Why customer loyalty programmes are evolving faster than ever

If you've noticed an abundance of customer loyalty programmes throughout your shopping trips recently, you're not the only one - it's a genuinely evolving trend. The speed at which it's evolving, though, can be surprising, and that might make you wonder why it's become as popular as it has.

If you're behind the wheel of your own business, this might even be a good opportunity to consider whether you should be putting such a programme into action yourself. Investigating the pros and cons can help you to come to a conclusion that feels right for your brand.

All About Data

The cynical approach - and one that many consumers might suspect - is that it's all about gaining as much audience data as possible. In a digital age, especially where many of these loyalty programmes will have online, digital components, it's a factor that can't be overlooked. In fact, for some brands, this might be the primary way of getting data from their audiences, potentially using it as a way to learn more about consumer choice and how they can improve their services.

That can make it something that's valuable for businesses, as they learn how to use these methods for ends which can ultimately help them to improve, but it's also valuable to know what a brand is and isn't telling you about their motivations behind launching a loyalty programme, to begin with.

Brand Recognition

It's also something that functions as another form of branding. If your loyalty programme has another name attached to it, that's a name that can double as an everyday word creating a whole extra dynamic to build an association. It's also about creating the sense of your brand being able to offer the customer something that they can't get anywhere else.

Take an online casino, for example, if Jackpot City Canada is able to offer you bonus codes as well as all of the themed slots, live poker, and roulette that you want to play, all while keeping you safe and secure, why would you opt for another casino? You can be the brand that ticks all of the boxes rather than just one.

Foot in the Door

A lot of the time, these customer loyalty programmes provide a way for businesses to get their foot in the door with a customer as well. While a customer might use their brand occasionally, a customer loyalty scheme encourages them to keep coming back in order to earn the potential rewards that are on offer.

The promise of potentially saving money or getting some other kind of incentive can be a good way of helping a customer choose you over another brand in a given situation, even if it would be more physically convenient to opt for the alternative.

This can also help to redirect customers to your online outlets or other business opportunities. If the loyalty programme has an element of crossover to it, then they might begin to consider these other options in a way that they wouldn't have otherwise.