Loyalty schemes
A loyalty programme is a tool for building customer loyalty to a brand. It is aimed at end consumers. It offers attractive rewards in exchange for repeat purchases. It is about building and strengthening relationships with customers, as well as generously rewarding those who are most loyal to the brand or make repeat purchases particularly frequently. These are long-term initiatives, the benefits of which are only realised once the brand has observed the active behaviour of specific users of the loyalty schemes. Each customer has their own individual loyalty programme.
Watch the interview on the YouTube channel „Loyalty schemes at night” on managing Shell’s global loyalty programme.
Loyalty schemes – who are they for?
Modern loyalty schemes are aimed at end consumers who shop in high street stores, online or via other sales channels. Through their offers, brands encourage customers to purchase products via these schemes, creating a win-win situation for both parties. Our progress is documented by a special loyalty card, designed for the simple and efficient management of loyalty programmes.
B2C loyalty schemes are organised across many market segments, particularly in petrol station chains, the retail sector, online shops and dozens of other market categories, where companies wish to reward their customers and their loyalty.
Which loyalty schemes are the most effective?
The effectiveness of a loyalty programme serves as a measure of the extent to which it achieves its objectives. It is a factor that allows us to assess the extent to which the loyalty programme fulfils the objectives set for it. It is not solely about increasing sales. Loyalty programmes also serve to enhance a company’s image. A loyalty programme designed appropriately makes it easier to attract new customers, builds participant loyalty and helps the company stand out from the competition.
Loyalty schemes
Point-based loyalty schemes – points are awarded in return for purchases, which is why a loyalty card is essential. Participants exchange the points they have collected for physical rewards from catalogues. It is a well-thought-out system that caters to the individual needs of the customer.
Loyalty and discount schemes
A loyalty scheme may be discount-based – instead of physical rewards, the points already accumulated on our loyalty card are exchanged for discounts on retail prices. Programmes of this type are very popular amongst loyalty scheme members and in clothing retail chains.
Money-back
The final category of schemes is money-back schemes – these loyalty schemes usually refund participants a portion of the price paid in cash, provided they meet the terms and conditions.
Loyalty schemes in Poland since 1999.
The first loyalty schemes offered only the option of collecting points. Discount schemes then appeared on the market. The latest example of a loyalty programme mentioned above is a relatively new approach – the comprehensive loyalty programme. Money-back schemes are modern loyalty programmes in which participants demonstrate a high level of engagement.
Organising an effective loyalty scheme requires monitoring the target audience. Given the level of affluence among the Polish population, the most popular loyalty schemes include discount schemes and points-and-discount schemes. What are the advantages of loyalty schemes?
The main benefits of the loyalty scheme:
Long-term communication
building long-term relationships and greater engagement.
Access to purchase data
analysis of customer preferences and personalisation of the offering.
Measurable loyalty
monitoring the frequency of purchases and customers’ choices.
Increase in sales
more effective marketing strategies and more transactions.
Higher basket value
more frequent shopping and a preference for more expensive products.
Customer satisfaction
real benefits, clear rules, attractive rewards.
Competitiveness
to stand out from other programmes.
A personalised approach
tailoring rewards and benefits to different target groups.
What is the loyalty scheme all about?
The loyalty programme requires the end customer to make repeat purchases and to recommend the programme to their closest friends (the so-called ‘member-get-member’ technique). The programme’s target group consists of customers who are keen to spread the word about their favourite brand. In practice, the benefit of a loyalty programme lies in generating additional profit margins from product sales, achieved through the completion of programme tasks. How is a loyalty programme organised?
Participants in the loyalty programme consent to the processing of their personal data and to receiving communications, including from the organiser’s strategic partners. This enables the loyalty scheme, in accordance with the GDPR, to engage in active dialogue at a low per-customer cost.
Loyalty schemes and mobile apps.
We can easily activate a loyalty scheme when paying in a high-street shop. Participants in loyalty programmes are required to identify themselves at the till, for example by scanning the barcode displayed in the programme’s mobile app (participants can also check their current points balance in the mobile app). This gives the organiser full access to key information about purchasing patterns. This information is essential for running an effective and lawful promotional campaign. This knowledge facilitates the preparation of personalised, attractive offers that encourage an increase in sales volume – the company offers customers such promotions that, over time, turn a new customer into a regular one.
Sample Case Study
Time to Riff
The Zibi Group
Time to Riff is a gamified loyalty programme offering discounts, run via the Time to Riff mobile app and aimed at customers of the Time Trend and Riff retail chains. Time to Riff rewards customers for making purchases, offers discounts and benefits depending on which gamification segment they belong to, and rewards them for referrals and recommendations.
3+
years the programme has been running
50 000+
active participants
