When it comes to unlocking the full possibilities of what a loyalty program can do, one aspect brands shouldn’t overlook is integrations. A loyalty program’s ability to seamlessly connect and share data across a wide scope of different technologies will play a significant part in not only how well the program performs, but how much it will help the brand grow. To find the loyalty program that fits best within your tech stack, here are the main categories of integrations you should look for in a loyalty program provider.
Point-of-Sale
Loyalty programs with POS system integrations are how brands provide a unified loyalty experience for customers across preferred shopping channels. POS integrations ensure that a customer’s loyalty membership is fully accessible both online and in-store, which allows the customer to use their loyalty program benefits, points, or rewards wherever and however they want. This added convenience makes customers more likely to use their rewards and perks, which in turn collects more meaningful program and transaction data. The lack of a seamless POS integration creates a disconnect in the loyalty program experience that can hinder loyalty growth.
Ecommerce Platforms
Successful loyalty programs are ones that are easy to use, and having all their loyalty data in one place while shopping definitely makes things easier for the customer. Integrating a loyalty program with an ecommerce platform helps to increase omni-channel sales for businesses by encouraging loyal actions of existing customers while promoting the program to new customers. Customers can see how many points they earn for buying a product, points to redeem for product, and what applicable rewards they have, all without having to log off the ecommerce site.
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning
Companies utilizing an ERP can benefit from integrating their loyalty program to help further streamline operations and improve customer shopping experience. From identifying opportunities to up-sell, providing more accurate inventory numbers, and addressing service issues, integrating an ERP with a loyalty program helps to capture valuable data and provide actionable customer insights that lead to greater sales. These insights can also be used to identify loyalty-driving touchpoints during the buyer journey and further build customer loyalty.
CRM - Customer Relationship Management
Integrations between loyalty programs and customer relationship management software (CRM) provide businesses with a more strategic and comprehensive approach for engaging with customers. A CRM is used to collect and organize customer information; at the same time a loyalty program provides incentives that motivate desirable customer behaviors and actions. Together these two systems can provide data that improves how a company communicates, interacts, and engages its customers. Working together, CRM and loyalty programs help businesses create more personalized customer interactions that increase satisfaction and build loyalty.
Marketing Automation Platforms
Loyalty programs and marketing automation platforms are both powerful tools for communicating with customers. When integrated together they can work in tandem to enhance your marketing strategy. Companies can maintain relevant communications and targeted messaging across all customer channels and segments, from new customers to long-time loyal customers. Loyalty programs can bolster your marketing automation platform’s capabilities even further by allowing customers to earn points or rewards for interacting with different marketing communications.
Payment Software
Advancements in technology and the rise of mobile payments amplifies the need for loyalty programs that can interact with all types of payment hardware and software. These integrations give companies multiple ways for customers to join the program and earn rewards, including ones that pay for their purchases through payment processors such as Stripe, PayPal, Quickbooks, and more. These types of integrations allow merchants and companies of any size to offer loyalty or rewards to customers for actions such as paying an invoice or making a purchase.
Finding The Right Program For You
Your loyalty program integration needs can vary depending on your brand, industry, products, and even customer base. Some loyalty program providers include integrations with commonly-used mainstream business software or systems that are already built-in to the platform from day one, which is helpful. However one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a loyalty program and program provider is the ability to add on new or custom-built integrations onto an existing platform. If a loyalty program build is too rigid and unable to accommodate new integrations, that conflict will eventually start causing issues for the brand. The technology needs and requirements of companies today are extremely fluid and are likely to change over time. The long-term success of a loyalty program depends in part on it being flexible and adaptable enough to incorporate new additions of technology or software without having to completely redesign or overhaul the platform system on the backend. To give your program the best chance of success, ensure the platform and provider you choose has the right integration capabilities you need.
To learn more about Brandmovers custom integration services and how our loyalty platform was created with a flexible, modular build that allows for more customization and capabilities, reach out to us today!
