‘People retention’ is a big deal in business, whether it’s your customers or employees. So why don’t companies recognise the importance of both? When it comes down to it, each group should be rewarded for their loyalty. Because reducing turnover and churn makes sense, both for your company culture and for your finances.

How do you measure loyalty?

It’s not a tricky concept to grasp. A loyal customer keeps using your services, a loyal employee delivers their best work for you. Ideally, if you’re getting it right, they’ll both act as brand ambassadors for your business too. But that’s down to you.

Just because you’ve sold a product to someone, or they’ve sold their time to you, doesn’t mean they owe you anything. You can’t expect loyalty as a point of principle - it’s your job to provide a good service and a good company culture. So incentivising loyalty is the smartest choice you could make.

How do loyalty programmes make money?

Sure, it all comes down to money. Maybe you can’t afford to give your customers massive discounts, or pay impressive salaries - but you certainly can’t afford to not try.

Let’s look at your customers. If they’re loyal, they’ll spend more, spend more often, and bring in new business - just by telling friends and family about their positive experience. And if you lose their allegiance, you’ll have to spend more on acquiring new potential customers.

The same logic applies to your workforce. Studies show that staff turnover can cost you 33% of said employee’s former salary, due to the complicated costs of rehiring and training. And given the impact of high turnover on morale, it can lead to a slippery slope.

It’s not that loyalty programmes make you money - is that it saves you a lot of it, in the long run.

How do you reward customer and employee loyalty?

So you know you should reward people for giving you business, or working for you. But there’s a lot of ways to actually do it - from gamification to promote engagement, to using data to personalise loyalty offerings. Partner offers, staff discounts, loyalty cards - there’s a lot of options.

Here’s what Pact Coffee does, to help promote loyalty in our clients’ staff and customers. For businesses that use our coffee, we give every single one of their employees a generous discount on a at-home coffee plan - so they’re benefiting from their employer even after they’ve clocked off for the evening.

Now we’re expanding into the realm of restaurants, cafés and hotels, we’ve introduced a new programme - by partnering with Magic Stamp. An innovative new way to digitise loyalty cards, you’ll never have to rummage through your wallet for a tattered bit of card again. Not only is it more convenient for your customers, it also offers you essential insights into your customer’s spending habits. Win win, eh?

Don’t lose out on loyalty

You’re losing money, ruining your reputation, and missing opportunities if you’re not taking loyalty rewards seriously. Your customers and your team are the most essential assets you have - so don’t leave them wondering if they could do better elsewhere.