As I continue on the quest to simplify customer loyalty and rewards programs, I often find that the length and wordiness of a program’s terms and conditions is an indication of its simplicity – or not!
I understand the need for loyalty programs to have various terms, conditions and rules of engagement, however if there are too many and they are too wordy or tricky, that’s a sign of a program’s complexity.
Start with a word count
It was quite an eye-opener when I completed a word count on the terms and conditions (as at 6 Feb 2017) for the top 10 loyalty programs (unprompted) from the research study ‘for love or money 2016’.
PLEASE NOTE: (my terms and conditions!!)
• Actual number of words may vary by + or – 10%, depending on how you allocate Microsoft Word© word count tool)
• This analysis is only a quantitative assessment ie purely number of words and is not comparative (program vs program) as every program is different in their purpose, promise and structure (points, cash-back, discount, tiered, pay to join, coalition etc).
• It is also not a qualitative assessment ie what’s actually in the terms and conditions that can impact loyalty eg expiry of benefits and confusing legal statements.
It is more of a call-out to all loyalty program managers of both existing and new programs to take a look at their terms and conditions and see if they can be simplified – be it in volume or quality.
Here’s the word-count list with relevant links
1. Flybuys (membership and rewards) = 2653 words https://www.flybuys.com.au/about/#/flybuys-terms-and-conditions
2. Woolworths Rewards = 6646 words (updated 19 Dec)
https://www.woolworthsrewards.com.au/terms.html
3. Qantas Frequent Flyer = 20035 words
(effective 1 February 2017) and excludes earning tables
https://www.qantas.com/fflyer/dyn/program/terms
4. Virgin velocity = 26775 words
https://www.velocityfrequentflyer.com/content/TermsConditions/
5. MYER One = 4931 (updated January 2017)
https://www.myerone.com.au/TermsAndConditions
6. Priceline Sisterclub = 3036 words
https://www.priceline.com.au/priceline-policies/sister-club-terms-and-conditions
7. Commbank Awards = 8757 (7 September 2015)
https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/apply-online/download-printed-forms/CommonwealthAwards.pdf (excludes partners t&c and credit card t&cs)
8. Boost Vibe Club = 1068
(Vibe Club and Mobile Ordering)
http://www.boostjuice.com.au/vibetermsconditions
9. Petbarn Friends for Life = 2464
https://www.petbarn.com.au/media/wysiwyg/friends-for-life/FFL-TandC-9-7-2015.pdf
10. Optus Perks = 4402
(2933 Optus Perks T&C’s +1469 for Perks offers T&C’s (effective 1 February 2016)
https://www.optusperks.com.au/Terms
So, as you continue to simplify your customer loyalty and rewards program, take a look at your terms and conditions and see if you can simplify them or maybe it’s the other way round – simplify your program!
Have happy loyalty day, that’s simply rewarding
