Loyalty Blogs

A well-designed loyalty program for your business is no longer an option but a necessity to attract customers and retain them in the long run. However, with thousands of programs available in the market today, it is crucial to offer loyalty membership benefit programs that can drive member value and boost engagement.

For instance, if you receive 5 promotional emails offering different discounts and offers, they look all similar, which is why brands are planning to differentiate themselves from the pack with a dedicated member benefits program. These programs offer exclusive perks and rewards to only the program members who have made a payment of a membership fee to become a part of these programs. In this blog, we will learn everything about member benefit programs and how they can make your business stand out from the crowd.

Understanding The Basics Of Member Benefits Program

A member benefits program can be defined as a type of loyalty program in which brands allow customers to access a variety of special deals such as discounts, bonuses, and exclusive pricing. These offers can be easily redeemed by presenting a membership card or vouchers or through a website or app.

Member benefits programs have become increasingly popular over the past few decades. One of the main reasons is that many companies don’t make enough money or have customers spending enough to support a traditional loyalty program.

How To Build A Member Benefits Program?

Before you take the help of a customer loyalty software solution to create a member benefits program, you must check out this section first. While building a member benefit program, a company can offer their deals, but often it partners with other companies to provide deals. However, the challenge is to find and access these partnerships, which can be very time-consuming and costly. This is why, many businesses are making use of third-party aggregators to set up & build their programs.

Today, several aggregators have come up with a platform that provides a selection of offers, that companies can use as a ready-made program. These aggregators have partnerships with many gift card providers, cinemas, travel brands, and other experience companies. This means by partnering with these aggregators, your company can save lots of time and effort that would take in negotiating and establishing offers. For the same, aggregators usually charge either a per-member annual fee or a fixed-rate annual fee for a specified number of members.

One good thing about using a member benefits program is that it can be less expensive than a traditional loyalty program. By eliminating the necessity for a platform to oversee member accounts and currency balances, companies can unlock substantial reductions in technology costs. For example, a points-based program might only yield returns of 1-10% for the member while a member benefits program may incur only a fraction of the percentage of customer spend.

With member benefits programs, members can access special benefits allowing them to access greater value compared to loyalty currency programs thereby increasing program engagement and long-term loyalty. Make sure that your partnerships are established with renowned brands to help the company experience a halo effect where members appreciate it more.

Different Ways to Design Member Benefit Program

The next section will showcase three ways of designing member benefit programs such as company-provided, supplier-provided, and third-party-provided.

i. Company-based program is the type of program where members get access to amazing benefits provided by the company itself. The motive of this program is to present members with a bundle of valued benefits that come with minimal costs for the company.

The benefits can be complimentary product samples, warranties for extended periods, charitable donations, etc. One example is the IKEA family where members are encouraged to swipe their cards at checkout to unlock different benefits such as complimentary insurance coverage for product transport from store to home.

ii. Supplier-based program is the type of member benefits program where customers get access to free samples to try new products from different brands without having to commit to a purchase. The benefit of this program is that members receive relevant samples regularly which ensures the delivery of value with delight and surprise as members are not aware of what they will receive.

An example is Priceline Sister Club, a program by Priceline that offers a complimentary gift box every quarter with 3-4 product samples. The samples are offered by Priceline suppliers who use it as an opportunity to get brand and product lines in front of the company’s most loyal shoppers.

iii. Third-Party Program– If internal sourcing and supplier samples are not available for benefits, the company can establish partnerships with different third-party entities to offer benefits to their members.

A company-based member benefits program can be cost-efficient, but using third-party-provided member benefits can incur higher expenses especially if you are seeking exclusive and best-in-market offers. This is because securing these offers can come with annual license fees, marketing support costs and others. An example is the O2 Priority program that offers benefits to members across multiple categories like free cookies, deals for The Body Shop, discounted event tickets, etc.

Closing Statement

As we can see the significance of having a member benefits program, it is now clear why many large firms in the insurance and telecommunication sector are integrating white-labeled member benefits programs with immense offerings that support a different demographic member base.

Ensure that consumers are not overwhelmed by the sheer volume of similar loyalty programs with similar offerings being promoted to them. That is why, you must give your members access to exclusive and premium deals to boost engagement and add tangible value to your membership program.

If you are planning to engage your program members with next-level membership benefits, connect with the experts of Novus, a reliable loyalty solution provider that enabled several brands to design unique and effective loyalty programs. Talk to our experts to help us understand your specific business needs and customer expectations and launch a tailored member benefits program.