With most of the business coming from loyal customers, it shouldn’t be surprising that many companies are focusing on improving customer loyalty. Cropink recently published a report along these lines, claiming that 65% of an organisation’s business comes from returning buyers. This perfectly highlights the increasing importance of creating experiences that encourage return visits.
Surprisingly, blockchain can help advance these efforts. Although many still associate it strictly with Bitcoin or crypto speculation, this technology boasts features that many modern customers love, such as transparency and security. This is part of why 81% of major companies globally have adopted blockchain. The recent interest in crypto has also made blockchain a household term, with tokens like Ethereum gaining global attention.
When the Ethereum price hit its highest value in November 2021, it didn’t just draw the attention of crypto investors; tech innovators and business strategists also began taking notice of its underlying technology. As such, many organisations have been taking advantage of Ethereum’s smart contract functionality to develop more secure and engaging loyalty programs.
Build trust amid rising cyberattacks
Think of a scenario where customers can truly own their rewards and use them across multiple platforms without worrying about their personal details being compromised. This is the dream of almost every customer, given that, according to Microsoft, individuals are facing over 600 million attacks daily.
Microsoft also noted that ransomware attacks alone increased 2.75 times between 2023 and 2024. This is why many customers will often check whether platforms are secure before engaging with them. You don’t want to imagine the pain of losing a significant share of them just because yours seemed insecure.
Thanks to blockchain’s secure infrastructure, you can now improve your appeal to security-conscious customers. Consider a blockchain-based loyalty platform like Loyyal, for instance. Here, every point issued, redeemed or transferred is recorded on a decentralised ledger, which allows users to see every transaction associated with their loyalty accounts. And because everything is recorded on the chain, the risk of fraud is drastically reduced.
Trusting a brand that’s been involved in a security breach is not easy for many customers. You may actually be surprised to learn that a staggering 66% will rarely trust such brands. And if customers can’t trust your brand, they may never become loyal. That’s why adopting technologies like blockchain, which improve security efforts, can be handy.
Improving customer experience through instant payments
PYMNTs.com conducted a study in 2024 and found that 78% of customers consider instant payments the most important digital feature banks can provide. But this is not limited to the banking sector. In a report aimed at determining the popularity of these methods, the Federal Reserve noted that 74% of customers used instant payments in 2023 alone.
By providing speed and convenience, these payment methods improve customer experiences, which may encourage many shoppers to become returning customers. Although this may sound simple, how customers experience your payment methods can greatly influence their loyalty.
As per a recent report by Testlio, 62% of customers leave after encountering problems during checkout. The report also suggests that about 70% get frustrated when payments take more than two seconds to process.
However, with blockchain networks like Qubic, you won’t need to worry about catering to these preferences. In fact, Qubic recently made headlines by achieving the fastest transaction speed in blockchain history, hitting over 15 million transactions per second. This means that even if millions of users storm your platform during a peak season, you can be sure they won’t experience lag, which may keep them more connected to your website.
Providing personalised experiences using smart contracts
At a time when customers expect businesses to understand their unique preferences, you want to take advantage of personalisation to improve retention capability. Customers have become more aware and easily connect with brands that know them better. According to WiserNotify, businesses that meet this need can see their retention rates improve by up to 44%.
The days when users were okay with generic offers are long gone. As such, you want to adopt technologies like smart contracts that can help you tailor and present relevant experiences that will keep shoppers returning for more. Forget about the generic ‘Buy 10, Get 1 Free’ offers.
Take advantage of smart contracts to deliver a personalised promotion to a customer who hasn’t visited your store in 30 days or even unlock an offer when they refer a friend. The beauty of these contracts is that they run automatically, without manual intervention, reducing human error and administrative overhead. Exploding Topics says that providing such encounters can encourage up to 75% of consumers to become loyal.
And besides just rewarding purchases, you can program smart contracts to reward behaviours like social media engagement and product reviews. This opens up an entirely new way to build community and long-term engagement with your brand.
What conclusions can we make?
With all these benefits, it’s safe to say that implementing blockchain can help you improve customer loyalty. This technology offers just the right features for the modern-day consumer, such as security and immediacy in payments. And since almost everyone seeks personalised experiences, using blockchain’s smart contracts can be handy.
Remember, loyalty is more about creating meaningful customer relationships than just giving away free stuff. Thankfully, with blockchain’s focus on security and automation, you can provide relevant experiences that encourage buyers to come back for more.
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