly provided, it can be a huge turn-off. If your organization has experienced a high churn rate, give your customer service process a check-up by asking these questions:

  • Is it easy for customers to reach you?
  • What is the average wait time?
  • How well does your customer service team respond to customers?
  • Is your customer support entirely automated or does it add the human touch?

7. Create A Smooth Onboarding And Renewal Process
For subscription and membership-based products and services, it is crucial to have a smooth onboarding process so that customers understand their purchase better. The onboarding experience is a huge factor that drives customer retention. Customers who have a seamless and enjoyable onboarding experience are most likely to stick around for the long haul.

8. Product Announcements And Updates
Product news is a great reason to communicate with your customers and also inform them of new rewards, promotions, value-added benefits, and so on. Keeping your customers up to date with new product announcements and services will keep them engaged and curious to try out your new options. You can also ask for customer feedback on new products to give them an opportunity to feel heard.

9. Understand The Key Metrics
Tracking your subscriber or member data is crucial to revealing the insights needed to help reduce the churn rate. Strong engagement rates indicate high customer satisfaction. Utilizing key metrics and establishing clear goals is vital for the success of any business.

10. A Relatively New And Increasingly Popular Option
Many growth-oriented businesses are exploring new and better ways to keep their subscribers and members engaged on a regular basis. One of the most popular trends is the development of unique loyalty programs, and in these unprecedented times following the pandemic, a privately branded travel club is one of the options that has been gaining steam.

Travel clubs are proving to be an ideal solution for both B2C and B2B companies. Almost everyone loves to travel, so an exclusive travel club gives a company lots to talk about with its subscribers and members. It becomes the ideal platform to engage and motivate members into buying more and earning rewards in exchange for their purchases.

An innovative loyalty program such as a members-only travel club incentivizes customers for their continued value to the business. It will help encourage repeat purchases and cultivate member loyalty. You can even encourage new customers by rewarding them with a welcome bonus or rewards.

Travel clubs can be complex and costly, but fortunately, you no longer have to go it alone. The best way to establish your own custom-branded travel club quickly and affordably is by partnering with a white-label travel club builder and support provider. As ranked by industry peers, the world’s best white-label travel club benefit builder is iTravelDirect.

Why Subscription Companies Should Offer Travel

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Including a custom-branded travel club can help build an emotional connection with your subscription customers, which in turn can give you the differentiating edge necessary in the subscription business model. Associating with iTravelDirect, your subscription company can creatively combine subscriptions and rewards that add value for you and your customers.

With bespoke travel deals and discounts and access to over 300,000 discount providers, iTravelDirect can serve as a unique integration for your subscription model. Our salient features are designed to merge subscriptions with rewards and deals to create ultra-unique customer experiences. A few of them are:

  • Up to 50% discount deals at the places where consumers shop every day
  • Daily, local, and global discounts on food and dining, apparel, movie tickets, auto care, car rentals, theme parks, and many more
  • Exclusive discounts of up to 35-40% on luggage, bags, and other travel essentials
  • Access to all types of emergency services like medical, legal referrals, on-the-fly translations
  • Ways to earn and redeem points

iTravelDirect, with our turn-key Travel Club Benefits Program, can assist you in acquiring new subscription customers creating an emotional connection with your new and existing customers, and communicating – in ways words cannot – that they are truly valued and appreciated.

With our intuitive benefits, rewards, and deals, we are dedicated to helping subscription companies grow their sales and turn one-time purchases into recurring sales. iTravelDirect can help subscription companies host a wide array of discounts and deals that drive repeat sales. Our striking travel benefits include Vacation Rental Deals; Member Only Hotel Deals; Airport Lounge Access, Best Price Promise, Daily, Local, and Global Discounts, and many more.

iTravelDirect is the leading B2B membership-based travel club fulfillment company/travel benefits provider that creates, operates, and helps market travel clubs & travel benefits programs for brands and organizations around the world. We provide white-label travel club platforms & solutions.

iTravelDirect has partnered with the best in the industry to provide the best deals on travel to the members. Our travel benefits program provides the best rewards, benefits, and savings to the members. We make it easy for members to save on travel so that they can take the vacations that matter.

The Growing Demand For Travel Clubs

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Over the last few years, international and domestic travel has seen a drastic makeover. An ever-increasing number of companies are pushing the envelope by providing unmatched benefits and features to boost their employee and customer loyalty.

This trend is leading to the rapid growth of customized travel clubs. From providing affordable weekend getaways to luxurious holidays, these new travel clubs are already changing the face of this multi-billion dollar industry. Here are some of the reasons why this trend is now picking up speed and taking hold.

The Opportunity For Growth
The travel sector is one of the most profitable industries in the world and employs millions of people. Although it has gone through turbulent times during the pandemic, travel is once again seeing rapid growth, expansion, and innovation. However, the opportunities are different than before the pandemic because about 70% of travelers report that they would like to try something new.

This means that the industry has a huge opportunity for innovative growth. Although the concept of customized travel clubs is relatively new, it has already taken the industry by storm. The integration of technological advancements to enhance the benefit array has further led to the overall adoption and growth of travel clubs.

A Relationship Bridge
Regardless of all the innovative developments in the travel sector, there is still a significant gap between businesses and the goals of their employees and customers. This is exactly where customized travel clubs can provide an easy solution to connect travelers with business amenities. Instead of being a black box, it makes the travel sector quite transparent. Not only does it empower travelers to make their own choices, but it also delivers more business to vendors. Travel clubs are a win-win situation for everyone.

An Easy Way To Plan Travel
Gone are the days when planning a family vacation would consume days of research. With the help of a travel club, customers can simply book their next vacation right from their smartphones. With just one tap, every kind of travel need can be taken care of. All of this provides a more hassle-free way of traveling.

Personalization
One of the reasons travelers are moving away from traditional prepackaged tours is because they lack the element of personalization. In contrast, travel clubs provide a seamless way to create customized trips without difficulty. A travel club member can collaborate with fellow travelers, share different details, and plan a personalized holiday on the go.

Added Benefits
The types of expanded benefits that are offered through travel clubs can’t be compared with traditional travel companies. Innovative features such as big discounts on hotels and resorts, airport lounge access, passport expediting, medical evacuation, and personal help desks are changing people’s expectations and choices.

Even business travelers are benefiting from features such as frequent flyer alerts, multi-language support, virtual currency programs, and access to private jet booking services. All of this makes travel clubs an essential part of the new travel landscape.

Member Support
To make sure that travelers have a trouble-free experience, travel clubs are able to provide a dedicated 24/7/365 team of personal assistants. With this feature, travelers can get in touch with qualified member representatives to resolve any travel issues or answer queries. In addition, some travel clubs also support their members with access to a licensed doctor or local lawyer should medical or legal matters arise.

With all these provisions, travel clubs are not only here to stay, but they will continue to drive an industry revolution.

How To Quickly And Easily Add A Travel Club Benefit
If you would like to see how to add a travel-based rewards and loyalty program for your employees and/or customers, then book a live demo with us, and we will further explain the process and guide you through the selection of benefits that you could offer. Adding travel rewards is now one of the smartest tactics that your brand can use to recruit and retain the right people for your organization.

How To Boost Employee Retention With iTravelDirect

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Human resources are the most vital component of any growing business. If your firm would like to improve long-term employee satisfaction and retention, then you need to think out of the box.

Here’s why. In the current environment, most employees make a switch because of the lack of recognition and excitement for their work.

By providing an employee benefit built around travel, you can increase excitement as well as provide a competitive retention or recruiting advantage that other potential employers might not provide. One of the best ways to achieve this is by providing a travel club to your workforce. Here are some of the specific ways you can use your custom-branded travel club to build a stronger and more loyal workforce.

Premium Business Travel
There are many jobs for which business travel is a required element. It has been reported that around 87% of working professionals believe that the quality of their corporate travel directly impacts the outcome of their trips. Therefore, if you want your employees to achieve better results while traveling, then providing a travel club benefit to them makes their lives better and also improves your bottom-line business results.

Reward Points That Are Easy To Use
The rewards and recognition program of any firm plays a vital role in letting employees know how much they are being valued. Unfortunately, most businesses often provide the kind of reward points that can’t be easily used. To boost employee satisfaction, you should provide travel loyalty programs that can readily be used by your employees.

Of note, it has been found that 83% of millennials identify travel rewards as the best type of perk that their employer can offer. If you want to retain more millennials in your workforce, then you should provide a travel club membership to them.

Focusing On “Bleisure” Trips
Bleisure (business + leisure) trips have changed the face of traditional corporate travel. In recent years, it has been noted that the average employee takes 1.4 bleisure trips per year. If you want your employees to have a memorable experience, then provide them with exclusive travel club benefits. They would certainly enjoy features like airport lounge access, exclusive discounts or upgrades on hotels, a personal travel agent, etc. Such simple benefits would lead to improved employee satisfaction in both the short-term and the long run.

Boosting Employee Efficiency
These days, travel is no longer considered as a luxury, but a necessity. If your employee’s mental health makes them more productive, then it will give them a higher sense of confidence and would benefit your organization at the same time. Therefore, you should encourage your employees to travel more and come back with a refreshed mind. Research has clearly proven that taking a vacation is good for employee productivity at work. You can encourage more refreshing travel by providing travel club benefits to your employees so that travel is more affordable or provides more memorable experiences.

Attaining An Overall Positive Environment
Most importantly, happy employees are far more likely to stay in their jobs much longer. This can be achieved by providing the kind of perks that keep valuable employees “in the family” and which no other employer can offer.

How To Quickly And Easily Add A Travel Club Benefit
If you would like to see how to add a travel-based rewards and loyalty program for your employees (and/or customers), then book a live demo with us, and we will further explain the process and guide you through the selection of benefits that you could offer. Adding travel rewards is now one of the smartest tactics that your company can use to recruit and retain the right people for your organization.