Communications will make or break your loyalty programme. Your tone and approach needs to be appropriate when speaking to your customers to keep them interested, engaged and excited. Here are some top uber tips to communicating successfully…

1. Be clear and concise: Using the ‘voice of your brand’ you need to speak with your customers in an obvious manner. No consumer wants to second guess offers or promotions or be left feeling confused.

2. Make them stand out! Our inboxes are saturated with brand emails, so make sure yours is top of the read list and make it stand out with a catchy subject line. What’s the most important and compelling message you want readers to understand? Free product? £40 complimentary gift? Opportunity to try a new product? Whatever it is, make sure it’s in the subject line so it’s obvious and gets opened.

3. Check, check and double check your campaigns. Ensure everything you send out is proof read and checked for any typos

4. Make sure your comms are short and snappy with all your main points in the first paragraph. No customer wants to look for the message and nor should they have to

5. Make your communications personal. Use your CRM or direct mail system to make your communications personal. Using your customer’s name will make them feel part of your exclusive community

6. Sound like your brand. A successful brand knows its personality and its customers and speaks to them appropriately. Write your communications to match your personality and don’t be too corporate. A more chatty tone will encourage your members to read on and feel part of your community of loyal brand advocates

7. Timing is everything! Sending an email at 17.30pm on a Friday afternoon is not very likely to be read, so plan your communications at peak times to maximise your chances of being read! (Depending on who you are targeting, mid-week emails are usually more successful with Tuesdays and Thursday’s being firm uber faves)

8. How do you look? Remember you’re communicating your brand so you need to make sure it looks its best visually. Make sure your logo is perfect and is a true reflection of your brand. Bodge photo editing and inconsistency will damage your image

9. Less is sometimes more! The more the merrier may be true for a trip to a cocktail bar; it is not however for a communications plan! Bombarding members with promotions and brand news will turn them off and relegate you to their junk emails so strike that balance

10. Is it worth opening? Don’t send communications for the sake of pressing send. There has to be a compelling proposition or reason to send emails, or you might as well not bother

Fighting to be noticed in an inbox is not easy, but taking time to make sure each email is relevant, timely and accurate will not only portray your brand effectively, but make sure your message is understood and motivate customers to act upon it!