Critical Elements of a Rewards Program That Need to be Tracked

POV by Andrew Lanciani 

Whether you have just launched a rewards program or have had one for many years, a program tracking study is a perfect way to get a pulse of how your program is being perceived by your members.

 With a rewards program tracking study, you can measure key loyalty program metrics such as awareness, satisfaction, and value/usage of current benefits.  This can be done on a monthly, quarterly, or semiannual basis although in our experience, a quarterly or semiannual cadence works best. This makes it just often enough that your survey can be sensitive to marketing changes, but not so often that it becomes annoying to your members and a financial or operational burden to you.

 Recommended topics for your rewards program tracking survey:

-Program satisfaction overall and with specific benefits/rewards

-Reasons for being satisfied/dissatisfied with program

-Likes, dislikes, and suggestions for improving the program (open-ends)

-Comparison to similar programs in the industry

-Awareness/usage of key benefits/rewards

-Understanding of program benefits, rewards, and mechanics

-Program impact on behavior

-Likelihood to recommend program to others

Tips for executing a successful rewards program survey: 

-Send the survey out on a regular cadence -at least twice a year.

-Use a combination of structured (close-ended) and open-ended questions.

-Keep the survey short, no more than ten minutes

-Make sure the survey is mobile optimized

-If offering an incentive, make sure it is tied to the program/brand, such as rewards points or a percent off coupon for your brand. 

Key Example:

Brierley+Partners have been conducting an ongoing tracking study for a specialty retailer, and it has allowed our client to get ongoing, timely, and candid member feedback. By allowing open-ended responses, we’ve garnered insights into the program that we otherwise would have missed. When the company was the object of some negative press, we were able to measure the full impact on both brand and program satisfaction through a combination of close-ended and open-ended feedback.

You’ve taken the time and energy to design and develop a great rewards program for your customers. Keep your program strong and healthy by getting continuous feedback from your members and implementing changes.

Brierley+Partners offers a range of strategy and consumer insight modules that can help retailers establish a series of engagement points with members. Our Strategy and CI Teams can help with projects such as a Relationship Analyzer, Competitive Evaluation, Marketing Jumpstart, CX/MX Journey Mapping, Customer Demographic Profiling and more to help identify opportunities with your new members. To learn more, call 214-743-5454 or email us at info@brierley.com.