To simplify your loyalty and rewards program take a look at the terms and conditions

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