Sample criteria for loyalty programs

The role of marketing departments is changing as loyalty programs become the connective tissue that drives the customer experience. Marketers used to be responsible for positioning products, crafting messages, creating ads, and posting on social media.

But many are now switching to manage the customer journey and sustain those who are already engaged with the brand. Marketers are increasingly tracking customer data, backed by fast-growing capabilities such as artificial intelligence that help them draw insights and make sense of it. Today, for example, roughly six in 10 marketing teams track customer satisfaction and retention.

In addition, dedicated customer loyalty platforms offer a way for businesses to manage the customer experience after the point of purchase. This software can help businesses keep track of vital metrics such as churn, response rates, and retention rates. This allows them to judge how loyalty programs are performing, and to learn how customers feel about the company overall. The most basic type of loyalty programs offers customers greater rewards the more they purchase from a retailer or visit an establishment.

Becoming a paid member of Amazon Prime effectively represents a pledge of allegiance to the global online merchant and includes perks such as free shipping and media streaming. First-time customers receive a card with 10 squares on it , for example.

Each time they buy something, they get a hole punched into one of the squares. Then they get a new card and the whole process starts again. While the remarkable simplicity of this system worked so well for restaurants in the past, it is quickly becoming defunct.

Read more about the pros and cons of paper punch cards here. Do also keep in mind that this is not the most environmentally friendly option.

Many may prefer to give their business to a competitor who has has a more eco-friendly approach to their restaurant rewards program. Receipts are an excellent tool for marketing your restaurant loyalty program. You can mention on the receipt that loyalty members receive discounts, rewards and prizes.

Better yet, some loyalty program apps, like ours, have a receipt scanning feature. Ask us how it works! This means you could ultimately be losing more than half of your potential signups to a rival restaurant that has a simpler, more convenient loyalty program.

Restaurant loyalty programs do more than just increase customer retention and boost sales. If used properly, they are the perfect tool for creating a personal relationship with your customers and making each of them feel special. Send your new loyalty program member a welcome email when they sign up, and call them by their first name in the subject line. Offer them a free appetizer or discounted meal on their birthday.

Turn your restaurant loyalty program into a gaming app that customers enjoy engaging with. These prizes can be redeemed in conjunction with their other accumulated rewards points. Just a simple reward is enough to add a thrilling component to your loyalty program that keeps customers engaged and interested.

We also offer the capabilities for sending customers automated texts or push notifications. By knowing all the perks, all the features and all the terms and conditions, your staff can be enthusiastic about talking new customers through the process.

Consumers are increasingly aware and passionate about giving their business to brands that exercise social responsibility and ethics. And just the same way that you can use your loyalty program to attain new customers through peer endorsements, a well-structured loyalty program can also be used to promote and demonstrate your advocacy of social responsibility.

The food industry is under immense pressure when it comes to social responsibility, because of the impact food production has on the environment, the economy and society in general.

Popular UK chain Greggs has a remarkably simple loyalty program in which customers download the Greggs app, sign up, and scan a barcode on their phone at the counter with every purchase to accumulate and redeem rewards. Greggs Rewards members enjoy every eighth coffee free, monthly prize draws for 50 pounds, and special treats on their birthdays, among other various promotions and limited-time offers.

Nekter Juice Bar is a Californian smoothie chain where customers who join the loyalty program can order and pay through the app, and skip the line when they show up to collect their order. Image source: Nektar Juice Bar. Members can also enjoy discounted drinks when they refer a friend to join the program, as well as receiving birthday rewards.

What made the campaign so successful was the level of personalization. Customers earn rewards for each purchase based on a traditional point system.

The innovative part is that members can choose how to use their reward points. Beauty Insider members can redeem their rewards points for things like gift cards and discounts, helping to offset purchase prices without devaluing the products. Loyalty members can also redeem points for more exclusive things, like limited edition products or in-store beauty tutorials.

Giving loyalty members the flexibility to choose enables Sephora to offer customers the deals and products they really want without cheapening the perceived value of their products.

Running the program through the app makes it radically easy for customers—no punch card to forget or lose, no sign-in required. Centralizing customer transactions this way creates a goldmine of data on customer preferences and behavior. Go-to drink orders, customer lifetime value , frequently visited locations, seasonal favorites—by shepherding customers toward its app, Starbucks can gather information on all of these habits and more, empowering the brand to offer more relevant perks and communication to its customers.

If a loyalty app is doable for your store, it can be a great way to collect and centralize customer data. Otherwise, a capable point-of-sale system can help you collect most of the same information.

Amazon deals with heavy competition from other retailers like Walmart. You can find most of the products on Amazon elsewhere, too. Prime is how it differentiates itself and convinces customers to buy products through Amazon exclusively. And it works—Prime members spend an average of four times more than other Amazon customers.

For retailers in similar industries where products and price points are very similar across competitors, your loyalty program can become a differentiator and competitive advantage. Think of wholesale clubs like Costco. Give customers a reason to shop exclusively with you by offering value in addition to your products and service.

By charging a membership fee, you can give yourself some wiggle room to offer truly valuable perks. An upfront investment also encourages consumers to validate their purchase by spending more with you. Customers earn points with the XPLR Pass program in the traditional way on every purchase, and in some unique ways, like attending The North Face events, checking in at certain locations, and downloading The North Face app.

When it comes time to redeem rewards, customers can use points toward unique travel experiences, like a mountain climbing adventure in Nepal. Consumers, we can be pretty cynical about brands and marketing initiatives. They know the end goal is always to convince them to buy more products and spend more money.

At the end of the day, the best loyalty programs keep its sights on the customer—driving real value that actually speaks to the power of loyal customers and their effect on a business. This one is a little different, but there are few brands with a more fanatical and loyal following than Apple. Sometimes, the most innovative loyalty program is no loyalty program at all. Not every retailer can build a loyal and dedicated customer base—the way Apple has—without offering rewards and incentives.

But retailers selling truly unique products can. By hooking new customers with your product itself, creating an amazing customer experience, and offering those benefits with every single purchase, you can eliminate the need for a traditional loyalty program altogether.

This checklist is a summary of their findings, created to help business owners understand what essential aspects of their online store experience creates trust among customers, along with the trust-busting mistakes to avoid. We'll also send you updates on new educational guides and success stories from the Shopify newsletter. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. Get started. Every business today is competing for customer trust.

Rather than spending your time finding new customers, you can start a loyalty program to grow the relationship with your existing ones. Establish customer loyalty from day one by ensuring that customer experience is taken into consideration for every customer touch point. This includes touch points before, during, and after purchase. Even if you don't create a loyalty program from the get-go, you can always ensure that each customer has a positive customer experience.

If you have a Shopify store, creating a loyalty rewards program is easy. For example, with an app like Smile , you can create rewards points and referral programs that engage customers in your store.