How to Best Design Short-Term Loyalty Programs
Lessons Learned from 879 Programs in 45 Countries
When resources are too scarce to support a long-term reward program, some businesses dip their toes into temporary loyalty programs instead. These short-term programs have similar point accumulation and redemption structures as their permanent counterparts. But they usually run for only a few weeks or months.
Do grocery stores’ free holiday turkey or ham programs come to mind? Yep, those are some of the best known short-term loyalty programs.
Temporary loyalty programs are not always limited to businesses that cannot have or do not want a permanent loyalty programs. Sometimes companies offer them alongside existing permanent programs, as sort of a “program-in-a-program”.
Whether standing alone or as program-in-a-program, do short-term loyalty programs work? How should they be designed for success? A recent research study led by Professor Nick Bombaij at the University of Amsterdam offers some answers. In an article to be published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, the researchers report their analysis of 879 short-term loyalty programs run by BrandLoyalty in the grocery retail sector across 45 countries. We bring you the key insights from their research.
