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Looking at Loyalty Programs: Are They A Good Idea for Your Business?

Looking at Loyalty Programs: Are They A Good Idea for Your Business?

The average American belongs to 38 loyalty programs. Loyalty programs typically offer rewards – things like points that can be redeemed for merchandise, frequent flier miles, or discounts – in exchange for repeat business. Yet many retailers and business owners who offer loyalty programs find that customer interest appears lackluster, and there’s no demonstrable relationship between whether or not someone is a loyalty program member and their decision to make a purchase.

[Tweet “The average American is active in 12 of the 38 [loyalty] programs they belong to.”]

They may be right. Recent research done by Oracle Retail indicates that most people aren’t actively engaging with the loyalty programs they belong to, and can be very hesitant about joining additional loyalty programs.

What’s going on? One issue can be loyalty program fatigue. Loyalty programs demand a certain amount of work on the part of the consumer, even if it’s just the task of remembering that they’re a loyalty program member and mentioning that fact at the time of check out. There are a lot of people who are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out right now – last month Pew reported that 68% of Americans are exhausted by the news – and devoting energy to managing a loyalty program just isn’t a priority for them.

That being said, the average American is active in 12 of the 38 programs they belong to. People do enjoy being rewarded. A key issue identified in the study is relevancy. Customers indicate a strong preference for content they find personally relevant, and rewards must also be relevant – something they want and value. When a loyalty program repeatedly offers rewards that people don’t care about, they stop paying attention.

To recap, the key takeaway points are:

  • Loyalty programs are still important – but not all loyalty programs are created equal.
  • Loyalty programs that work make the process effortless for customers. This includes remembering a customer’s loyalty program status online as well as training in-store personnel to ask about loyalty club status. There’s been a strong tend toward cardless loyalty program logins: allowing customers to use an email or phone number reduces the number of things they need to remember in order to benefit from membership.
  • Check your relevancy. If the messages you’re sending loyalty club members are exclusively promotional, they’re likely to go unread. Check the data on your rewards – what items are members claiming most often? Adjusting a rewards program doesn’t always mean changing rewards: Starbucks recently increased member enthusiasm for its loyalty program by keeping the rewards system the same but changing the way points are awarded.
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Creative Director/Senior Designer

Tom DiGrazia

With over a decade and a half of professional design experience, Tom brings his knowledge of design principles and focus on user experience to every aspect of his contribution to TTG. Paying special attention to each client’s brand, personalized needs and individual interests, he strives to create compelling concepts utilizing intuitive and highly-refined design solutions. In addition to traditional and digital design work and oversight at TTG, Tom also boasts a wide portfolio of web development projects with the company, allowing him to stretch his CSS and HTML skills across multiple platforms and disciplines. He feels that being a designer in the digital landscape of websites, eCommerce solutions, email marketing platforms and social media, it is important to understand the code that goes into these areas as it assists his ability to tailor designs specifically targeted to achieve the best end result and further builds understanding and communication with backend development teams.

In his off hours, Tom is an avid pop culture enthusiast, staying up to date on the latest shows, films, comics and games. He can also typically be found taking part in a whole host of artistic activities that help him further stretch his creative legs. Regardless of the activity, Tom is always accompanied by his dog, Eli, and his cat, Tib.

Specialties:
Design, Photography, Illustration, Digital Imagery Manipulation, Wesbite Development

Platforms/Tools:
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, HTML/CSS, Wordpress

Analyst/Strategist

Courtney Dumont

As Senior Marketing Strategist & Analyst at Technology Therapy Group, Courtney is energized by the ability to flex both her left and right brain daily. Courtney discovered her passion for Marketing at Bryant University, where she spearheaded research on students’ perceptions of Social Media Marketing for her Honors Capstone Project. After graduating Bryant in 2012, she joined the Technology Therapy team, where she’s honed her skills in social media, search and social advertising, email marketing, SEO, and more.

Since joining the team, Courtney has created digital marketing strategies and managed campaigns for clients across the country, ranging from plastic surgery centers, to jewelry stores, to construction companies. With a cohesive, cross-channel approach and a focus on data-driven decision making, she has increased their leads by up to 217%. But Courtney doesn’t leave her zeal for social media at the office; she also runs a local foodie Instagram account with her husband to document their meals across Rhode Island and beyond. Check them out: @hoppilyfed.

Specialties:
Marketing Strategy, Data Analysis, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Social Media

Platforms/Tools:
Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Facebook Creator Studio, Instagram, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Emma Mail, Google Data Studio, WordPress, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Microsoft Office