Let’s Talk Rewards
Should you have a reward system? Do you need one? How should you go about getting started? And so many more questions jump through my head that could turn into a call or 3 hour workshop, just about reward programs.
First, let’s review a little bit, before we dive into reward systems.
- Have you set up your Social Media systems?
- Have you identified if you have clients that love to share your info?
If yes to both of these, then let’s talk rewards! If no, stop and go do those steps (review blogs 1, 2 and 3.)
Referral Candy has great checklists for incorporating a rewards program. They recommend you ask yourself if you:
- Have a great product clients will love (You have you and/or your studio, so the answer to this is yes!), and
- Have you already rocked the word-of-mouth marketing?
Plan Your Reward Program
Once you have those questions answered honestly, then you get to move on to these:
- What are you incentivizing? What are you wanting to promote more of? Is it filling your classes? Gaining more privates sessions? What exactly do you want more of that you are willing to offer rewards for?
- Who is getting rewarded? Is it a reward program for teachers in your studio? Is it clients who send in potential clients? Is it the potential client?
- What do they get? Know the reward, be clear and make sure that it’s easy to understand. You don’t want to reward them with a discount on their next session but they thought it was on their next package.
Once you have these pieces in place, now it’s time to carry it out. When rolling out a program you need to communicate it, remind the potential awardee about it and keep it simple for them. Just like in previous blogs about referrals, you need to make sure it’s easy for your advocate to share the opportunity. If they have to come up with something themselves to share you’re less likely to get the info out. But make an event, newsletter or post and all they have to do is click “share” or bring a guest to qualify.
Before you begin your program, make sure you have thought about how you are going to track its success. Is it a #hashtag? Is it an excel sheet? How will you do the analytics? Also, think about what could go wrong. Not that something will, but, just in case. Did you make sure to include any exclusions to the promotion? What if there is a return? How will that be handled?
Dot Your I’s, Cross Your T’s
When you feel you have a good handle on all of these things, it’s time to design your reward program. I wish I could just give you a program to run yourself. But, honestly only you can design or choose for yourself. Every teacher has what they are capable of offering. Your reward program should be something that doesn’t break your bank but also entices people to partake in it. If you have been working with me long enough, you know I am not a fan of discounts or flash sales. However, I do think something simple like my hairdressers 20/20 plan might be easy to tailor.
If you’re wanting something bigger, badder and you have the studio size and client list to go with it, check out this site for program suggestions. You can also look into options like Referral Candy. Recently, I was at this amazing coffee roaster outside of Joshua Tree. They use Loyal Blocks which seems to set up for business like ours, salons, small coffee houses and more!
Do not jump into a referral program without getting all your I’s dotted and T’s crossed. You do not want to go through all the effort of designing and rolling out a system that isn’t the right fit for your studio or clients. Your time is valuable. Before you go big, start small. Identify your ambassadors, make it easy for clients to refer you and continue to always give great value in your sessions. The business will come if the value is there. The rewards are just icing on the cake, so bake a great cake before you go putting frosting on it!
xx~LL
This post is one of a 4 part blog post series: Client Referrals (1) How To Get Them, (2) Reward Your Ambassadors, (3) Identifying Your Ambassadors, (4) Reward Programs
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