How to Create a Customer Reward Program for Your Company

On average, people who belong to loyalty programs are members of nine different programs. Of these, half said that their loyalty memberships influence the way they shop.

In fact, reward program members spend $42.33 more on average than those who are not part of the loyalty program.

But with so many loyalty card programs out there, how do you create a successful one?

Read on to learn the top ways to build customer loyalty with a reward program.

What Incentives Will Your Reward Program Offer?

A loyalty program is worthless to customers unless there is some incentive.

There are many options you can choose from. Either a discount with each purchase, a points accumulation system, free upgrades, and so on.

You also have to consider whether your perks program will be free or require a paid subscription. Either way, you will need a loyalty program software to make this process automated and easy.

Here are the types of incentive categories you can choose.

Discounts and Gifts

Discounts are the most common feature of a loyalty program. Though simple, it doesn’t generate much loyalty.

Be sure to apply a spending limit to avoid hurting your margins. Customers expect discounts, but their best paired with other categories.

There is a vast difference between offering a $10 discount and giving your customers a customized gift worth $10.

Gifts are much more valuable even if it costs you the same. It could be a branded item like a pen or bookmark or a free product you carry.

Tie it to a special occasion such as the customer’s birthday.

Exclusive Rewards

Is there something you can give your loyalty base that they can’t get anywhere else? Perhaps an author reading or late-night access to pre-releases for a bookstore.

Raffles work well too. People love to be part of an exclusive group that gets access to things that others can’t. That’s one of the big draws of signing up for loyalty programs!

Think of ways that you can give your customers a sense of being a VIP. These exclusive rewards will draw their loyalty to your brand.

Experiential Rewards

The longer the reward lasts, the better! Experiences, whether a hotel stay or a community event, are a great way to build brand loyalty.

Experiences last longer in memory than gifts or discounts, and so it’s a great tool to use to engender customer love.

Keep in mind that the primary goal of experiential rewards is to promote an emotional connection between your customers and your brand.

Virtual Rewards

Virtual rewards satisfy our need for instant gratification. These can be simple such as a background image for their mobile device or a song download.

If your target audience is into collectibles or badges, then this is a great way to give them what they want.

Ideally, your loyalty program should offer more than just discounts. You want to have a lasting impact on your customer base, meaning offering something tangible such as a physical prize or bonus.

Discounts are easily forgotten, but frequent flyer trips and other tangible bonuses are not.

Offer a Variety of Rewards

The best reward program offers multiple kinds of rewards. You might combine some of the options above or add unique ones that fit your business.

You might offer subscriptions to products or services or allow points to turn into rewards.

Reward Different Types of Customer Actions

Making a purchase is not the only way that customers engage with your brand.

One of the key things you can do to build customer loyalty is to reward other actions besides purchases.

Are your customers using your app, sharing social media content, subscribing to your blog, or watching your videos? If so, reward them for it.

You might let customers earn points for a variety of actions every week. Such as social sharing, referring friends, or taking surveys. You can even set it up so that you give more points for actions with higher efforts.

Make Points Worthwhile

There’s no point in having a loyalty program that has an unusable point system.

If you want more of your customers’ money, you have to offer them valuable points in exchange.

Make the number of points needed for rewards reasonable, have some low-level rewards within easy reach.

Be sure that your customers can visualize what they earn as they spend. Make the points easy math! For example, $10 for every 100 points or so on.

Offer Third-Party Rewards from Partners

A partnership is a reliable way to enhance the benefit of your loyalty card. Make it possible for your customers to get exclusive merchandise by participating in your loyalty program.

Perhaps you offer items sold through a partner company. Or maybe you have a partner design items that are exclusively for your loyal customer base.

If possible, find a partner that has the same target audience as you do. That way, you can both benefit from promoting each other to your customers.

A retailer paired with a spa or luxury hotel works really well. Customers naturally increase their spending to reach the necessary reward threshold.

Also, because you are giving your partner free advertising, they might be open for you to give out those partner rewards.

Aim for Authenticity

At the end of the day, you want your loyalty program to be a perk for your customers. Yes, it means customers spend more money on your product or service.

But the biggest goal is to create a loyal customer to your brand. To do this, you must aim for authenticity.

People trust peer reviews more than marketing you put out. So be sure that any reviews on your products come from people who have purchased those products.

This way, you boost credibility and trust with potential customers.

Launch Your Reward Program

There you go! Now you know the best tips for starting a reward program.

At RoboRewards, our loyalty and retention formula keeps customers engaged in your brand. Plus, it ensures that customers keep coming back to you without any manual broadcasting on your part.