Want to Boost Loyalty Program Engagement? New Research Shows Which Incentives Drive Results

Are you looking for ways to acquire loyalty program members and boost engagement with existing members?

Adding incentives, such as promotion overlays and bonus point earning opportunities, to your loyalty program is a proven way to accomplish those goals – and here are nine consumer statistics that will show you why.
 
Eighty-one percent of consumers would likely return to a loyalty program site if there was updated content available each month/quarter.
This stat speaks directly to the adage about successful loyalty programs: “Don’t set it and forget it.”
Program news drives engagement and there are a variety of ways your program can deliver that news through promotional overlays and bonus point opportunities.
 
Seventy-four percent of consumers are likely to join a loyalty program if joining entered them in a sweepstakes to win a prize.
Member acquisition is the lifeblood of every loyalty program – not just to grow membership but it’s necessary to maintain participation levels because of member churn.

Your customers join because they understand the value they’ll be getting over time – but offering something immediately upon signup, like the chance to win a prize, is a great way to make joining even more exciting.
 
Eighty-five percent of consumers would likely join a brand’s loyalty program to receive a rebate or a gift with purchase.
Like the first finding above, this demonstrates consumers’ excitement around joining in exchange for some type of immediate benefit.

Gift with purchase (GWP) programs can include guaranteed rewards, cash, offers or in some cases, charitable donations. The type of reward will depend on your brand and your customers but this immediately establishes that your customers will get something of value upon joining – and in many cases, this can be tied directly back to your brand.
 
Fifty-six percent of consumers are likely to share an experience with a brand by tagging the brands they shop with on their social media accounts in exchange for loyalty program points.
We found in our 2022 Customer Loyalty Data Study that when it comes to impacting someone’s loyalty to a brand, the opinions of friends and family are significantly more impactful than those of paid influencers.
And while influencers can be an important part of your marketing strategy, why not turn your existing customers into your biggest advocates by incentivizing them to share their brand experiences with their networks on social media?
 
Seventy-four percent of consumers are likely to leave a review on a brand’s website in exchange for loyalty program points.
Customer reviews are not only important for building trust, but they also provide your brand with key insights to better understand your customers.

We know that customers often trust the reviews of others, especially those they are connected to, over traditional advertising. Therefore, awarding loyalty program points is an excellent way to prompt customers to leave reviews on your channels and build more brand trust.
 
Eighty-eight percent of consumers would be willing to complete a survey or poll question in exchange for loyalty program points.
Zero-party data collected through surveys and polls can provide the best insights into your customers’ preferences, habits, demographics, etc. But according to our 2022 Customer Loyalty Data Study, only 24% of consumers have completed a survey for their favorite brand in the past 12 months.

Incentives like rewarding loyalty program points in exchange for completing a survey or poll is a great way to collect more data to better personalize the customer experience.
 
Eighty percent of consumers would likely watch a brand’s video content in exchange for loyalty program points.
Believe it or not, many loyalty program members aren’t aware of all the benefits that the program offers. It seems that program education is not always prioritized which may lower program engagement.

You’ve put a huge number of resources into your loyalty program, so it’s important to reward your members for taking the time to educate themselves on the program, such as by watching a video or reading content.
 
Eighty-two percent of consumers would visit a loyalty program website to view updated content in exchange for loyalty program points.
Building on the previous finding, it’s important to give your members an incentive to consume your content.
And if they’re going to visit your site regularly, that gives you a big opportunity to inform members about new features, new benefits, new promotions or anything else you’re trying to communicate to drive member engagement.
 
Almost half (47%) of consumers would likely use their loyalty program points toward entries in a sweepstakes for the chance to win a prize or experience, rather than using those points for product or service discounts.
Members can get frustrated if they must wait too long for rewards, or if the rewards don’t seem attainable. Traditional rewards can also be a challenge for brands – it’s incredibly hard to find attainable rewards that are exciting and financially viable for the program. Think of the time and resources it takes to source, inventory, track and fulfill tangible rewards.

That’s why sweepstakes are a great way to deliver a never-ending supply of attainable rewards that are exciting and incredibly cost-efficient. Rather than requiring your members to spend 500 points to get a product or a discount, you can offer bigger ticket prizes. For example, a sweepstakes to win a vacation or attend an exclusive event can be entered for only 50 points. Whether 100 members or 10,000 members enter, the number of prizes is fixed, making these types of rewards more cost-effective as they scale.
 
If You Want Members to Engage, Give Them What They Value
Keeping loyalty program members engaged can be challenging for any brand.
While inactive members are an inevitable part of every loyalty program, you have to work as hard as you can to keep members engaged. And the key to keeping members engaged is to provide ongoing value in the form of promotional incentives.

If you want to learn more about increasing customer engagement with promotions, or just want to chat about customer loyalty, please reach out to us at Clarus at any time.
 
Survey Methodology: Clarus Commerce surveyed 1,276 U.S. consumers 18 and older in late March as part of our 2022 Customer Engagement and Loyalty Survey.
 

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