Loyalty Blogs

As per research conducted by Capgemini, 97 percent of reward programs mostly rely on transactional rewards, though 44 percent of shoppers still feel these rewards are somewhat irrelevant. The stat conveys an important message that not all rewards are equally effective, rewards should differ according to customer preferences, situations, and locations and mostly should be built around experiences.

Considering any given industry, there’s a free space to accommodate experiential rewards and try it as an altogether different option to experiment rather than the regular transactional rewards. Being an extremely delightful opportunity to stand out your organization from the competition and create strong impressions which last way longer than transactional/material rewards, experiential rewards can be exciting enough!

Lots of information on the new sort of loyalty incentive program-Experiential Rewards await you, read on to know the details-

Experience is the New Reward

Prior to anything else, let’s understand what are experiential rewards, how they work, and why are the leading industries drooling over the new kind of rewarding option. Some stats say that 78 percent of millennials prefer to spend money on experiences rather than materialistic rewards. While another authentic stat reveals that consumers have spent around $1 Trillion for the sake of their experiences.

Now talking about Experiential Rewards in general, they are a kind of reward that goes beyond just transactions and in turn accelerates the receiver’s experience. It strategically builds an emotional connection between the brand and the recipient delivering an unforgettable experience through instilling a memory that stays with them forever. The prime objective of having experiential rewards at power is to fulfill customers’ expectations and delight them with irreplaceable experiences worthwhile.

So, these rewards are not just limited to customers, they can be about the clients, employees, and anyone you are willing to send in experience-based rewards. You can even think about the experiential rewards as a bridge to connect brands and customers, which can hugely contribute to an understanding of employees, customers, channel partners, etc. It can surely go a long way in rewarding customers.

Efficacy of Experiential Rewards

There are other rewarding options available serving a great purpose, which include gift cards, coupons, discounted offers, etc. Being the most adapted and easy to implement options, these fail to deliver a sense of thoughtfulness and does not provide the customers complete satisfaction of being rewarded. A stat says that 44 percent of shoppers feel like the transactional rewards given to them are irrelevant and did not make them happy. So, it’s evident that customers are willing to receive rewards with add-ons to their experience rather than looking for something material.

Personalization and customization are always considered beneficial aspects which can contribute to increasing efficacy but, experiential rewards still have better effectiveness and can be categorized as the leading option to reward customers based on their preferences.

Here’s a chart to show what excites customers the most-

Top Reasons Why Experiential Rewarding Overpowers Traditional Incentives

Despite discussing quite a bit, we can still make it more clarified why every rewards and redemption platform is focusing on experiential rewards-

Exclusive Personalization

Loyalty programs often offer cashback discounts wherein customers get a chunk of their spending back in their accounts but, at the same time customers do not feel valued or special as the rewards are more monetary which may satisfy for a period of time but may not provide long term memories.

Experiential rewards are way beyond transactional benefits, it includes tickets to some special events, activity options as per the customer’s preferences, and anything which may excite them in the long run.

Emotional Connection

Experiential rewards are known for providing a strong emotional connection between a brand and its customer. The offerings like physical experiences include tickets to scuba diving, passes for their favorite singer’s concert, the option to opt-in for yoga camps, and much more. These can make the customers choose your brand over the rest of the competition. Always ensure what makes your users happy and what exactly can prove great for your brand.

Social Experience

Customers love to appreciate and show off the memorable experiences they have received from a brand. Hence, the experiences you are providing to your customers can be a trigger to bring more customers onboarded through word-of-mouth marketing. People do talk about a family holiday time they have spent with their family by getting a discount voucher from a brand. It makes them feel special and valued and that majorly contributes to providing social experiences to the customers

Long-Lasting Impressions

Loyalty programs are relatively a powerful marketing tool having the primary goal to make long-lasting brand impressions. How? Brands offering better shopping and loyalty experiences to their customers are more likely to be considered for the next purchase. Customers are less likely to remember the material benefits, but they would better have a memory session in their mind on live experiences and benefits which are beyond money! Well, that’s quite an impressive option!

Increased Longevity

Unlike other sorts of loyalty programs, experiential rewards cannot be tracked and measured at every step so a brand can have flexible budgets and can use them whenever required or wherever seems necessary. One can make lower investments if the previous month took away a little more profit share, it can therefore result in keeping the control in your hand on what to spend & when to spend.

Final Thoughts

It is evident that the pandemic has brought a tremendous impact on every industry sector and has transformed the way loyalty programs work. Some of the best reward types are gift vouchers, experiential rewards, and contactless transactions. Ensure that you build the loyalty program that caters to the evolving customer needs with an omnichannel experience and personalized rewards.