Your mind is filled with uncertainty and difficult choices. Many questions arise as you are just beginning to create a rewards system. Which awards should I give out? How can I appeal to my customer base using it? What fundamental idea ought to guide the development of my loyalty programme? These inquiries are a wonderful place to start. Don’t worry, creating amazing reward programme ideas isn’t difficult. I’ve outlined seven crucial considerations you should ask yourself when selecting loyalty programme incentives based on our experience developing loyalty programme systems.
How Should a Loyalty Program Be Created?
A well-designed reward system should be invisible to members; if they must inquire about some elements, there is a problem. Start with the fundamentals when creating a loyalty programme design: name, theme, and colours. Then go on to topics that are more focused, such as how participants can interact with the programme, whether there are any points or tiers, and, of course, what kinds of prizes you should provide. The heart of loyalty design is, in fact, working out the incentive system because, if it’s attractive enough, people will do everything to get it.
What sort of incentives should I provide?
So, you might ask, how can I launch a rewards programme? Make a brief and thorough list first to help with the design of the loyalty programme. Add up all the outlandish incentives your brand is capable of offering in the other column while adding the rewards that customers may generally anticipate from loyalty programme systems in the first.
I suggest this classification for the most typical loyalty programme reward suggestions:
The mainstay of any reward programme are discounts. Although easy to carry out, it produces relatively little loyalty. Furthermore, if you don’t set a spendable restriction, it can end up damaging your margin. Therefore, include discounts without a doubt (because buyers already anticipate them), but add some flavour with service-related perks like free delivery, priority checkout lines at stores, an extended warranty, or in-store consultation.
Gifts: These can range from a personalised pen to a vase of fresh flowers to a complimentary book. What matters most is that customers can retain them and continue to think of your brand frequently.
Custom awards: Highlight your selection of one-of-a-kind gifts that clients can only acquire from you. Customers can enter a raffle at the US-based streetwear boutique Jimmy Jazz, and LVR Privilege members can bid on specific prizes.
Experience-based incentives: Similar to physical rewards, but on a completely different level. The focus is on the wonderful experience, such as a hotel vacation or a neighbourhood gathering, which results in enduring brand love.
Virtual rewards: Virtual badges or collections satisfy people’s need for rapid pleasure while having less emotional value. A cool desktop background can be part of a virtual incentive
How can I distinguish between my rewards?
The list of rewards is complete. Great! That is one of the design-related action items for the loyalty programme. The packaging, or how they are presented to your audience, is now up to you. After all, rewards should seem distinctive to make you stand out.
There are two possible approaches to this:
Brand-specific prizes: Things that you can buy in your store. Once clients reach a certain milestone, for example, book stores or fast-food restaurants will give away free things. People feel more secure thinking they would receive a reward they are accustomed to.
Third-party incentives from partners: Unique merchandise that is either offered by a partner business or made especially for the loyalty programme.
Partners that provide rewards: Some businesses are experts at giving awards for customer loyalty programmes and employee retention initiatives. Gift cards are distributed by Tango Card, seasonal rewards are offered by TLC, and charitable donations are permitted through Givz.
Partners who share the same clientele: As a high-end shop, you can offer high-tier members a complimentary weekend stay at a wellness hotel, which is provided by a partner in exchange for publicity. Customers will spend more to achieve the reward threshold, which may result in you receiving the deal free of charge since it serves as free advertising for the partners.
How can I make my rewards as distinctive as possible?
Never reveal all of your tricks to the crowd. People are crazy for the perks and benefits that are only available to a select group of people, and variety is the spice of life. This will improve the point-based rewards programme as well, maintaining a high level of engagement at all times.
Although there are countless options, these are some to get you started:
Create a tier system with unknowable rewards. A member must first attain a certain rank in order to “unwrap” their gift, which may be of medium or low value depending on the member’s purchasing volume. Special presents are unlocked at higher levels.
Introduce Surprise & Delight Mechanisms where members receive an annual gift that is specially crafted to suit tastes, such as birthday campaigns. Once more, gamified profiling can be a huge help in putting this theory into practise.
Monthly boxes of surprise with unusual treats inside. Customers receive a package of goods centred around a certain subject in exchange for subscribing to the service. Just observe Loot Crate’s approach!
clubs for particular interests. Create an exclusive group for members of the loyalty programme. A membership fee is required, but in return, individuals have access to exclusive benefits. These benefits are exclusive to the VIP club.
How can I create excitement about my rewards?
Although I’ve provided a number of suggestions for making a loyalty programme design feel truly enticing, nothing surpasses the power of good old word of mouth. Just follow my example if you want to be talked about a lot online.
Design guidelines for a loyalty programme to create buzz:
Send them a sample.
Numerous loyalty points are required to redeem rewards, especially valuable ones, which may disappoint some customers. Make sure your loyalty programme awards points for activities other than making purchases. This includes subscribing to a newsletter, returning used clothing or electronics, or even making a charitable donation. In addition to ensuring that people get the emotional high of receiving a nice present, this will also help you achieve important business KPIs. This is the general concept behind Recognition LoyaltyTM.
If someone with a sizable following posts about their surprise and delight campaign, it can go viral on social media. Indeed, I’m referring to influencers. They enjoy testing out upscale incentives, and in return they may share a link to a specific loyalty programme with their followers.
An affiliate programme operates similarly, albeit on a smaller scale. Instead of giving away money with your loyalty point programme, remind the participants that they’ll receive a significant prize after referring a particular number of clients who make purchases. Antavo also offers references from friends and influential people.
Try to be genuine
Compared to other forms of advertising, people trust their peers the most. A fantastic strategy to increase your credibility and get trust is to reward customer reviews of various products. Just be sure to only allow individuals who have actually purchased the goods to use this option. This feature is also available in Antavo as “Incentivized Reviews,” complete with fraud detection mechanisms.
Finalizing the Design of Your Loyalty Program
One of the most crucial stages in the development of a loyalty programme is the concept phase, so take your time and carefully review each of the aforementioned elements. But keep in mind that benefits from loyalty programmes only make up a small portion of the overall picture. Other elements of the loyalty programme design, such personalisation, omnichannel marketing, gamification, and so forth, must be perfected for a completely developed system.
Are you looking for the greatest loyalty technology to bring your design concept to life? Any challenge is no match for our specialists! To learn more about what we can do, schedule a demo, or mention us in your RFP.
Don’t forget to download Antavo’s Customer Loyalty Report 2022, a comprehensive report that offers a wealth of data and upcoming market trends to assist you in navigating the world of next-generation loyalty programmes.