5 key pillars to an effective loyalty and rewards program

A loyalty program is a low-cost way to retain, reward, and repeatedly convert existing customers.

This tutorials outlines 5 key pillars to an effective loyalty and rewards program.

Easy (but not too easy). The best programs are easy and quick to join. If it takes too long or asks for too much, your customer will lose interest. It should also be easy for customers to track their progress. This sparks motivation for the next reward.
Reward different customer actions. Think beyond just the purchases your customers are making and reward other actions like downloading an app, sharing content on social or referring a friend.
Make your rewards valuable. You need to offer something valuable in return to make sure the customer efforts feel matched.
Multiple opportunities to opt-in. When you've launched your loyalty and rewards program, it's time to make it seen. Think about sharing your program in an on-site pop-up or on your social media.
Gamification brings out your customer's competitive side. When a customer can see that they’re just a few points away from achieving a reward they want, they’re more likely to make a purchase.

Ask yourself a few questions to figure out the program that works best for your business:

What are the main objectives of this loyalty program? It's vital to set goals from the beginning. A goal could be to increase brand loyalty with past customers. This can be measured by how many repeat purchases a single person makes over time.
What program do you want to use and what rewards can you give? For an easy way to get started, check out the Shopify app store. We have tons of loyalty and rewards program apps that can be added to your store to start your program in minutes.
What type of customer are you trying to target?Are you targeting repeat shoppers? VIPs? Not all reward programs make sense for every customer so you want to be specific with this.
Is it easy for customers to use and understand? It’s important the program is easy & fast to join and just as easy to actually use the rewards.
Do you have any data on what your customers want? If you do, use it to create your program. If you don’t, survey your repeat customers. They’re the ones who will benefit the most from rewards.