Brand loyalty programs traditionally consisted of retention. Think of your grocery store buyers card, or your coffee shop punch card where the 10th coffee is free. Today, with conversations that are happening about services and businesses within social networks, loyalty have become about brand advocacy and empowering your customers to market for you. It has evolved into attraction of new customers by empowering your loyal customers to advocate and re-market for you. Customer loyalty is about the attraction of new customers as much as it is retention these days. Welcome to the world of “Customer Loyalty 2.0.”

Customers are talking about you online. That is a fact. Your restaurant, your customer service, your special deals, your products and your competitors are all topics of online conversations.

Some small businesses get this. A good example is Dos Gringos in Arizona. Recently (within the last 6 months) they have become active in nearly all social networks including some location based services. They have combed the networks for their loyal customers then actively engage them. This has resulted in an active online network to over 8,000 fans and followers on the social web.

Heather Dettmann heads up their marketing efforts for their four Phoenix based locations. I recently spoke to her about her adoption of the mobile check in platform Whrrl. There are more and more ways to let consumers “check-in” to a venue and let their social networks know where they are at, and build mini communities called “societies” around their brand. Whrrl allows small businesses like Dos Gringos to reward those loyal customers that check into their venue. Each time they check in, they earn a chance to win a $1.00 taco during their visit.

“Engaging our customers and offering a “mixed bag of opportunities” helps build loyalty,” Heather said.  “By being on social networks we can help build the community around us. Just last week someone came in for food that previously had never come into one of our restaurants. She came in because she found our conversations online to be fun and entertaining. We are able to create an attractive culture online that pulls customers into our restaurants.”

Additionally, engaging in social networks has evolved into an affordable way to market for Dos Gringos. An example: during Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week“Dos Gringos created a Bloody Mary and Bloody Martini special on their social accounts. It was the most engaging social campaign for their community. They posted photos, custom graphics and got a lot of their loyal fans to re-tweet, re-post, and engage an ultimately re-market for them in this campaign.  Because of this, folks came to the restaurant and checked in on Whrrl to receive their specials.

If you have loyal fans of your small business, chances are they are already talking about you on social media. Embrace these new technologies and learn to engage. If you get a bit confused or overwhelmed, we are here to help. In fact, if you are just thinking about starting out on the social web, here is a starter kit for you with some free resources to get you started. If you have been social marketing, congrats! Tell us your stories and we will blog about your experience. The kit might help promote your networks as well.