[Subscription strategy] Customer loyalty: an essential pillar of your subscription offer

Building customer loyalty is much more than just keeping them. It’s about turning them into a growth driver for companies with a subscription-based business model.

Far from being a simple loyalty card, loyalty becomes an ongoing conversation, between fulfilled expectations and unexpected surprises.

For companies launching a subscription strategy, every interaction with the subscriber is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship.

When retention becomes the key to success, it’s time to invent special moments, capable of transforming a subscriber into an ambassador.

Reimagining loyalty means elevating it to the level of a strategy, both relational and financial.

In this article, we take a look at how loyalty can become a real driving force, where every interaction becomes a strategic lever, strengthening both your company’s commitment and profitability.

What is loyalty?

Loyalty encompasses all actions aimed at maintaining a lasting relationship between a company and its customers.

For a company with a subscription model, building loyalty helps maximize Life Time Value (LTV) while reducing acquisition costs (CAC).

By building loyalty, you encourage your customers to remain subscribers longer, improving overall profitability.

As Dawkins and Reichheld point out, “it costs up to 5 times less to retain a customer than to win a new one”.

According to a study by Smile.io, after a customer has bought from an online store for the first time, they are 27% more likely to buy again. After a second purchase, they are 49% more likely to buy again. And after a third purchase, the probability rises to 62%.

Why is loyalty the cornerstone of the subscription business model?

Increased LTV: Loyal subscribers spend 67 % more than new users. Well-executed loyalty enhances long-term profitability by maximizing LTV while maintaining a constant CAC.

According to a Harvard study, companies investing 5% more in loyalty can increase profits by 25% to 95%.

Optimized profitability: Loyalty optimizes the balance between LTV and CAC, improving key financial indicators for companies with a subscription model.

Recommendation: Satisfied subscribers act as ambassadors, promoting the brand through recommendations, increasing awareness at no extra cost.

How to build customer loyalty ?

1.Create an exceptional customer experience

The key to building customer loyalty is an exceptional experience, perfectly aligned with the expectations of each subscriber.

Understanding their needs and anticipating them at every interaction becomes essential. According to PwC, 73% of consumers consider the user experience to be a decisive factor in their purchasing decision.

Take Amazon Prime, for example, which combines the sale of products with exclusive services such as fast, free delivery, strengthening the loyalty of its subscribers.

In this logic, offering a smooth, enjoyable experience encourages lasting engagement with your brand.

Creating a harmonious omnichannel experience, both on digital platforms and in physical outlets, is necessary to ensure this loyalty over the long term.

Responsive customer support

Quality customer service is one of the key pillars of loyalty. The ability to respond quickly to requests, resolve problems accurately and offer tailor-made solutions strengthens subscriber confidence.

In fact, one study reveals that 77% of customers believe that responsive support is important to their loyalty.

To avoid disappointing or even delighting customers, companies can rely on services that are accessible 24/7, whether chatbots or a dedicated phone line, ensuring constant, attentive support at every stage of the customer journey.

2. Build or strengthen your community

Communities create a strong emotional bond between the brand and its subscribers.

Participating in online groups, forums or dedicated events allows subscribers to immerse themselves further in the brand’s universe.

An active community doesn’t just bring people together: it generates a sense of belonging, the key to long-term engagement.

A striking example is Sugarfina, a high-end confectionery brand, which has created a community of 252,000 followers on Instagram thanks to its loyalty program that rewards engagement (posts with hashtags, shares, etc.).

By organizing exclusive events and mobilizing its subscribers on social networks, Sugarfina has transformed its customers into true ambassadors, strengthening their attachment and lasting commitment to the brand.

In today’s hyper-connected world, 74% of consumers turn to social networks to ask questions, seek recommendations or share their purchasing experiences.

Creating an online community is becoming a necessity to engage your customers and foster natural interactions between them.

Emailing

Promotional emails and newsletters are also powerful levers for maintaining a permanent, strategic link with your customers.

When used with finesse, they make it possible to maintain a privileged and lasting relationship.

Regularly provide personalized offers, sound advice or exclusive content on your brand’s universe.

By doing so, you reinforce your customers’ trust while ensuring a constant presence in their minds.

Emailing integrates seamlessly into every stage of the customer journey. Upon registration, a welcome message can lay the foundations of this relationship, while a birthday email with a special offer celebrates your customers with elegance.

After each purchase, soliciting their opinion via a satisfaction questionnaire establishes a valuable dialogue and reinforces commitment.

To orchestrate your email marketing campaigns effectively, you need marketing automation software and a CRM.

These tools not only optimize your time management, but also refine the segmentation of your database, enabling you to deliver highly personalized and relevant messages.

3. Sponsorship programs

Although well known, referral programs are particularly effective in attracting new subscribers while retaining existing ones.

According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any form of advertising.

A referral program encourages existing subscribers to recommend the brand in exchange for rewards, while reinforcing their commitment.

Sponsorship also enables companies to control acquisition costs, which are capped by the rewards offered.

In terms of performance, leads obtained via sponsorship have a 30% higher conversion rate (source: Invesp) than other marketing channels.

4. Gamification: using fun to engage customers

Gamification is an excellent way of engaging your users in an original and lasting way.

Take the example of Jerky XP, a company specializing in snacks for gamers, which launched a “faction” system where members enjoy exclusive privileges and take part in competitions.

This playful approach has enabled the brand to gather over 10,000 connected members simultaneously at its events, illustrating the power of such a model to create a real craze.

Another example, 7-Eleven has developed a loyalty application, 7Rewards, in which users can play to accumulate even more points.

The app has many reviews, many of them praising its loyalty program.

A fine demonstration of how gaming can enhance customer engagement while making the experience more fun and interactive.

5. Rewards

Loyalty cards

Loyalty cards are a classic tool – the basic one par excellence – but still an effective one for retaining customer subscribers!

According to a study by Statista, a well-structured loyalty program can increase subscriber spending by 20%.

By offering discounts, gifts or redeemable points, you encourage subscribers to come back and stay engaged with your brand.

Offer flexibility

Flexibility is a key asset in loyalty programs, as it allows you to adapt to the specific needs and preferences of each customer.

A good example of flexibility is the Hilton Honors program, which offers members the ability to choose how to use their points, either for free stays, upgrades, or even special experiences.

By offering multiple options for using rewards, customers can personalize their experience and maximize the value they derive from the program, reinforcing their attachment to the brand.

Exclusive sales and limited promotions

Private sales and flash promotions are particularly effective strategies for generating a sense of urgency, prompting subscribers to act quickly.

These events not only create an immediate desire to buy, but also reinforce the perception of exclusivity and privilege among your most loyal customers.

By offering your subscribers early access to products or time-limited promotions, you establish a stronger bond with them by reserving advantages that others don’t have.

This type of reward not only increases sales, it also improves long-term commitment, as customers feel valued and pampered.

What’s more, exclusive sales make it possible to introduce new products or clear stock more effectively, while increasing brand enthusiasm.

Through flash offers, subscribers are more inclined to make a purchase for fear of missing an opportunity, stimulating interaction and activity over a short but intense period.

Best practices for building subscriber loyalty

Listen to the voice of the customer

Lending an attentive ear to the voice of the customer is an important step for any ambitious company.

Understanding the needs, behaviors and expectations of your customers is more than just gathering information: it’s the art of picking up on signals, whether explicit or implicit, to fine-tune your offering and stay ahead of market trends.

The voice of the customer is expressed in many ways. It can be solicited directly, through surveys, questionnaires or interviews.

This feedback enables you to gauge precise perceptions and adjust your strategy accordingly.

But the voice of the customer can also emerge spontaneously, via reviews left on social networks, interactions with a chatbot or through customer service.

This data is less formal but just as valuable, often revealing very authentic feelings.

Identify the customers you want to retain

When we talk about loyalty, we’re not just talking about retaining any customer. You need to focus on those who bring real value to your business.

Not all of them can be retained, which is why identifying the 20% of customers who generate between 50% and 80% of your sales, following the Pareto principle, is essential.

This selection is based on a careful analysis of their buying habits and their commitment to your brand.

To refine this strategy, three priority areas:

• Customers who weigh heavily in your results.
• Those whose loyalty reinforces your image and attracts new prospects.
• Those with promising growth potential.

Focusing your loyalty efforts on these key segments enables you to optimize your resources while guaranteeing a long-lasting, profitable relationship.

Turn complaints into opportunities

Customer complaints, often perceived as a hindrance, can be turned into a great opportunity.

Complaints are an integral part of any business, and it’s how you handle them that makes the difference.

Reacting quickly, with empathy, while proposing an appropriate solution, not only enables you to adjust your services, but also strengthens the customer relationship and encourages long-term loyalty.

Example: A customer complains about a faulty product, and you react immediately by offering an express exchange and a voucher in compensation.

Not only do you solve their problem, but you turn a negative situation into a loyalty opportunity, showing that you value their experience.

Measure the performance of your loyalty program

Measuring the performance of a loyalty program is a key step towards improving it. Various indicators can be adapted to your objectives.

The Net Promoter Score, for example, estimates the likelihood of your customers recommending you.

The re-purchase rate measures the percentage of customers who make a new purchase. The upsell rate measures how many customers choose a different product.

The loyalty rate calculates how long customers stay with us.

Finally, the acquisition rate quantifies the effectiveness of your marketing actions in terms of the number of leads generated.

Once you’ve mastered these indicators, you’ll be able to refine your strategies and maximize customer loyalty over the long term.

Loyalty as a growth driver

As the subscription market gets tougher, loyalty becomes a key asset.

A unique customer experience, combined with targeted referral programs, turns every subscriber into a standard-bearer.

This boosts retention and recommendation. Subscriber lifetime value soars, while acquisition costs plummet.

A subtle alchemy is created, where trust and sustainable growth go hand in hand, strengthening every bond forged with customers.

FAQs on customer loyalty

How do you build customer loyalty?

Building customer loyalty is based on several fundamental principles. First of all, you need to understand your customers’ expectations and offer them an impeccable experience at every interaction.

Personalizing offers, establishing a relationship of trust and proposing attractive loyalty programs (discounts, gifts, cumulative points) create a framework conducive to loyalty.

Irreproachable after-sales service, product or service quality, and anticipation of needs also play a decisive role.

What is loyalty?

Loyalty is the orchestration of a set of strategies designed to turn an occasional customer into a regular.

By offering exclusive advantages and cultivating a privileged relationship, the company seeks to extend the customer’s lifespan, while limiting the expense of acquiring new prospects.

In other words, loyalty is about added value and continuity.

What loyalty-building tools are available?

Numerous tools are available to reinforce loyalty. Points programs, discounts for repeat purchases and exclusive private sales play a key role.

Offering tailor-made experiences, adapted to each customer’s preferences, is also a common practice.

Newsletters, email campaigns, mobile applications and social networks all play an active part in maintaining a constant link with customers.

Why is it important to build customer loyalty?

Loyalty reduces acquisition costs and increases the value of each customer over the long term.

Loyal customers, who are more likely to recommend the company to their network, naturally become brand ambassadors.

This process stabilizes revenues while strengthening long-term profitability, providing a solid foundation for the company.