Are loyalty programs improving their benefits for members?

A regular review and revamp of a loyalty program is critical to ensure its long-term value and viability. This is driven by balancing the tension between two critical pivot points of a program’s success:

  1. Profitable to the business
  2. Meaningful to the member

Being a member of 100’s of programs, I am always attempting to keep a close eye on what’s changing and who are improving their programs and benefits.

Four programs that have changed in the past 12 months that I have noticed are:

The Athletes Foot advised members this month (August 2017) that they have changed their loyalty program from Clubfit to MyFit Rewards to suit a total member experience, outlined in their email as: 

“…bringing our technology, expertise and customer experience together into a fully personalised ecosystem”.
They also made it clear there were no changes to the financial benefits
”Don't worry your points balance will not be affected in any way. The value of your points will remain the same and you’ll still enjoy the same great rewards…”


Comment: Good to see a focus on maintaining the member’s financial benefits and the benefit in the name of the program

Hoyts have recently (29 August 2017) reviewed and revamped their Hoyts Rewards program to partner with Qantas. Two tiers of which one is 'pay to join'..."Flights, camera, action...In an Australian first, Qantas Frequent Flyer members will also be able to redeem their Qantas Points for movie tickets and candy bar treats at HOYTS!"

Comment: The power of the QFF point is still being stretched far and wide and for those who are passionate about their QFF points, of which there are many hundreds of thousands (millions), this is another way to add to their earning capacity and redemption options.

Village changed from Village Movie Club to VRewards in March 2017 and moved to points earn and redeem program with their message:

"You spoke, we listened. Here's what Vrewards has to offer! Earn 10 points for every $1* spent; Redeem tickets, candy bar treats and Gold Class Discount tickets for family, seniors & Tuesdays; Exclusive advance screenings; Special candy bar combo; $1 off traditional tickets online; Plus plenty more surprise and delights! Any existing VMC rewards you've earned will also remain on your account."

Comment: Interesting to see the move to a points program, which from my experience, as a program structure, has as many promoters as it has detractors. We only know if it works for them if they are achieving all their “metrics of success” (profitable to the business) and members feel rewarded (meaningful to members)!

T2 and their program T2 Society changed the structure of their program in October 2016 by removing their points based program and as they so nicely said in their email…

“We’re amplifying all our juicy perks: think stacks of samples, exclusive tea events, member-only offers, random acts of generosity and a tasty brew in your birthday week. As we boost all the benefits we’ll be saying goodbye to the points feature.”

Comment: Without any knowledge on ‘why’ they did this and the impact of the change, their message is positive and appealing.

Who else? 

The large loyalty programs such as Virgin’s Velocity, Qantas Frequent Flyer, flybuys, Priceline Sisterclub and Woolworths Rewards continue to refresh their programs with new partners, opportunities to earn and burn as well as new branding and benefits to keep their programs meaningful and profitable!

Interestingly, loyalty program members think programs are improving. According to our latest for love or money 2017 research, there has been a steady increase (since 2013) in members who believe that loyalty program have improved in recent years and tend to offer good benefits.

Refreshing and revitalising a program is critical to building the ongoing value and viability of a program to deliver on the two pillars of success

  1. Profitable to the business
  2. Meaningful to the member

If you would like to know more about our 5 steps to review and revamp a loyalty program and the latest results and findings from ‘for love or money 2017’, then please email adam@thepointofloyalty.com.au or visit www.thepointofloyalty.com.au.

Have a happy loyalty day!