Marketing

5 must-haves for your brand's loyalty program

Consider these five points when developing a winning loyalty program. Also find out where you can promote your brand's loyalty program for free.

Photo: Adobe Stock

February 19, 2024 | Kathy Doyle, CEO, Networld Media Group

Finding success with your loyalty program not only encourages repeat visits but also builds a strong bond with customers, improving your brand's bottom line. Making the program attractive and valuable to your customers is key.

Consider the following five points when developing a winning loyalty program:

1. Make it personal: Tailor rewards based on individual customer preferences.

2. Communicate: Ensure regular communication to maintain engagement. Continuously seek customer feedback and have a solid promotion plan in place. Many brands establish a program but fail to make it work due to the lack of making it a high priority in a brand's marketing plan.

3. Ensure it works: Implement a user-friendly platform for customers to easily track their rewards. Make sure your programs are accessible across channels that match your demographic. Nothing is more discouraging to a user than getting excited about a rewards program and then encountering difficulty with the app.

4. Analyze the data: Ensure that the time and money you have invested are providing a good return on investment.

5. Surprise offers: Delight your customers with random surprises. It's a great way to drive engagement and puts some excitement into your program.

If you want to check out some of your competitors' programs, you can view a significant amount of programs at Rewardsthatmatter.com, and you can also load your program onto the site for free.

In most markets, there are proven leaders. If you are curious about what separates leaders like Starbucks from the pack, consider joining the audience at Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit for a panel on "Why Your Loyalty Program Isn't Working," moderated by Fractional CMO Stacy Kane. The panel, sponsored by vLoyalty, includes Nathan Casey, VP digital marketing, engagement and enterprises IHOP, David Daniels, SVP and CMO Potbelly's, Tommi Tervanen CEO, The European Pizza Co. and Peter Vogel, CRO, vPromos Inc.