A mistake a lot of online marketers make is to not develop some type of reward program for their best customers. For some reason it's not one of the things thought of in their strategies.
Even if you're marketing to only a few thousand people, it would be a tremendous strategy and advantage over your competition to put some type of reward program in place.
Now here is the key thing that I have learned must be part of the process: even with loyalty programs you must find out what your customers would want.
A huge mistake many companies make is to implement a program without research and input from customers. Then when the program is implemented, many times it can be so complicated, hard to use, and easy to forget, that the customers become resentful over having it more than if they didn't.
I remember one company that put a rewards program together that if the customer forgot to give them their card at the beginning of the transaction, once they paid for it, they couldn't get credit for the purchase. This was a nightmare.
Like Simon Wright, CEO of Virgin Entertainment says concerning their upcoming awards program: "According to expert analysts, retailers that get the most payback from loyalty programs are careful to measure vital metrics, like gross margin per customer and the lifetime value of a customer, as well as getting on-going feedback from their customers to provide rewards that customers feel are valuable."
Remember that people are fickle, and don't assume because you do something for them they'll appreciate it. Even in this we must consult them and get their input. Make sure it's kept simple for the customer and employee. Do it right and it's a great differentiator.
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