How to fix the profit leaks in your Loyalty Program

If you’re like many franchise systems on a quest to grow things like average check, frequency, and same store sales, then optimizing the effectiveness of your loyalty program is paramount. It may seem like common sense to maximize the benefits of your loyalty program, but making it a reality is where the difficulty comes in.

Many franchisors are dependent on operators and staff members to facilitate a portion of their loyalty program. In addition, many franchisors are utilizing an archaic loyalty program without a compelling reward structure that limits customer interaction with your brand. Why do franchise systems allow for loyalty program incompetency? Beats me! If you experience these same issues, you are missing out on much more than revenue; you’re robbing your brand of equity.

So it seems your loyalty program has perished due to lack of results or neglect. Just because you’ve made mistakes in the past, doesn’t mean you can’t move forward. There’s no better time to fix an ailing loyalty program like the present. Before we talk about what you should be doing, let’s take the time to understand some of the more common reasons that loyalty programs suffer: 

• Reward Value
  In order for your customers to equate points with actual value, your reward structure should be easy to understand. However, finding a balance between attainable rewards and desirable rewards is often a challenge for franchisees. Therefore, understanding what your customers respond well to will help you craft the perfect loyalty program for your customer base.
  
  
• Ease of Use
  The best loyalty programs are intuitive and promotable. Get to the essence of what is going to inspire your customers as your loyalty program should blend effortlessly into their lifestyle.
  
  
• Smart Technology
  The more intelligent you are about your customers, the better you can create a customer experience that perpetuates loyalty. Technology’s role for the consumer is communication while franchisors use it access to robust data. With the right tools, you can get feedback reporting on how well your loyalty program is received and adapted on any given day of the week.
  
  
• System Goals
  Consider your loyalty program as system for growth. Rather than rewarding customers for behaviors they already exhibit, encourage them to step outside their comfort zone and buy something extra or come in more often. Why? Because if you give out rewards for something they are already doing, you are only lowering your franchisees profit margin.

It’s a no-brainer that technology has made it so much simpler to implement loyalty in a way that customers accept and prefer. The best loyalty programs harmonize with customers’ lifestyles and technology preferences as businesses obtain rich data without intruding on the customer’s privacy.  

A robust marketing environment allows our team at POLN8 the ability to create custom loyalty experiences for each and every customer. Integrations with POS systems, CRM, mobile apps, and card reader/EMV devices transform your loyalty program into the ultimate marketing strategy allowing you to leverage rich data in real-time. Customer actions (purchases) trigger automated reactions (targeted marketing) which incentivizes your customers to respond. Plus, the more you can integrate and automate, the more better results you’ll begin to see.

Our team is ready to help you implement a brand-spanking-new loyalty system with all the bells and whistles. You see, we’ve been working with some of the most recognized brands in franchising delivering amazing results to their franchisees. We know how to build loyalty systems that are right for you, your franchisees, and most importantly your customers.

Schedule a call with our loyalty specialists so we can discuss what POLN8 can do to take your customer loyalty program to a whole new level.

(877) 782-8181. |. buzzme@POLN8.com