Maintaining a high level of loyalty program engagement is one of the key factors in determining the success of your customer loyalty program. a who doesn’t want success?

Here at Extu, more than half of our standard incentive program plan involves heavy research before we even begin to implement program structure. The goal: to get it right the first time. But every seasoned loyalty program provider knows that the future is undetermined, and the best loyalty programs are those that are committed to the developmental work well after the program’s launch.

Our studies determine healthy program engagement according to enrollment, frequency of logins, reward activity, and various other KPIs.  Whether your loyalty program is experiencing a lag in participation, or you are simply looking to push the boundaries of your company’s growth, here are five ways to boost loyalty program engagement.

1. Make Your Program Visible- and Easy to Use.

You’ve spent months mulling over loyalty program details, interviewing providers, and waiting on budget approvals. Why invest the time, energy, and resources if your customers don’t know your program exists?

If you’re working with an experienced program provider, your marketing and communication plan is initiated well before the program’s launch date. Provide detailed enrollment instructions in all announcement material as well as the online registration platform. Set the tone of your loyalty program and make the enrollment process even sweeter by rewarding participants right off the bat with gamification techniques such as spin-to-win or scratch-and-earn. Your participants will be excited to start working toward their rewards.

2. Take Advantage of Automated Reminders.

Life moves quickly, and sometimes all it takes is a simple email reminder to participants to spend their hard-earned points.

The beauty of incentive technology is that program administration becomes a breeze. Take advantage of omnichannel communication options, including SMS or push notifications from a customized mobile app, and let your participants decide how they prefer to be contacted. With email open and click-thru rates at twice the industry average, participants are more willing to engage with your brand if the possibility of a reward is on the way.

3. Increase the Number of Ways to Earn Rewards.

Engagement is guaranteed to drop if your participants don’t feel confident in their ability to earn rewards, or are unable to win rewards for long stretches of time. Offer rewards for other value-added behaviors, such as completing training on your product, participating in a survey, or providing referral business. Or incorporate the element of surprise with on-the-spot reward points for attending events and tradeshows.

4. Evaluate Your Reward Offerings.

When it comes to reward offerings, personalization is key. One size most certainly does not fit all, and loyalty program satisfaction can experience a 6.4x lift when personalization is done well.

Picking your reward choice should be determined on the research collected on your target audience both before the program’s launch and during the life of the program. Be it an online shopping mall with millions of reward options, re-loadable debit cards, or even an incentive travel excursion, your loyalty program team should be working tirelessly to provide the latest and greatest rewards.

5. Learn from Your Data.

Loyalty program software allows for the collection of invaluable data. From firmographic data, to contact information, engagement metrics, and buying habits, companies can use this data to both inform and further personalize their sales and marketing strategies. By integrating this data with existing CRM or ERP, data can be organized in one place, guaranteeing complete and accurate picture of the customer experience.

The Ideal Level of Loyalty Program Engagement

No customer loyalty program is perfect, but with the help of an experienced program provider and advanced incentive technology, your program can come pretty close. For companies looking to reap the benefits of a customer loyalty program, it is important that their investment generates a positive ROI. With the help of frequent communication and data-driven strategy, your program can make the necessary changes to increase engagement and keep participants both winning and redeeming rewards.