Relaunching an existing loyalty programme

This year Stream re-launched a long-standing loyalty programme for a major UK retailer in the Plumbing and Heating industry.

Post-Go-Live, here are our Top 5 tips for relaunching an existing loyalty campaign:

1. Having an overall vision for what the new loyalty programme should look like and what its key purpose should be.

With large projects impacting a variety of stakeholders an overall vision for the outcome and direction of the project acts as an anchor, keeping ideas focussed, on task and ultimately everyone working towards the same goal. With our latest relaunch, the overall aim of the project was to simplify the loyalty scheme for customers, making it easier for them to understand and earn whilst having access to information on the platform. This point of focus is incredibly helpful to return to when we are several months into a project. For every piece of development work on the website and change to the loyalty scheme we would ask the question “does this simplify the programme?”. 

2. Setting manageable project benchmarks

Project benchmarks set the bar for what your loyalty programme is trying to achieve. Too many benchmarks can detract from a project and are impractical to maintain. Ensure your selected benchmarks are essential to the success of the programme. To keep the project accountable, they should be specific and measurable so that they can be continually evaluated and analysed. This creates a language of success between you and the client.

3. Planning for change

Thorough planning is of course essential for managing a project, however, we have always found that no matter how much you plan, in large and complex projects, things always change. Our solution for this was to plan for those changes so that we could manage them effectively should they arise. We split our project into phases so that any changes that needed to be made could be made at an appropriate time.

4. Communication requires preparation

As a species we are sophisticated communicators, but we are yet to become mind readers. On occasion communication can break down, usually due to assumptions of knowledge or unclear instructions. Inevitably you will have multiple stakeholders that need informing about your project (your client, the customer base, suppliers, your internal team). There are many practical ways to handle efficient communication such as regular meetings, email round ups, shared documents, presentations etc. But communicating requires preparation. It includes taking the time to think through what you need to do, who the best person to contact is plus how best to contact them, and what you expect back from them and when.

5. Desirable and appropriate rewards

The ultimate outcome of a loyalty programme is for your customer to feel rewarded for purchasing with you. For that reason, rewards offered as part of a loyalty programme should be desirable and aspirational. The style and type of rewards for this programme were originally set up in 2016 and while reviewed and regularly updated throughout the life of the programme, the way we shop now and how we engage with brands has changed considerably nearly 5 years on. We added the programme to our brand new RewardShop which offers the latest range of digital and physical Gift Cards, Technology items, Lifestyle Products and Experience’s. This streamlined order management process meant that customers receive their rewards quicker than ever before and allows the reward offering to be updated at a moment’s notice.

So, if you are considering a relaunch our key message would be don’t rush it. Plan time in throughout the roadmap to assess and evaluate the progress and any changes required. Have a clear focus with measurable KPIs that are assessed continuously and most of all don’t forget to inform your customers of the benefits they are going to witness.

If you are looking for a one stop solution to reward your customer base, then take a look at our RewardShop and use our wide range of Rewards to incentivise your client base before the year end. Click here to view our brochure of rewards.