We all know that no two years are the same in business and, with tougher economic times forecast, you can expect that changing market dynamics, employee needs, and customer and consumer expectations will impact the desired effect of your loyalty initiatives. With this in mind, conducting a review of your rewards programme could be one of the best things you can do for your company this coming year.
At Incentive Solutions, every programme we create is bespoke to our customers’ specific needs, and as such, we audit our reward programmes every month, and review our strategy each year. This ensures we can adapt to changing environments.
Let’s take a look at what a good loyalty programme WOF should assess and why smart business leaders will schedule a review sooner, rather than later.
- Your programme’s enrolment rate
- Participation / engagement rates
- Repeat purchase rates
- Average spend per member
- Percentage of sales from loyalty members
- Customer / consumer / employee retention rates
- Incremental margin delivered
- Movement of customers between tiers
Strike the right balance
For any programme to be successful it needs to, firstly, be widely known and understood by your target audience. From there, it’s up to you to ensure your programme is aspirational enough to drive business performance, and accessible enough to inspire participation. A US study by Statista reveals over half (57.7%) of millennials say they’d abandon a brand’s loyalty programme if the rewards weren’t compelling or relevant. A WOF can ensure you’re striking the right balance and make sure your business doesn’t fall victim to these tendencies.
A small amount of pre-work before you assess your numbers can go a long way to boosting the impact of your programme. Consider conducting a survey of your audience yourself – before your WOF – to establish how well-known your programme is and to what extent people are engaging. Having a handle on the active participation levels of your member base can help you unlock even deeper insights during your WOF review.
Whether you’re attempting to engage employees, increase customer sales, or build consumer loyalty, you need to be confident your approach will generate a positive return on investment. Conducting a performance review of your recognition programme will allow you to verify which features need changing and which are most popular with your target audience – allowing you to dial up the good and increase your relevance. As an example, a report by the Harvard Business Review shows 52% of global brands are investing in mobile technologies, like digital wallets, as part of their customer loyalty strategy. Could this be a way for you to level up your programme’s offering?
A thorough WOF will likely raise some questions which you’ll need the help of your audience to answer, so take the opportunity to reach out. Most people love to discuss their aspirations and drivers, especially with someone committed to helping them achieve them, so use the moment to connect with your employee, customer, or consumer base and update your understanding of what your programme members really want.
At Incentive Solutions, we are experts in strategic loyalty programmes and, collectively, have over 100 years’ experience in helping companies grow. Our data insights team can review your loyalty programme using our state-of-the-art technology systems and identify any areas for improvement. We know no two businesses are exactly the same, so we’re committed to helping you craft a tailored programme that’s 100% bespoke to your strategy and brand.