Customer loyalty: 7 digital strategies to increase lifetime value (LTV) in Switzerland

Customer Loyalty: 7 Digital Strategies to Increase Lifetime Value (LTV) in Switzerland

Building customer loyalty in Switzerland can multiply your profits. Here are 7 simple and effective digital strategies to maximize the lifetime value (LTV) of your customers:

• Personalized Email Marketing: Tailored campaigns increase open and conversion rates.
• Digital Rewards: Loyalty programs accessible via mobile to encourage repeat purchases.
• AI Utilization: Data analysis to anticipate customer needs and personalize the experience.
• Omnichannel Experience: Consistency across all physical and digital touchpoints.
• Optimized Digital Customer Service: Quick issue resolution with modern tools like live chats.
• Exclusive Benefits: VIP rewards and personalized experiences for further loyalty.
• Online Communities: Unite your customers around your brand to enhance their engagement.

With these methods, you reduce your acquisition costs and turn your customers into brand ambassadors. A mere 5% increase in your retention rate can generate up to 95% additional profits. Ready to boost your customer loyalty? Dive into the details!

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY: THE COMPLETE GUIDE ...

1. Personalized Email Marketing Addressed to Each Customer

Email marketing remains a powerful tool to build customer loyalty while increasing their value. With an average open rate of 35.63% across all sectors and a return on investment reaching €40 for every euro spent, it deserves a central place in your strategies.

Personalization is a key lever to ensure the success of your campaigns. For example, including the recipient's name in the email subject can increase the opening chances by an average of 26%. To make the most of your emails, focus on three main areas:

• Smart Segmentation
  Divide your database based on criteria like behavior, location, or preferences. Here are average performances by industry:

  Industry	Open Rate	Click Rate	Unsubscribe Rate
  E-commerce	29.81%	1.74%	0.19%
  Financial Services	31.35%	2.78%	0.15%
  Education	35.64%	3.02%	0.18%

• Targeted Automation
  Set up automated scenarios to send relevant emails at the right time, such as:
  • Personalized recommendations based on past purchases
  • Reminders for abandoned carts
  • Follow-up messages after purchase

  "Emailing should play a central role in all retention and acquisition strategies. It is the channel that allows both sharing quality content and conducting very detailed analyses serving ROI and Customer Knowledge." - Sébastien Courtecuisse, Data & CRM Consultant, CustUp

• Continuous Optimization
  Monitor your key indicators, such as deliverability, open rates, and conversions, to adjust your campaigns and maintain high performance.

Also, ensure compliance with GDPR rules, particularly in Switzerland, by maintaining a low unsubscribe rate (ideally around 0.1%). A well-thought-out email strategy combines user respect and effectiveness.

Alternate between newsletters, targeted offers, and relational communications to keep your subscribers interested without overwhelming them.

Let's now move on to another strategy to further strengthen customer loyalty.

2. Digital Rewards that Build Customer Loyalty

On average, rewards represent 1% of purchases. To make your program more effective, focus on these three key aspects:

Digital Accessibility
Rely on mobile solutions to simplify access to digital loyalty cards, such as:

• Your brand's mobile application
• Digital wallets (Apple Wallet, Google Wallet)
• Aggregators like Poinz or Stocard

Personalization of Rewards
The Swiss market distinguishes itself with two main approaches:

Program Type	Operation	Examples of Brands
Accumulative Points	1 point per 1 CHF spent, exchangeable for vouchers	Coop Supercard, Migros Cumulus
Exclusive Benefits	Special offers, VIP experiences, premium services	Spar Friends, IKEA

Community Engagement
Successful programs, like Poinz with its 200,000 active users, focus on social interaction. This service has redistributed over 1 million CHF in cashback to its members.

"Understanding the cultural nuances that influence consumer behavior and preferences is essential when designing loyalty programs. A lack of cultural sensitivity can lead to undesirable outcomes, including decreased brand loyalty and potential PR setbacks." - Reward the World™

To maximize the impact of your program, consider:

• Integrating your cash register system
• Sending targeted push notifications
• Precisely analyzing purchasing behaviors
• Making accumulation rules clear and simple

Effective loyalty programs in Switzerland combine simplicity and relevance of rewards. For example, Coffee and Plants in Zurich saw a significant increase in regular visits after introducing a digital loyalty card in February 2025.

Let's now see how to use data to anticipate your customers' needs.

3. Artificial Intelligence Serving Customer Needs Anticipation

Artificial intelligence (AI) combined with data analysis allows for a better understanding of purchasing behaviors and improving customer satisfaction. In Switzerland, this approach has become essential to optimize consumer loyalty. With this precision, it is possible to personalize and automate the customer experience at an advanced level.

AI integrates perfectly with personalization and loyalty programs. A complete view of the customer, or a "360° view," is essential. It gathers information from multiple sources to create a detailed and actionable profile. Here are the key data types to consider:

Data Type	Usage	Impact on Business
Purchase History	Predicting future purchases	Better stock management
Customer Journey	Personalizing the experience	Reducing abandonment
Digital Engagement	Adjusting communications	Increasing conversions
Demographic Data	More precise segmentation	Improved marketing targeting

Some concrete results show the effectiveness of AI:

• An average 36% increase in revenue per customer over a year.
• A 24% increase in additional revenue in the fashion sector.
• An average basket multiplied by 5.61 thanks to personalized recommendations.

AI facilitates automation while maintaining a high level of personalization. Here are some examples of applications:

• Real-time predictions of customer behaviors
• Instant adjustment of website content
• Automatic price adjustments
• Customized product recommendations

For a responsible use of AI, Swiss companies should:

• Comply with data protection laws
• Train their teams on AI-based tools
• Continuously test and improve predictive models
• Ensure full transparency in data usage

Adopting AI in a loyalty strategy requires a gradual and thoughtful implementation. According to some studies, increasing the customer retention rate by just 5% could increase profits by 25% to 95%.

Adapt your AI tools to your specific goals and the particularities of the Swiss market to maximize their impact.

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4. Unification of Customer Touchpoints

Harmonizing customer interactions, whether digital or physical, is essential to strengthen their loyalty. A unified strategy can increase customer satisfaction by 20%, boost revenues by up to 15%, and reduce service costs by 20%. In Switzerland, several concrete examples illustrate this approach.

Why Consistency in Customer Journeys is Crucial

Consistent customer journeys play a key role in loyalty, as shown by the following data:

Aspect	Impact on Loyalty
Overall Satisfaction	30% more predictive on complete journeys than on isolated interactions
Journey Performance	35% more predictive of customer satisfaction
Retention	32% more predictive of customer attrition
Trust	30% higher for companies offering consistent journeys

These figures translate into concrete practices implemented by Swiss companies.

Example of Swiss Federal Railways (CFF)

CFF has integrated ServiceNow to manage their customer relationships and standardize their processes, transforming their interactions:

"Since the introduction of the end-to-end standardized process, all customer requests have been systematically recorded and processed in ServiceNow, which represents significant added value for our customers and employees. We are now able to identify deficiencies in processes across different departments and pass them on to the relevant service, thus solving our customers' problems much more quickly." - Johann-Josef Jossen, Head of CFF Contact Center

Thanks to automation, CFF now automatically processes 80% of compensation requests for national delays.

Other Examples of Swiss Companies

• Big Mamma: The group adapts the customer experience according to touchpoints:
  • Trattorias: display of points via Sunday
  • Checkout: integration with the payment terminal
  • Markets: use of connected tablets
• Transgourmet Switzerland: With a marketing automation solution, the company personalizes customer journeys to retain at-risk customers, secure recurring revenues, and strengthen long-term relationships.

Practical Measures for Successful Unification

Companies looking to optimize their customer interactions should:

• Synchronize all communication channels.
• Adopt omni-channel solutions tailored to their industry.
• Automate processes while maintaining personalization.
• Regularly assess the consistency of customer journeys.

Note: a single negative experience can influence customer perception 4 to 5 times more than multiple positive experiences. By combining personalization, automation, and consistency, Swiss companies can significantly improve customer loyalty.

5. Digital Customer Service: Quick Problem Resolution

Once customer touchpoints are well synchronized, it's time to focus on quick problem resolution through efficient digital customer service. In Switzerland, where customer expectations are high, responsiveness is essential to build lasting loyalty. A study reveals that 84% of customers consider the customer experience as important as the product or service offered.

To meet these expectations, companies use tools like self-service help centers, live chats, and artificial intelligence to better understand and anticipate needs.

The Importance of an Integrated Multichannel Approach

"The industry has been greatly affected by customer online behavior. Customers expect a smooth and consistent mapping of content across all channels." - Hanspeter Groth, Industry Leader Manufacturing, Swisscom

To offer this consistency, it is essential to integrate personalized customer portals, intelligent electronic forms, and omni-channel solutions for contact centers. These tools enable a more responsive customer service aligned with customer expectations, while fostering long-term relationships.

Using Data to Anticipate Needs

Standout companies leverage customer data to offer personalized services. Tools like Zendesk allow using this information to anticipate expectations and provide proactive assistance.

"With their customer profiles, most companies have a valuable source of interaction data. For us, Zendesk is a way to collect customer interaction data that other companies overlook." - Gershwin Exeter, Vice President of Global Services

Automation for Better Efficiency

Intelligent automation through solutions like Zendesk Suite helps manage urgent requests quickly, ensuring efficient resolution and often exceeding customer expectations.

Practical Tips for Successful Implementation

To optimize the impact on customer loyalty, here are some recommendations:

• Centralize your communication channels.
• Offer a comprehensive help center with video guides and FAQs.
• Train your agents in emotional intelligence.
• Follow up after each interaction.
• Connect your CRM to your contact center tools.

"The greatest opportunities offered by new technologies allow companies to be even more customer-centric and always start from what customers need." - Deloitte, Industry 4.0 study, 2014

Adopting a customer-centric digital approach not only improves satisfaction but also loyalty, contributing to increasing customer value in the long term.

6. Exclusive Digital Benefits for Loyal Customers

In Switzerland, where quality and exclusivity are central, offering exclusive digital benefits can transform the customer relationship. A well-thought-out rewards strategy can increase loyalty and customer lifetime value.

Loyalty Programs: Numbers Speak

Data clearly shows the impact of loyalty programs:

• Loyal customers spend three times more than new customers.
• 80% of consumers prefer to buy from companies offering a personalized experience.
• 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for superior service.

These figures highlight the importance of these programs before delving into a concrete example.

Swiss Example: Sprüngli and its "Petits Plaisirs" Program

Sprüngli, a renowned Swiss confectioner, perfectly illustrates this strategy with its "Petits Plaisirs" program. Members enjoy exclusive treats and personalized service according to their preferences. This approach strengthens their attachment to the brand while enhancing their experience.