4 things that make a great in-app loyalty program

Having an app designed for your business is an effective way to develop a closer relationship with your customers and service users. It’s also an easy way to add an revenue stream to your business if you incorporate an ecommerce store or appointment booking functionality.

But why stop there? You can additionally leverage your app to nurture customer loyalty and encourage repeat business. Developing an in-app loyalty program offers a single way to accomplish both goals.

So what makes a good in-app loyalty program?

1. Genuine perks and rewards

A loyalty program needs to reward customers and app users with things they actually want and use, in order for the ‘thank you’ to appear genuine and the reward something the customer actively wants.

A typical approach sees points or tokens accrued after a certain activity, such as each booking for a haircut if you’re a hairdresser for example, or each takeout order for food businesses. Those tokens can then be redeemed for an appropriate reward, such as a free treatment, a free gift, a discount or something like free delivery.

2. A tier system

If the purpose of your loyalty scheme is to strengthen client relationships and nurture stronger brand loyalty, consider a tier system. This would see your most loyal clients granted VIP status, meaning their rewards would be greater. Many apps take this tiered approach. In addition to VIP status offering kudos to your most important customers, it also encourages those not quite on that level to keep coming back and shop or buy more in order to ascend through those tiers. This type of system is popular with travel apps and airlines, with many offering higher tiers and rewards for more frequent fliers.

3. Money off

Everyone loves to feel like they are getting a bargain – so why not allow your customers to turn their points into money off future purchases? This could be implanted in a number of ways but can easily be adjusted to best meet the needs and structure of your business. For example, you could have a certain quantity of points equal to a monetary value, such as 100 points equals £1 or $1 off or use points in exchange for things like free same-day shipping.

4. Rewards for checking in

Your rewards program can also be used to help raise your brand profile and social presence – perfect if you are trying to reach new audiences and generate new custom – by gifting users points when they check at your location. This not only encourages your customers to spread the word to their own networks, it also provides an incentive to visit your location over that of a rival.