40 ways you can reward your brand fans

Brand fans are the lifeblood of any business. They refer new customers, leave positive reviews online and even defend you from criticism. They also buy more frequently, stay longer and buy more expensive versions of your product.

The odd thing is, brand building is difficult, and we marketers often take them for granted, treating them the same as any other customer or prospect.

The best customer marketers know to treat this special group like a slice of fried gold. This isn’t done through one off or ad-hoc activities, but rather a planned strategy with timed and targeted activities.

Here are 40 ideas you can implement right now to reward your brand fans and make them love you even more.

As I mentioned above, if you approach these as one-offs they will be welcomed warmly, but real success will come from an on-going program that rewards and cultivates.

  1. Give them an exclusive price discount on new purchases
  2. … And/ or on their renewals
  3. Send a physical package of branded presents in the post e.g. a badge, stickers, USB memory stick…
  4. Ask them to beta test upcoming products and features
  5. Give them early access to a new product before anyone else
  6. Create a mini-conference just for them
  7. Run a series of invite only webinars
  8. Ask them for a quote for your website/ literature
  9. Turn them in to a case study
  10. Commission them to create something for you
  11. Set-up a club for them to join
  12. … or if you already have one, add a special invite only tier
  13. Ask them a questions directly via Twitter (they will love the personal touch)
  14. Gamify their experience and create a publically viewable leader board
  15. … and let them cash in those points for rewards
  16. Access to value-added content only they can get hold of
  17. Send a simple thank-you letter/ email
  18. An awesome competition with genuinely great prizes
  19. Share their work or ideas via social media
  20. Sponsor an event, club or charity they are involved with
  21. Give mod access on your forum
  22. Create a special badge for their account profile
  23. Send a Christmas card
  24. Interview them for your blog
  25. Invite them in and show them around your office
  26. Run a training day on how to use your products/ services
  27. Have a social event for a select group at a bar
  28. Run a round table discussion on what they’d like to see from you
  29. Use a tiered badge system for them to put on their website e.g. “Supplier”, “Partner” etc.
  30. Create a performance report and send it as a nice surprise
  31. Share some original research findings that gives them new insight
  32. Use them in an advert
  33. Set up a monthly/ annual award e.g. Website of the month
  34. Coupon codes to share with their friends and family
  35. Give them a service free others have pay for
  36. Prioritise their support tickets and phone calls
  37. Send a birthday card/ e-card
  38. Put a customer gallery on your website
  39. Include them in a press release along with a quote
  40. Create a series of discounts for 3rd party businesses the compliment your product/ services and/ or you know your brand fans will find useful

Not all of these are going to be suitable for every business, but if you pick out a handful and use them, your brand fans will love you for it, and you should see their numbers swell with new fans as well.


5 thoughts on “40 ways you can reward your brand fans

  1. Honestly, Matthew, it often seems as if most entrepreneurs and small business owners are constantly in acquisition mode seeking to bring new customers in with the logic that customers who already buy your product don’t need as much attention. That might be a good strategy in very specific businesses where customers are only likely to buy your product or service once or infrequently, but in most businesses, existing customers are often the best source of future sales…and of great word of mouth which is the best marketing anyway. The list of huge brands that have grown by catering to their existing fan base is long including names like Apple, Starbucks, Amazon and more. Concentrating on your fans is usually the best way to both increase sales and spread the word about your business. Thanks for sharing this great post with the BizSugar community.

  2. I recently received a $25 Amazon gift card and a nice card from one of my favourite services. Apparently I’m one of their 1% most active users.

    Even better than material recognition, though, is actually listening and responding to bug reports and feature suggestions. That’s what wins me over for life.

    1. Hi Ophelie,

      I totally agree, seeing that a company makes positive changes based on your feedback is really rewarding, especially if the company acknowledges your input.

      Matt

  3. I’m surprised give them something free isn’t at the number one spot. That always works for me. I can’t tell you how many newsletters I’m on from all the free reports I’ve downloaded.

    1. Hi Tim,

      I haven’t intentionally ranked them in any order, more of a brain dump than a “top 40”. I agree, people love free things, especially when they are fun, useful or valuable (or all three!)

      Matt

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *