QR code for Loyalty Programs: Improve Customer Retention Strategy

QR code for loyalty programs is becoming an essential supporting tool to keep current customers engaged and happy.

Studies showed that acquiring new customers is more expensive than retaining an existing customer. Furthermore, it showed that increasing customer retention, even at 5% could increase profits by 95%.

This goes to show how necessary customer retention is in your business.

But how do you do this?

If you’re a brand with consistent customer flow, you’ve probably already employed various customer retention strategies, including loyalty and rewards programs. And if you’re a brand that is starting to build trust with your first few customers, then you’ll have to exert more effort in gaining their trust first.

Using the various QR code solutions in QR TIGER, we’ve broken down key steps to building your loyalty program and some customer retention strategies.

In each step or technique, we’ve incorporated the correct QR code solution you can use.

Why should you have a loyalty program in your customer retention strategy?

As part of any business’ customer retention strategies, loyalty programs are one of the most effective tactics for increasing revenue and inspiring customer loyalty.

Market research found that 84% of consumers say they’re more apt to stick with a brand that offers a loyalty program.

At the same time, 66% of customers expressed that the ability to earn rewards changes their spending behavior.

Simply stating, you shouldn’t forget about your loyal customers in the process. After all, they’re the ones who have contributed to your success.

With your customer loyalty program, you can reward customers for their continued support and trust in your brand.

It encourages them to shop and interact with your business while at the same time, they are being rewarded.

This makes them happier because they’re getting more from experience than just your product or service.

And, since the top percentile of your customers spends much more than the rest of your customer base, you have to make sure these users are more than satisfied.

Hence, the importance of introducing a QR code loyalty program to your customers.

QR code-based loyalty programs: What’s in it, and why should I need one in my business?

By using a free QR code for loyalty programs, you are not just giving incentives to your customers but also advocating sustainability.

Most businesses opted to use QR codes to minimize paper wastage in printing discount coupons and gift cards.

That being said, brands could cut down on wasted paper, ink, and resources used in the past in distributing coupons, gift cards, and more.

Digitizing marketing collaterals also entice customers to connect with their brand even more.

Furthermore, the Juniper Research study has found that the amount of coupon QR codes that have been redeemed thru mobile devices will increase to 5.3 billion by the next 2 years from an estimated 1.3 billion. 

This means that many current consumers are mobile users who use their devices to engage with brands.

The payoffs for having this innovative QR-code-based reward system in place are the following:

1. Wider customer reach by using different channels

You can incorporate it in your flyers, brochure, posters, and store banners to encourage an offline audience to scan it and get exclusive discounts on their next purchase.

You can leverage using social media and even your website to share your coupon QR code to entice your current customers to avail yourself of your offers.

If your loyal customers are more active on emails and other platforms, you can customize your QR code membership card discounts and coupons and integrate them.

The main takeaway here is to use omnichannel platforms where your loyal customers are most active.

2. Effective for outside-of-home advertising efforts

When combined with digital advancements such as QR codes, OOH advertising drives more traffic and engagement, meaning you will get more scans and interactions from your target audience.

3. Engages your tech-savvy customers

Customers like new and innovative tech solutions that give them convenience and surprises too!

Using a loyalty QR code, your tech-savvy customers, especially Gen-Z consumers, will have high digital comfort when scanning and interacting with your QR code-based loyalty programs.

By whipping out their smartphones, they can have instant access to your discounted offers and gifts. It’s efficient, more interactive, and resonates well with your hyperactive and tech-savvy customers.

4. Easy to edit and track

QR codes, when generated in a dynamic form, allow you to edit the embedded content.

This usually happens if you want to redirect your scanners to another URL if you use a URL QR code, as the case may be.

You can also redirect your customers using the File QR code and other primary QR code solutions.

Marketers are also keen on using dynamic QR codes so they can track their QR code campaigns.

This is important to know how many people are scanning your QR code, where they are coming from, the devices they are using, etc.

You can also enable the email notification feature of your QR codes so you can get updates depending on the frequency you’ve set whenever your audience scans the QR code.

This way, your QR code-based loyalty programs are easier to manage since the codes are editable.

Moreover, you’ll get more data to determine how effective your campaign is.

5. Retargeting made easy

This way, you can maximize the use of your loyalty QR code to connect with your hyperaware customers who have previously interacted with your brand.

Related: How to create dynamic QR codes with Google Tag Manager retarget tool feature and increase conversions

6. Customize QR codes to align with your branding

Using the best QR code generator, you can customize your loyalty QR code and set the colors, frames, eyes, and patterns to match your design and branding.

You can even add your brand logo and a catch call to action to bolster brand recall and engagement.

Related: 7 guidelines to follow when creating visual QR codes

7. More sales and higher customer retention

If people find value in your program, they’ll likely stick around longer. Want a higher average order value?

According to recent loyalty research, 49% of consumers agree they’ve spent more after joining a loyalty program.

By incorporating QR codes in your loyalty program, more people would promote your brand, and referrals would come in.

Creative ways to use QR code-based loyalty program in your customer retention strategy

1. QR code loyalty cards to offer surprise gifts and discounts

To show your appreciation, you can give them gifts and discounts. You can use a free QR code for loyalty programs to redirect your customers to a landing page to redeem their discount codes or gift cards.

For limited-time discounts, enable the expiry feature of dynamic QR codes (URL, File, and H5) so that your QR codes will only be scannable for a specific period or after several scans.

Then along with it you can add a short and sweet message telling them why they’re receiving the surprise and focus on highlighting that they are a loyal customer.

Moreover, you can also print your bulk URL QR codes to your loyalty cards which can be scanned when redeeming the discount in your stores.

2. Send an exclusive email to your VIPs and repeat customers.

If you have a VIP list of your repeat customers or those who availed of your premium services, you can send them a thank you email with a discount QR code.

This is great for customers because they get a discount, feel appreciated, and feel like they are part of a particular club — which they are!

Offering surprise gifts and discounts not only encourages customers to buy again but it can also elevate your brand.

Customers who receive surprise gifts and exclusive discounts often share them on social media, increasing your exposure which can help attract new customers to your business.

3. Early access and exclusive events

If you’re launching a new product or service, you can share an event QR code along with your email to your carefully chosen guests and attendees.

This way, they only have to scan the QR code to register and get more event information as they confirm their attendance.

Inviting your customers and partners to early access or exclusive event gives them a sense of exclusivity. This makes them feel more valued by your brand.

4. Value-based loyalty program with a QR code to donate

You can connect to your customers on a deeper level by initiating a donation program or charity work.

You can let your customers know that you are donating a percentage of your profits to charity or welfare programs.

Make sure that your chosen charity genuinely aligns with your company's and customers’ values.

You can also let your customers directly donate to the charity using a loyalty QR code. This way, you encourage them to get involved in societal issues, and your brand becomes a great avenue to connect to deserving beneficiaries.

5. Mobile app for loyalty programs

Retailers usually create a mobile app to manage loyalty programs. It is easier as there’s no need to have a card or even a sign-in.

You can promote your mobile app to your customers and encourage them to order via the app store QR code.

This way, your customers will be redirected directly to your mobile app, whether it’s in Play Store or Apple Store.

6. Use Gamification with scan-based multi-URL QR code.

Gamification is a fun way to reward loyal customers for benefitting your company, and it’s a very successful strategy.

You can offer customers a discount using the scan-based multi-URL QR code.

To do this, you can reward the first 20 scanners with a particular discount, and then the following day, you can also reward the next batch of scanners with another discount value.

There will be higher engagement as your customers cannot resist scanning the code to get discounts.

7. Start a customer education program

Having a customer education program demonstrates a long-term investment in your customer base.

Under this initiative, your business creates various customer service tools like a knowledge base site, references, and a community forum.

Then, customers use these features to locate solutions to service problems before reaching out to your support team.

You can also incorporate video QR codes into these features to encourage interaction and engagement among your customers. This way, they can see and view your educational videos on their smartphones and save them for future reference.

To cater to your auditory learners and customers, you can use an MP3 QR code when sharing your educational content.

How to create a QR code for my customer loyalty program

After getting to know about the various QR code solutions you can use for your customer loyalty program, here are the steps to create your QR codes.

• Go to the best QR code generator online
• Choose among the QR code solutions you need
• Click generate and always choose dynamic to edit and track your QR code
• Customize your QR code according to your brand or purpose
• Test your QR code loyalty program
• Hit Download
• Track the data of your QR code

Tracking and editing your QR code for a loyalty program

Your QR codes for loyalty programs, when powered with dynamic QR code type, will help your campaign be more data-driven and cost-efficient.

In contrast with a static QR code, a dynamic QR code allows you to have a more scannable QR code as the patterns are less dense.

Furthermore, you can edit your loyalty QR code content without reprinting it. The changes will automatically be reflected in the QR code upon scanning.

Moreover, you can also track your QR code scans using the QR code analytics tool and gauge the performance of your QR code campaign.

Editing your QR code for a loyalty program

In editing your QR code, proceed to click the QR code tracking data. Then go to your campaign, and click on the ‘edit data’ button for you to add another URL or file.

Tracking your QR code for a loyalty program

As mentioned, the Dynamic QR code tracks the QR code scans. You can see a detailed report of your QR code campaign via the downloadable CSV file.

The metric or statistical data are the following:

• Real-time data of your QR code scans

You can see from the time chart the number of scans you get. You can filter the data by days, weeks, months, or years!

• Device used by your scanners

Are your scanners iPhone or Android users?

• Map chart for a broader QR code scans view

The map chart in the best QR code generator gives you a comprehensive overview of the data revealing the location of the people who have scanned your QR Code!

Below the map chart is the summary of your QR code scans’ overall statistics.

The incredible thing about QR code tracking is that you can integrate Google Analytics for rich and in-depth data of your QR code campaign.

Related: How to set-up QR code tracking in real-time: A step-by-step guide

Brands that implement QR Code-based loyalty programs

1. Amazon’s SmileCodes users scan to get discounts and other offers

Customers who scan the codes using the Amazon app can instantly unlock Amazon benefits and discounts at the specific location they find the code.

2. Promo QR code used by GCash

One of the largest Philippine mobile wallets, mobile payments, and branchless banking service providers, GCash, uses QR codes to give customers exclusive vouchers, which they can use to get discounts when paying using the scan to pay GCash QR.

When customers scan the QR code, they’ll automatically receive a QR Voucher.

They’ll get it through the app, and they’ll also receive an SMS with your voucher details — how much the voucher is, how long it is valid for, and where they can use it.

3. Target uses QR codes to offer substitute gift cards

Target, one of the largest retailers in the US, creatively debuted its Gift Cards All Gone QR-Code campaign.

When scanners scan the QR code, they will be redirected to Target’s gift cards online stock or substitute.

Generate your QR code for loyalty programs with the best QR code generator now and grow your sales and retain more customers

QR code-based customer loyalty programs help you build a more engaging customer experience.

This is equally important to your company’s success, as 75 percent of customers base their purchasing decisions on their experience, according to our Customer Experience Trends Report.

Using QR codes, B2C companies can develop solid and interactive loyalty marketing programs to grow their revenue and get higher returns.

This powerful technology that has taken the spotlight during the pandemic will encourage more customers to interact with your brand.

You’ll be able to increase customer lifetime value by giving them appreciation and incentives.

We’ll be happy to help you learn more about QR codes and how you can use them for your loyalty program and to keep customers coming back.