3 Underused Loyalty Program Features and How to Activate Them

An underused loyalty program feature is a capability the program already has, such as surveys, promotions or analytics, that runs rarely or feeds nothing back into how the program operates. Activating one can cost less than building something new, because the tool, the members and the data already exist, though it still takes staff time and reward budget.

This guide covers why features go unused, how to tell which ones are idle, how to get more from surveys, promotions and analytics, how the three feed each other, the privacy and review rules that apply to rewarded surveys, and how to measure the result. Each feature has a deeper guide, linked in its section.

Key Takeaways

Why do loyalty program features go unused?

Programs are often launched around earning and redemption, and the tools around them need someone to plan, run and act on them after launch.

A platform may include surveys, a promotions tool and reporting from the start, but each needs a person and a process. Surveys need a question tied to a decision. Promotions need a calendar, a budget and rules. Reports need someone who turns what they show into a change. When those are missing, the program keeps running on points and rewards alone, and the features sit idle. Other causes include survey data that cannot be written back to member profiles, a lack of reward budget, or a platform that lacks the feature. Where the tool exists, the fix is often an owner and a small first step for each one.

How can you tell which features are underused?

Check each feature for a simple sign of disuse, then pick one first step and one measure, rather than relaunching everything at once.

Start with the feature tied to the program's biggest gap: surveys if the program knows little about what members want, promotions if members go quiet between purchases, analytics if the program has data but treats every member the same.

How do you get more from surveys and feedback?

Ask short, specific questions tied to a decision, time them to moments that matter, and feed the answers into member profiles and offers.

Surveys gather zero-party data: preferences and intentions members share directly, such as what reward they want next. That fills a gap purchase data cannot, though what members say can differ from what they do, so compare stated preferences with behavior before acting on them. A few practices help:

• Keep them short and specific. Ask about one thing at a time: reward preferences, a recent experience or interest in a new benefit.
• Consider rewarding participation. Points for a completed survey can encourage responses, but watch whether rewarded answers are rushed or skew toward members who chase points. Respondents may also be the most engaged members, so weigh answers against the wider base.
• Time them to moments that matter. A short survey after a first redemption, a service interaction or a milestone asks while the experience is fresh.
• Close the loop. Tell members what changed because of their answers, so the survey reads as an exchange rather than a request.

Answers that update a member's profile, so a member who prefers experiences starts seeing them, create value; answers that sit in a report do not. The guide to gamified data collection covers other ways to gather zero-party data.

How should promotions work inside a loyalty program?

Run promotions through the program and tie them to the member account, so they give members reasons to engage between purchases and add to the member record.

Sweepstakes, instant wins, challenges, bonus-point events and user-generated content contests each appeal to something a points balance does not: a chance at a large prize, an immediate result, progress toward a goal or a way to share. Run through the program, they also record who took part and what they responded to, which a standalone promotion on its own site does not attach to an existing member. Aim each promotion at one behavior, such as a second purchase, a lapsed member's return or trying a new category, and budget for the rewards it adds. Frequent bonus events can also train members to wait for the next one and reward purchases they would have made anyway, which a holdout group will reveal.

Sweepstakes carry legal requirements; the guide to increasing loyalty program engagement with promotions covers official rules, free entry and which promotion fits which problem.

How do analytics turn program activity into action?

By grouping members by behavior, spotting declines early and testing changes, then turning each finding into an offer, a message or a test.

Top-line counts (enrollment, points issued, redemptions) show the program is running, not what to change. The uses that most often change the program are behavioral segmentation, early warning when a member's activity drops, such as a gap between purchases that is longer than that member's usual cycle, and testing reward structures and messages against a control group. Each finding should end in an action, such as a tailored offer for one segment or a win-back message for members whose visits have slowed.

Signia, an audiology manufacturer, runs Aspire, a B2B loyalty program for hearing care professionals. Its previous platform "did not provide clear loyalty attribution or reporting." When Brandmovers moved Aspire onto BLOYL™, Brandmovers' enterprise loyalty platform, the new program introduced a dynamic segmentation model that classifies customers into groups, including buying groups, SMBs, family offices and independent providers, so Signia can offer customized promotions, incentives and rewards based on customer tier, purchase behavior and engagement level, and tailor its communications. The case reports 15% unit growth in 12 months among Aspire members and an 87.3% average engagement rate on a recurring basis (disclosed by Brandmovers; Signia case study). The overhaul also changed the rewards catalog, redemption and branding, and let members earn points for completing certifications and continuing education courses; the case reports no comparison group, so the results cannot be credited to segmentation alone, and the example shows a platform move rather than an idle feature being switched on. The guide to loyalty program analytics covers segmentation and comparison methods in depth.

How do the three features work together?

Surveys show what members say they want, promotions test it through what they do, and analytics turn both into the next offer.

For example, a survey finds that a group of members prefers experiences to merchandise. A promotion offers an experiential prize and shows which of those members take part. Analytics compare the members offered the prize with a randomly held-out group from the same segment and, if the response holds, shift their future offers. Each round gives the program better information than points and rewards alone. BLOYL includes a promotions builder, real-time dashboards and A/B testing against a control group, and supports earning for non-purchase actions, such as completing a survey, so the three can run from one member record.

What privacy and review rules apply to rewarded surveys?

Rewarding members for personal information can trigger a California financial incentive notice, and rewarding reviews must never depend on the review being positive.

Where members are rewarded for providing personal information, California's CCPA regulations require businesses covered by the law to give a Notice of Financial Incentive that explains "the material terms" so "the consumer may make an informed decision about whether to participate", available "before opting-in" (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 11, section 7016). Other states have their own privacy laws. If a survey asks members to post a review, the FTC's rule on consumer reviews bars incentives "conditioned on the writing or creation of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment", and the FTC notes the rule "does not prohibit giving incentives for reviews, as long as there isn't an express or implied requirement that the reviews have to express a particular sentiment", and adds that "failing to disclose incentives could be a violation of the FTC Act" (FTC). This is general information, not legal advice.

How do you measure whether activating a feature worked?

Compare members randomly chosen to receive the new survey, promotion or offer with similar members held out, and measure behavior, not just activity.

Participation counts show that members noticed, not that the program changed what they do. Hold out a comparable group from each promotion or tailored offer, and compare repeat purchase, visit frequency or the target behavior over the following weeks. In small programs, such as many B2B programs, groups may be too small for a clear result, so run the test longer or treat it as directional. Count the cost: rewards issued for surveys and promotions, the points liability they add and the staff time to run them. Watch for fatigue as well; rising unsubscribes or falling response rates are signs the program is asking too often.

Conclusion

Much of what a loyalty program can do beyond points may already be built into its platform. Check which features are idle, give each an owner and one first step, and connect it to an action: survey answers to profiles, promotions to one behavior, analytics findings to offers and tests. Signia's segmentation shows what the analytics step can look like in a B2B program. Measure each change against a holdout group, and settle privacy and review rules before rewarding members for data or reviews.

Sources

• Legal Information Institute, Cal. Code Regs. tit. 11, section 7016, Notice of Financial Incentive
• Federal Trade Commission, "Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers"