REWARDS ON THE GO!

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Today, rewards programmes are nothing extraordinary. Over the years we’ve seen an increased uptake in various programmes. And as consumers get savvier about how to get real value from the brands they support, it’s important that businesses focus on delivering value, rather than on vanilla programmes. And, it is through tailored programmes that customers will engage and find relief, especially during tough economic times.

Driven by South Africans’ continued adoption of smartphones (where 37% of South African adults own a smartphone) and engagement with rewards programmes – 2017 is the year South African rewards programmes will go truly mobile. Overall, rewards programmes will certainly continue their momentum, here’s a view of how the landscape will evolve in the next year.

Tapping into the power of mobile will supercharge rewards programme and allow business to stay relevant to their members. Why? Because mobile is the single device you have with you at all times, it provides an opportunity for reward programmes to move to the next level as it can:

  • Reward members on the go;
  • Offer rewards in the form of vouchers and discounts;
  • Give personalised rather than campaign-led rewards; and
  • Encourage members to maximise their reward earnings.

And, the more members redeem their rewards, the more useful and valuable the programme is to them.

Mobile-friendly QR Codes

By harnessing the power and capabilities of smartphones, rewards programmes can further differentiate themselves. Picture the next incarnation of using your smartphone to compare products and prices before you decide where to spend your money. Instead of searching Google, you can scan a product barcode with your smartphone to access more details about the product; find similar products; know where you can pay for the product with your rewards; and find out where you can get rewards-related discounts at the touch of your device.

Locating the value

Another useful feature of mobility, if done correctly, is geo-location. Once members opt in, based on their location services they are notified through an app when they are in the vicinity of specific partners/retailers who are offering discounts, adding massive value to members and programmes alike.

Personalisation

In today’s knowledge economy, data is almost everything. The only thing more important is properly analysed data that you can act on. And a rewards programme is fertile ground for a wealth of information about their members, their preferences and their habits. This kind of information allows you to make decisions on real data.

Herein lies an opportunity to amaze and delight your members with spot-on personalised products; services and even discounted items, allowing members to choose what is relevant to them. On the other hand, you could present the data to members so that they can play around with it and understand what actions they need to undertake to help them earn more rewards. This in turn allows members to make more informed decisions based on realistic results about their product purchasing, banking or lifestyle.

With this in mind, programmes need to focus more on personalisation whilst still offering variety in, for instance products, experiences, and even charitable offerings.

Simplification

If members are having a tough time understanding your programme and earning points are too difficult or unattainable, they will be discouraged and will be less likely to engage with the programme.

For this reason, members need to be steered to understand which behaviours they need to adopt in order to help them move easily up the reward levels and in turn see the immediacy of their reward. Enhanced by smartphone capabilities, in 2017, simplicity and helping members “hack” the system to achieve maximum value through higher earnings or faster progression through rewards levels are going to be key to running a standout programme.

With little relief in sight when it comes to the global and local economy, rewards programmes are likely to become increasingly relevant to members as they start making a real impact in their lives. So, keep things simple and also use technologies such as mobile to increase the relevance, and so the value given to members.


Johan Moolman
CEO, eBucks Rewards
https://www.ebucks.com/web/eBucks/
JMoolman@eBucks.com



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