Close Menu
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing & Mental Health
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
Trending
  • Finance Founder Celebrates Business Milestone With Advice For Entrepreneurs
  • Fast fashion giant Shein accused of “dark marketing” – what does it mean for businesses?
  • Why GDP Growth Isn’t the Full Story for UK Businesses
  • Windsor Expo Wows: A Showcase of Success, Innovation, and Local Business!
  • Women aren’t risk-averse, they’re risk smart
  • “The Art of Difficult Conversations” Webinar
  • How data is transforming the fabric of SME lending
  • An interview with Dr. Jo Salter MBE: The RAF’s first female fast jet pilot.
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
You are at:Home»Features»Mike Elliff, CEO, TYL by NatWest provides some top tips for small business to create customer loyalty as lockdown eases.

Mike Elliff, CEO, TYL by NatWest provides some top tips for small business to create customer loyalty as lockdown eases.

0
Posted By sme-admin on April 27, 2021 Features, Finance
Mike Elliff TYL
Mike Elliff TYL

The continued easing of lockdown restrictions brings a renewed sense of hope to the nation’s high streets as our favourite independent businesses start to look to the future with cautious optimism.

The forced closure of businesses deemed ‘non-essential along with travel restrictions has resulted in a groundswell of support for the local economy born out of a sense of convenience, compassion, loyalty, and a commitment to support small businesses most impacted by the pandemic. We saw this in our own research as 84% of UK consumers reported actively supporting local independent businesses in 2020, with a further half (47%) feeling they want to support local more in future.

With the economy reopening, SMEs are presented with a unique opportunity to convert this surge of support into long-term customer retention. As a champion of small business, we’ve outlined three key areas you should consider for a successful reopening strategy, ensuring support for your business is retained as the world opens back up.

  1. Reopening – One size doesn’t fit all

Although the pandemic has drastically altered consumer purchasing behaviours, with many businesses adapting to offer an eCommerce or delivery service during lockdown, we expect customers to have missed human interaction and to value customer service more than ever as they return to the high street.

As a small business, you will already know that quality customer service is a powerful competitive tool when it comes to taking on larger chains. The pandemic has created a new opportunity to elevate your service level, and make visitors feel valued, ultimately leading to business retention and a boost in revenue. A simple refresh of the premise could signal a new era for the business if budgets allow; or for a more cost friendly option, reopening discounts or incentives could be another way to welcome back customers, whilst being mindful not to encourage crowds until safe to do so.

If you were able to temporarily open during periods of lockdown relaxation, chances are you will have already made some changes to your layout by implementing queuing systems, screens, or restricted seating.

Even though some restrictions have eased, a complete return to pre-pandemic set-ups might be premature. For every customer rushing to pre-book a reopened beer garden slot, there will be someone else taking a much more tentative approach to their return to in-person experiences. So, where possible, store layouts should work to reduce the chance of crowds building in compact spaces.

  1. Reward loyalty

While your existing customers have likely been your most loyal champions throughout lockdown, you may have attracted some new ones who will be visiting the bricks and mortar venue for the first time when you reopen.

Research your new consumer base, their motivations and purchasing habits and be prepared to adapt. Why not consider rewarding your most faithful customers by introducing a rewards programme to thank your regulars for their continued support? Doing so can be a proven means of building brand loyalty, with a quarter (23%) of consumers in our research cited rewards incentives as a key driver of their support for local businesses.

A common misconception when setting up a rewards scheme is that the process can become complicated and convoluted. We’ve taken a more simplistic approach with Tyl Rewards which allows businesses to set up a personalised loyalty programme in a matter of minutes, with complete control over the rewards they wish to offer, and the threshold needed to claim the incentive.

The flexible approach means you could offer meaningful rewards tailored to your regulars, motivating repeat business, and building your customer base via word of mouth. You can also track the performance of the programme with real-time data, providing a clear picture of what offers are working well and which might need changing.

  1. Adaptable payments

The past 12 months have acted as a catalyst to speed up the transition towards contactless payments and their widespread acceptance looks likely to be one of the long-term impacts of the pandemic. More than one in five (21%) of our YouGov research group cited the ability to accept card payments as a key factor in being able to support local, independent businesses.

Even as restrictions are relaxed, both customers and staff may feel anxious handling cash due to increased contact and adopting a contactless payment offering not only minimises risk, but also helps to reduce queues during busy periods by enabling you to take payments throughout the venue, even in sections outside of Wi-Fi reach due to Tyl’s inbuilt sim card feature .

Digital payments bring much more beyond a tap at the till. Although the vaccine rollout gives us cause for cautious optimism, the future remains uncertain and the ability to take mobile and online payments will help to safeguard your business against the impact of future lockdowns.

Mike Elliff, CEO, TYL by NatWest

You can fined out more about TYL by clicking here Tyl by NatWest

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Finance Founder Celebrates Business Milestone With Advice For Entrepreneurs

Why GDP Growth Isn’t the Full Story for UK Businesses

Women aren’t risk-averse, they’re risk smart

Comments are closed.

Follow SME Today on Linkedin and share all the topics you find interesting
Get £100 of free trades - ii trading account

The Newsletter

Join our mailing list for the best SME stories, handpicked and delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks!

Sign Up
Events Calendar
    • Marketing
    June 20, 2025

    Fast fashion giant Shein accused of “dark marketing” – what does it mean for businesses?

    June 16, 2025

    “My business almost died, twice – here’s how I saved it”

    • Finance
    June 20, 2025

    Finance Founder Celebrates Business Milestone With Advice For Entrepreneurs

    June 20, 2025

    Why GDP Growth Isn’t the Full Story for UK Businesses

    • Health & Safety
    January 29, 2025

    UK takeaways guilty of shocking hygiene failures:

    December 18, 2024

    Comment on Covid Corruption Commissioner Investigation

    • Events
    June 19, 2025

    Windsor Expo Wows: A Showcase of Success, Innovation, and Local Business!

    May 27, 2025

    Jose Ucar Confirmed for Leadership Live 2025 Speaker Line-Up

    • Community
    June 2, 2025

    National Charity Accelerates Children’s Reading Through New Corporate Partnership

    May 14, 2025

    Social care experts launch an online marketplace to disrupt a sector in crisis.

    • Food & Drink
    June 16, 2025

    Hospitality industry risks collapse

    June 4, 2025

    Creative Nature Launches Its First-Ever Kids’ Snack Bar Range in Tesco Nationwide

    • Books
    April 24, 2025

    Values-Driven Professionalism: A Path to Client Loyalty

    December 2, 2024

    Banish the banshee boss: how to lead without fear – addressing the issue of fear-based management and how NOT to be this manager

    About

    SME Today is published by the same team who deliver The Great British Expos’. We have been organising various corporate events for the last 10 years, with a strong track record of producing well managed and attended business events across the UK.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Receive the latest news and updates from SMEToday.
    Read our Latest Newsletter:


    Sign Up
    X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    Most Recent Posts
    June 20, 2025

    Finance Founder Celebrates Business Milestone With Advice For Entrepreneurs

    June 20, 2025

    Fast fashion giant Shein accused of “dark marketing” – what does it mean for businesses?

    June 20, 2025

    Why GDP Growth Isn’t the Full Story for UK Businesses

    June 19, 2025

    Windsor Expo Wows: A Showcase of Success, Innovation, and Local Business!

    June 19, 2025

    Women aren’t risk-averse, they’re risk smart

    Categories
    • Books
    • Community & Charity
    • Education and Training
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Features
    • Finance
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Safety
    • HR & Recruitment
    • In Profile
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • News
    • Property & Development
    • Sponsored Content
    • Technology
    • Transport & Tourism
    • Wellbeing & Mental Health

    Copyright © 2020 SME Today.

    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    Copyright © 2025 SME Today.
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Privacy
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.