Richard Cramer, Loyalty Director, Achievement Awards Group, asks what makes a loyalty programme stand out? Loyalty programmes are not new to customers. They have become a familiar and even ubiquitous part of life, expanding and proliferating steadily across categories and industries. Grocery stores, airlines, medical aids, beauty salons, the local pizzeria, they all have loyalty programmes.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it, customers are not indiscriminate. Most are selective about which programmes they feel are worth joining, and even more selective about which ones deserve their ongoing attention. Many programmes are considered and rejected. Others are joined, but are active only technically, and not meaningfully engaged with. Customers filter which programmes they use, and how much.
There are more loyalty programmes than ever, but they are not just competing to attract members. They are competing to sustain engagement, and to grow the very thing they set out to: loyalty.
On the surface, many loyalty programmes appear similar, with familiar structures: spend leads to points, points lead to rewards. From the company’s or brand’s perspective, the intricacies of these mechanics are often thought-through, well-designed, and clear.
From a customer’s perspective, however, the experience of two similarly structured programmes can be very different. What matters to them is not mechanics alone. It is how the whole experience unfolds, and how it feels to participate in it.
A programme may be logical, generous, and well-constructed, but still fail to hold attention. Not because it is structurally flawed, but because it does not create a strong enough emotional response to matter.
The Emotional Spectrum Of Loyalty
Think of the loyalty programme experience not as either good or bad, but rather as a spectrum of how customers’ experiences feel, from confused to indifferent, to slightly rewarded to genuinely valued.
– Confusion: here, the programme feels difficult to understand, the value is unclear, and it takes effort just to make sense of it. Disengagement is often immediate and the programme is not just ignored but quickly rejected.
– Indifference: the mechanics are understood, but the experience does not feel compelling. There may be some value, but not enough for the programme to stand out or stick. Engagement is mild at best, and only occasional, probably fading over time.
– Slightly rewarded: the customer receives something in return, and there is a recognition of value. But the experience remains largely transactional. It meets expectations but rarely exceeds them.
– Genuinely valued: the programme feels considered, relevant, easy and even enjoyable to engage with. It makes customers feel appreciated and valued, and gives them a reason to return, not just because of what is offered, but because of how it feels to participate.
Most loyalty programmes operate somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. They function and deliver value, but do not consistently create a strong enough experience to move customers towards that deeper sense of connection.
In a crowded environment, this is what differentiates a programme that recedes in a customer’s mind from one that the same customer wants and chooses to engage with repeatedly.
What Makes An Experience Genuinely Valued?
What shapes the loyalty experience is not just features, but feelings. And there are various signals that will make those feelings negative or positive based on their absence or presence.
– Ease: ease is non-negotiable. A programme that is difficult to understand or requires effort to navigate quickly pushes customers towards confusion, and rejection of the programme. Participation should feel intuitive, and the path forward should be clear.
– Attainability: progress needs to feel within reach. If rewards feel too distant, or if the effort required to earn them feels disproportionate, motivation weakens. Visible progress, achievable milestones, and a sense of momentum all contribute to the feeling that participation is worthwhile.
– Relevance: beyond ease and attainability, signals start to shape the customer’s experience more meaningfully. When communication, rewards, and interactions align with what matters to the individual, the programme starts to feel considered rather than generic. Without relevance, even a financially valuable reward can feel unexciting.
– Personalisation: personalisation builds on relevance. Although data can play a huge role in personalisation, from the perspective of the participant’s experience, it is really about a feeling of recognition. It is the difference between something that could apply to anyone, and something that feels directed at me. One well-known online South African retailer pretty much built its brand by sending hand-written messages with every order. Even if there is a point at which that kind of personalisation may be difficult or impractical to scale, it gives customers a rare feeling of being recognised and cared for.
– Delight: at the more powerful end of the experience, delight is where the programme exceeds expectations. A charming message, an unexpected benefit, a well-timed reward, or a moment of recognition can really elevate the experience and create a sense that there is more here than just a simple exchange. That same retailer that hand-wrote messages was not just personalising the experience, they were making it delightful.
– Memorability: ultimately, what is critical is what is remembered and, more specifically, how it is remembered. Lack of memorability means indifference for customers and will keep the programme in the forgettable middle of the spectrum. Experiences that leave a good and lasting impression are far more likely to positively influence future behaviour. This is why incentive travel is considered the ultimate reward, it creates lifelong memories.
These signals don’t operate in isolation, they reinforce one another. Choice can increase relevance, but too much choice can introduce complexity, undermining ease. Recognition can strengthen personalisation, but only if it feels genuine. Smaller, more frequent rewards can improve attainability, while also creating moments of delight. The experience is cumulative, shaped by how these elements come together over time.
Indifference Is The Enemy
Not all disengagement looks the same. At the lower end of the spectrum, confusion leads to outright rejection, and customers quickly opt out.
But more often, programmes sit in the indistinct middle. They are understood but not compelling. They function but don’t resonate. They feel okay, average, not bad, not great. In these cases, the risk is not dissatisfaction, but indifference.
And indifference is more difficult to detect. There is no clear moment of exit or explicit decision to disengage. Instead, there is a gradual decline in attention.
Over time, this is what causes programmes to lose relevance, even when they continue to operate as intended.
Efficiency Matters, Emotion Matters More
In a crowded loyalty landscape, standing out is rarely about ticking boxes or offering more of the same. A programme needs to work, and work well, but that is a minimum requirement.
What sets a programme apart is how it feels to be part of it. Because loyalty, at its core, is more than a rational calculation. It is a pattern of behaviour that is reinforced by someone’s subjective perceptions and experiences. Two programmes may offer similar value. The one that feels clearer, easier, and more relevant will be the one that earns attention. The one that creates moments of recognition, that is delightful enough for customers to mention it to their family and friends, and that leaves a lasting impression for all the right reasons, will be the one that is returned to.
TERESA SERRAS COMMUNICATION
https://tscommunications.co.za
