‘one-size-fits-all’ rewards program: Segmenting Key To Rewards Impact

1. Degree of participation:
Not every customer will place the same importance on rewards - and some will not even participate in a rewards program even if it is offered.-

2. Impact on purchase decisions
Will the absence of a rewards program affect a customer’s purchase decision so, making a deal breaker if they are not offered a rewards program with purchase.

3. Relative Importance
Where do rewards rank in the customer’s priority list?
What ranks higher or below it?
Things like price, support levels, features, customer ratings and brand also play a big role and vary in their importance by customer segment.

4. What Are They Will To Trade For Rewards?
- Sharing personal information
- Promoting your company to their social media networks
These factors affect the ROI of rewards programs and vary from customer segment to customer segment.

5. Platform preferences
Companies have found that the rewards platform has a significant impact -- for example in coffee and sandwich shops, the switch to mobile platforms has impacted the participation of the “in the rush” high income professional.

6. Reward level hurdles
Designers of loyalty programs will tell you that among most diehard rewards fans in your customer base, there will not be an acceptance of just any reward level.  As they are being innundated by different promotional programs, many customers are demanding a minimum level of value from rewards including when they will receive their first reward.

7. Quality vs Quantity
Segments will vary based on their preference for high quality or exceptional rewards  (some will be more focused on sheer quantity while others will respond more strongly to exceptional experiences.)