Top Mechanics and Features Every Loyalty Program Needs in 2023

Customer loyalty programs are evolving and improving with new features every day. In order for your loyalty program to stay ahead of your competitors, you want to ensure your customers are getting the best experiences, rewards, and benefits from your loyalty program, and that they're not tempted to move elsewhere.

Staying ahead of your competitors can be tricky at times, but it doesn’t mean you have to invent the most complex new loyalty program features that no one has seen before; you just have to make sure your loyalty program mechanics and features are performing at a high level and meeting the needs of your customers. Happy and satisfied customers are what will set you apart from the crowd.

To help, we've put together a quick guide of the top mechanics and features your program should have to keep that competitive edge throughout the rest of 2023.

1. Omnichannel and Integrated Loyalty Platform

Our first one is kind of big, but it's also very important. An omnichannel and integrated customer loyalty platform is a must for high-performing customer loyalty programs. Being omnichannel is what allows your members to interact and earn rewards in your program across various platforms and channels. Being integrated is what allows your loyalty program to easily send and accept customer data across different systems and software within your company.

These two factors are mutually beneficial for the customer and the brand because this allows the customer to earn more rewards throughout their day-to-day life while giving the brands more insight into their customers and their habits. The more information you have the better you can market your program and everything it has to offer to your members.

The key to a successful omnichannel customer loyalty program is flexible loyalty program software. Your customers should be able to earn points online but be able to redeem them in-store or vice versa. This allows more flexibility in the types of rewards your members can earn and will prevent them from having to redeem their points for something they don’t necessarily want because they can’t redeem them across all channels. Receipt validation is a great example of integration being put to use. When uploading your recent from in-store you can earn rewards online and redeem points no matter where you are shopping whether in person or not. 

A successful loyalty program does its best to meet the needs of its members. This feature is a great way to ensure your members don’t feel pressured to redeem their points on items they might not want. Brands can get a deeper understanding of customers' buying habits and what marketing and offers work. 

2. Personalization and Gamification

Personalization and gamification are not a new trend when it comes to customer loyalty programs but if anything they are more important than ever. By combining these two features you can make your loyalty program member experience as fun and personal as possible.

People like to feel as though they are not just another number when they join a loyalty program. They also love a little competition - especially when a reward is on the table. By tapping into both of these drivers, you can make your customer experience within the loyalty program exciting and fun. Gamification also lets you gather important data about customer engagement and how your brand can interact with customers better. 

The combination of these two allows your brand to utilize the data you have gathered to segment customers and make their games and promotions marketed based on their interests. If there is a game that rewards items or discounts that you know your members will enjoy then they are more likely to participate. The more engagement your members have with your brand the more memorable you become to them and they will begin to build brand loyalty. 

3. Loyalty Program Partnerships

The idea of utilizing partnerships within a customer loyalty program has been a growing trend and it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. This is one of the best ways to build customer loyalty and brand trust.

When your loyalty program partners with other brands, you can offer a much wider range of rewards and benefits that you know your members will enjoy. Customers love brand partnerships, especially when it's brands they already know and love; they become excited to receive valuable or exclusive items or offers these partnerships bring.

For example, a transit loyalty program can partner with local cafes or restaurants to allow for discounts or rewards for program members who use public transit. Such offers can also entice consumers who use public transit infrequently to take transit more often and support local establishments in the area at the same time. 

However, you must choose your brand partnerships carefully. If you decide to partner up with a brand that has a track record of little brand trust or loyalty then your members could question why you would want to be associated with them. In turn, this could make members rethink their decision to participate in your customer loyalty program. Make sure to do your research to determine which brands your members would likely be excited about and see which ones could partner smoothly with your program. 

4. Tiered Loyalty Program Rewards & Benefits 

A tiered loyalty program is a great way to increase not only your customer retention but also your ROI. By offering different levels of rewards and benefits on your platform that are personalized to your customer's buying habits, your brand can better incentivize customers based on their specific tier. Brands can identify their most valuable customers and focus on customer retention by offering more exclusive rewards and perks to members not only when they make a purchase but also when they are engaging frequently on the program or on social media. 

If you are looking to kill two birds with one stone then a tiered rewards system is the way to go. You can increase customer retention and customer acquisition at the same time. Tiers allow for more opportunities to connect with customers beyond just their purchases. You can send different tiers personalized messages about different program updates, level-up opportunities, reminders, and exclusive offers. It’s been proven that a tiered program structure helps build customer loyalty on an emotional level. Once members reach that next level or status they feel recognized and special because the brand was able to make it a gratifying experience through their program. That motivation and drive to continue up the levels will cause them to stick with your program and build that brand trust and loyalty. 

Setting Up For Success For The Rest of 2023

With trends coming and going it can be hard to know what is worth implementing into your customer loyalty program and what could potentially be a waste of time. These 4 mechanics and features are not part of a trend that will fade as quickly as it arrived. These are features that your brand should put on the top of its priority list when it comes to implementing a loyalty program.

These are what will cultivate a long and beneficial customer relationship and as long as you are focusing on what your brand can do to benefit your members while also reaching new customers then your brand will see success. 

Want to know how your program can generate more revenue? Reach out to us today!