In recent years, South African companies have turned to loyalty programmes as a more innovative way of retaining customers.
By Frik van der Westhuizen founding member of LoyaltyPlus
But as with any investment, it is important to effectively measure the return on investment (ROI) of these initiatives. This requires an understanding of the key metrics to monitor and the right strategic approaches to follow when it comes to unlocking the true potential of a loyalty programme.
I have identified six important metrics that should form the basis for understanding the ROI of any loyalty programme:
- Customer Retention Rate (CRR): This measures the percentage of customers who continue to buy something from the company over a specific time. A higher retention rate would suggest that the loyalty programme is effective in keeping people engaged and satisfied with the brand.
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): This metric estimates the total revenue a business can expect from a customer throughout their relationship. The CLV will enable decision-makers to understand how the loyalty programme contributes to increasing the value each customer brings with them over time.
- Redemption Rate: As the name suggests, this tracks the percentage of earned rewards that customers actually redeem. The higher the redemption rate, the better reflection it is that people find value in the rewards offered. And because they are likely to use the rewards, it improves engagement and long-term loyalty with the brand.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS measures customer satisfaction and their likelihood to recommend your brand to others. An improved NPS can indicate that the loyalty programme is providing positive customer experiences over time which, in turn, see them promoting the brand to family and friends.
- Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR): This measures how often customers return to make additional purchases. A high RPR suggests that the loyalty programme succeeds in encouraging repeat business.
- Incremental Sales: Another important metric that focuses on the additional sales generated as a direct result of the loyalty programme. By comparing sales data before and after the loyalty programme was launched, companies can show its impact on revenue growth.
Improving ROI
One of the most effective strategies to improve the ROI of a loyalty programme is to embrace personalisation. Companies can use data analytics to tailor rewards and offers to individual customer preferences thereby improving engagement. When customers feel valued and understood through these personalised experiences, their likelihood to remain loyal and continue engaging with the brand remains high.
Integrating a loyalty programme across all customer touchpoints is also important. For example, a loyalty programme should link online and in-store shopping through a user-friendly mobile app. This provides customers with a consistent and convenient experience. Through such an omnichannel approach, a company can encourage customers to continue engaging with the programme to further improve the frequency at which they shop.
As part of this, a company should consider introducing gamification elements to make the loyalty programme more engaging and enjoyable. By incorporating challenges, levels, and rewards, customers can benefit from a game-like experience that encourages them to actively participate and stay committed to achieving rewards.
Ultimately, feedback loops are vital to continually improve loyalty programmes. Regularly getting feedback from customers helps the business understand their needs and preferences better.
Insights for success
By measuring the ROI of their loyalty programmes, companies can gain insights into customer behaviour and the effectiveness of the initiatives.