Understanding The Benefits Of Tiered Loyalty Programs

Around just about every corner you will find another book, article, or seminar telling you everything you need to know to “move up” in life. Whether its the 10 things you must do to get a job promotion, the 6 steps to lowering your golf handicap, or even the 3 keys for every guy to improve his sex life. Society is desperately trying to unlock the secret to getting to that next tier. 

When we were babies we didn’t want to sit still so we figured out how to crawl. We then quickly realized there is a far better way, so we taught ourselves how to stand up and walk. The next thing you knew, we were running all over the yard. Humans seem to always feel the need to improve or want more. The saying isn’t that the grass is sometimes or usually greener on the other side - it's that it's always greener. If the reward is great enough, we are willing to do what is necessary in order to reach the next step.

Why Tiered Loyalty Programs 

When it comes to B2B and B2C loyalty programs, the situation is no different. For a program to be most successful it needs to tie into this core human desire - the desire to move up. Having a clearly laid out tier or level structure will activate this primal instinct. 

Structuring your loyalty program with 3-5 levels for users to achieve will improve the connection they have with the program. This feeling of engagement will allow the business to influence behavior of their customers - whether that is transactional (like an increase in sales volume or growing average spend) or behavioral (like photo uploads or even social media postings). Designing a structure that is actually  attainable and that allows users to goal set and advance is key to program success.

Tiers & Rewards Go Hand In Hand

It is also critical that a real, tangible benefit is connected to these different levels. Allow user groups to earn advantages like special rewards, unlocked offers, trialing new products, attending exclusive events. Listen to your best customers and learn what drives and incentivizes them (you can even share a reward with them for providing their input). Often times, the best way to grow the number of “top clients” is by talking with those that already are and applying what is proven to work.

Connect To Your Best Customers

A natural benefit of tiered loyalty programs is that they make it easy to identify customers who are already at high-level of loyalty, who are mid-level loyal, and who are less loyal or  are newer customers. Being able to segment your customers this way opens opportunities to personalize their customer experience, which has been proven to increase customer retention in the long run. You're also able to strategically plan your customer interactions for specific goals depending on the specific customer tiers. For example:

High-loyalty customers - focus on demonstrating your appreciation for your most loyal customers' continued business through VIP treatments, customized rewards, and exclusive opportunities that help keep the experience fresh and exciting.   

Mid-level customers - encourage these customers to increase their level of loyalty and rate of program participation by providing them with targeted incentives such as new reward options, product recommendations, and unique bonuses, with the goal of helping them to reach the next level or tier. 

Low-level customers - provide customers with educational content on the available rewards and benefits options, ways to earn points, and different engagement opportunities to hopefully motivate them to take more loyal actions. 

Pulling It All Together

Here at Brandmovers we have seen that our most successful programs are built around this tiering feature. Our award-winning platform builds, program design, and creative work allow each client to implement the exact tiering structure that will best work for their partners and customers. By aligning the objectives of the user with those of the organization, both can come away with the benefits. Reach out to Brandmovers today in order to learn more about how to move your business to its own next level.