Customer loyalty programs are incredibly popular. More than one out of every two customers participates in some form of retail loyalty program, according to the 2017 Colloquy Loyalty Census. Customers enjoy loyalty programs because they save money and are able to access special benefits not available to ‘ordinary’ shoppers.

That being said, loyalty program growth is beginning to slow. This is happening in part because customers have begun to value their loyalty more. They’re examining loyalty programs more critically, and have heightened expectations. If you want to capture these newly-demanding customers’ loyalty, you need to deliver more. Here’s what that looks like:

Mobile Loyalty Programs

Plastic loyalty cards just don’t do it anymore. Today’s customer expects a fully mobile loyalty experience, where they can access deals, track points, and more all from their phone. There are a number of mobile loyalty platforms: for best results, choose a provider that integrates with your existing ecommerce and POS systems.

Personalization

Today’s customers expect a high degree of personalization from loyalty programs. It’s essential to capture and use customers’ names correctly and often. Reward offers should make sense based on previous purchasing behaviors and stated preferences – for example, if a loyal customer shops your store for dog food, don’t reward them with bird seed! Gift them a fun toy for Fido instead.

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A Way to Earn More

The customers who are demanding more from you are willing to do their part as well. Offer loyalty rewards members an opportunity to earn more by sharing your brand’s messaging on social media: it’s a smart, easy way to extend brand reach. Customers are more willing to believe good things about your brand when it’s their friends spreading the word.

Rapid Rewards

Speed is of the essence. The Colloquy Loyalty Census reports that 57% of people who abandon a loyalty program cited the long time required to earn even minimal rewards as the reason they gave up. We live in an instant gratification society. Adjust your rewards schedule to provide smaller, more frequent rewards and see customer satisfaction increase.