Customer loyalty will likely fall when you do not take customer service and customer experience seriously. This has been proved when Verint Systems Inc. undertook a study of more than 34,000 consumers to evaluate why customer loyalty and retention were declining.  

In fact, two-thirds of the consumers said they would switch to a competitor that provides the best customer experience or service.  

If you are not investing in customer experience, you are investing in a loss for your retail industry business. Now, we wouldn't want that, do we? 

So, read on as we discuss how customer loyalty will likely fall in the retail market.  

1. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you don't have a loyalty program 

If you want to keep your audience happy, don't do anything that might make them think they're receiving a worse deal than other customers or otherwise aren't special. 

Of course, I love loyalty rewards programs that save me money. 

And it's natural for most people to be incentivized by money. Not having any sort of discount or loyalty program is bad because it can cost you more customers, which can result in a lack of success for your company. 

Hard to believe me?  

Research has it that 48% of consumers would avoid a brand if it didn’t offer discounts. And you know what? To 77% of consumers, it’s loyalty programs that make them stay and make recurring purchases with brands. 

If you want to add value and create a positive, emotional connection with your customers or members, then you should look into adding loyalty programs to your business. This will help you maintain good customer relationships and increase the customer lifetime value. 

2. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you give useless rewards 

Customers will always be loyal to companies who give them great incentives to join their programs. They need to know that every time they decide to buy from you, they will get something back in return. You should offer valuable rewards that show your customers how much you appreciate their loyalty. 

Some people like getting coupons, others love free gifts, and still, others desire early access to your new products or services. 

It's up to you to figure out what rewards are good enough for your most valuable customers. Figuring out consumer needs and wants and using them to your advantage is the best way your customer service teams can do it. 

The goal of your customer loyalty program should be to meet customers’ needs and incentivize them to join while at the same time, not neglecting sales or cart size. 

Your customer's expectations are the most important thing and if you fail to meet them, not only will your loyalty program seem pointless, but your company might lose some of its best customers. 

Customer loyalty will likely fall when you give useless offers and rewards to your customers. So, train your team to learn the needs of your customers and offer rewards that will appeal to them. 

3. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you don't reward the right customer behavior 

When customers fail to get rewarded for their correct behavior (actions that are beneficial to you), they often turn away from your brand, which often leads to a loss of customer loyalty. 

As 65% of your business comes from returning customer base, it's very important that you keep these customers happy. You do this by delivering on what you promise and encouraging reward loyalty, not just any purchase. 

Too many businesses focus on offering discounts to first-time buyers or bribing new audiences with special sales, first order promo codes, and more, thus investing in a hefty customer acquisition cost. 

Although this can be exciting for new customers, it may cause some of your loyal customers to see you as a one-hit-wonder. 

And do understand that customers may reap the benefits with your competitor and get new bonuses and rewards. So, it's not the loyal ones being rewarded, rather disloyal customers! 

You may still try to incentivize new customers and attract leads. But your loyal customers should get tangible rewards for shopping with you if you want to increase your customer retention rate. 

4. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you have an extremely complicated loyalty program 

If people have to go through a lot of effort to join your loyalty program or earn and redeem rewards, they'll get easily discouraged and stop participating. 

A good customer retention program should have clear, concise rules that don’t come with a headache. 

Going through the form process can be a real pain for customers. Especially if the process is tedious and confusing, they may need to use a calculator just to figure out what their rewards might be worth. 

So, make everything easy for your consumers. That is the customer expectation and customer demand. Just do that and you'll have happy customers returning to shop with you over and over again.  

So, make it clear what the loyalty rewards program is and how customers can join on your website. Provide information about how the program works and contact methods for questions. 

5. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you reward everyone the same way 

In the "everybody wins" approach, nobody is ever a clear-cut winner and you will undoubtedly be losing customers. 

If you're treating a consumer who's been with you for the past 10 years in the same way as someone who has just come to your store to window shop, your long-term customer will feel undervalued. 

If a brand you love offered rewards for making 10 purchases a month but gave the same rewards to your acquaintance who spent $5.00 at their store 2 years ago, would you remain loyal to them? 

Definitely not! 

You wouldn't see what value you would get from being loyal to them, and you'd look for other companies who appreciate their customers a bit more. So, know how to value relationships with customers.  

One of the easiest ways to show that you care for your customers is through developing a tiered VIP membership. Give newcomers an exclusive opportunity to buy with a discount on their first purchase. Your returning customers can get their unique codes for an even better deal. And your loyal customers can get rewards, prizes, or special offers. 

It’s a straightforward customer loyalty program type that offers a personalization option for your entire customer base—especially your loyal customers. 

6. Customer loyalty will likely fall when your loyalty program isn't marketed to the right audience 

If your customers forget about you and your loyalty program, their customer loyalty will likely fall. 

People wouldn't care if 74% of brands they interacted with disappeared because those brands failed to foster meaningful relationships.  

There are plenty of competitors out there which offer similar products at highly competitive prices, so it is not detrimental to a consumer if a brand they purchased from were to disappear as well. 

To make your customers care and stay loyal, you need to bond in a strong relationship and remind them of the value you offer through your rewards programs and incentives. 

You need to tell them to redeem their rewards points so they can enjoy the perks they have earned. 

Ensure you make it as easy as possible for customers to see the rewards they've already earned and the rewards return customers can expect. Digital channels such as social media or email and cross channel marketing are a good way to do this. 

7. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you get a poor ROI 

Lack of budgeting can lead to customer loyalty dropping, as you can’t see the ROI when it comes to marketing. 

If you have no idea whether your loyalty program is paying off, your internal teams have no way of knowing if you're meeting consumer demands 

If a loyalty program isn't working, your customers might be disappointed with what it offers. 

They would rather not claim their perks because they don't meet their needs. On the flip side, poor ROI can be indicative of giving your customers great rewards that your company is actually losing money on them. 

You need to find that balance between rewarding a potential customer and making money. Keep on top of your program's performance, and get to know it inside and out with retail analytics so you can fix any issues before they hurt your business. 

8. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you increase product cost without adding value 

When a company increases the cost of its products consumers don’t normally want to pay more for something that doesn’t seem worth it. 

You might be thinking what is value in the first place? Well, to put it simply - it's about how much you got for your money. If you think that something was good value, it means that you got a lot of what you were looking for and paid a reasonable price. 

In fact, 92% of surveyed loyal customers ranked price and value as the top driver for loyalty with a specific retailer. 

When you raise prices for any reason, make sure the increase in price reflects the increase in value of your product or service. 

9. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you strikingly show that you don't care about your customers 

Your customers are your lifeblood and without them, you wouldn't be in business. This is why treating them right is so important. They'll appreciate the care they receive and will be more inclined to do business with you again. 

It's no surprise that 60 percent of consumers are happy to take their business elsewhere if they don't receive good customer service. 74% of millennials say bad service from brands they're loyal to would make them less likely to purchase products in the future. 

It is part of a good customer service experience to have humans, not machines, to help you find answers. 

74% of consumers are loyal to businesses that offer human customer support and 43% would think about taking their business elsewhere if they weren't given the chance to speak with a human. 

The moral of the story – if you want customer loyalty, focus on spending time and resources to educate your staff better. They need to know how to handle all types of customers effectively so you lose less business. 

Customers want to feel like your business is human, approachable and genuinely cares about them. 

10. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you don't use personalization 

Personalization in your marketing efforts can be extremely beneficial for delighting your customers and making them feel special. 

Eighty percent of people want personalized experiences when they purchase from a company. So if you don’t currently have a personalization strategy in place, my advice would be to get one. 

Having employees greet customers by name is a great first step to building a customer-focused company. It also helps to get them more detailed information about the customer, like similar products they may be interested in or past purchases. Using a marketing automation platform, you can automate messages that are relevant and customized for each individual person. 

Make sure your efforts are well thought and benefit the customer. If you don’t, 48% of customers will leave your brand for a poor personalization experience, 22% of them to never come back after a creepy one. 

11. Customer loyalty will likely fall when you are socially irresponsible 

Now more than ever, customers are more attentive to where their money is going and are often less tolerant of poor customer experiences. 

Millennials are the key populace tuned in to this trend—with 52% of them desiring to engage with brands aligned to their values. Other interesting findings include the following: 

• 70% of millennials would minimize their spending on brands they are loyal to if they discovered they don’t pay their employees well. 

• After learning that the brand relies on unethical labor practices, 69% of millennial consumers would buy your products less often. 

• When the boss is making a lot of money and the employees are barely getting by, two-thirds will be less likely to make purchases. 

Apart from millennials, a lot of people in different generational groups are more conscious about do-good brands. Among the 48% of Generation X and 35% of Baby Boomers surveyed, they're more likely to think it's important for their values to align with the brands they like. 

Overall, it would be best to take care of your employees, support some causes/charities and keep your business practices ethical. 

Don't let customer loyalty fall henceforth 

There are various reasons why customer loyalty falls. Unfortunately, it's mostly because of what we, retailers do.  

So, steer clear of the 11 things that put off customer loyalty. Feel free to ask your customers how you are performing through a customer satisfaction survey. Learn what is not resonating with them and revamp your strategy accordingly.