High-performing customer loyalty programs, while complicated to operate, have proven to be well worth the effort. Several successful airline loyalty programs have a higher valuation than the underlying airline. A recent Bain & Company survey of nearly 870 US consumers found that 63% of respondents said they make buying decisions based on loyalty programs they participate in. And since very small businesses resemble consumers in many aspects, loyalty programs have begun to spread in business-to-business markets, such as AB InBev’s program for small- and medium-sized food and beverage retailers.
高效的客戶忠誠計劃雖然操作複雜，但證明了付出的努力是值得的。幾個成功的航空公司忠誠計劃的估值高於底層航空公司。貝恩公司最近對近 870 名美國消費者進行的調查發現，63% 的受訪者表示，他們在購買決策上參與的忠誠計劃起了作用。由於非常小的企業在許多方面與消費者相似，忠誠計劃已經開始在企業間市場中擴展，例如 AB InBev 針對小型和中型食品和飲料零售商的計劃。

However, for every successful program, there are a dozen others running at high cost, spurring unprofitable member behaviors, and generating a low return on investment (ROI). Indeed, there’s a wide variation in Net Promoter Score (a key metric of advocacy) among programs.
然而，對於每個成功的計劃，都有十幾個以高成本運行的計劃，促使會員採取不盈利的行為，並產生低投資回報率（ROI）。事實上，各個計劃的淨推薦者分數（一個重要的倡導指標）存在著很大的變化。

Where Programs Go Wrong 程式出錯的地方

Mediocre, underperforming customer-loyalty programs tend to suffer from a combination of three problems:
中等，表現不佳的客戶忠誠計劃往往會遭受三個問題的組合：

Failure to get the economics right
未能正確掌握經濟

Operating costs for a major program can run in the tens of millions of dollars and create balance sheet liabilities in the billions. Poorly designed programs bear those costs yet limp along with outdated assumptions and rules, touting trinkets and incentivizing consumers in the wrong ways. Some grocery and drug store chains, for instance, offer discounts for goods that people would buy anyway, lowering their profit margin. At one North American chain, up to 25% of milk purchases in a given week after a chain-wide promotional discount would have been purchased at full price during the following weeks.
一個重大計劃的運營成本可能達到數千萬美元，並在資產負債表中創造數十億美元的負債。設計不良的計劃承擔這些成本，但卻以過時的假設和規則繼續運作，吹噓小玩意並以錯誤的方式激勵消費者。例如，一些雜貨店和藥店連鎖店提供對人們本來就會購買的商品的折扣，降低了他們的利潤率。在一家北美連鎖店中，全店促銷折扣後一周內高達 25% 的牛奶購買量在接下來的幾周內將以全價購買。

Coordination and organizational issues can further erode the economics, particularly with coalition programs that have a network of seemingly unrelated partners. Plenti, a U.S. rewards program run by American Express with roughly a dozen corporate participants, lasted only three years in part because the group never settled on a common value for points that would appeal to consumers. The different point systems among participating companies were difficult for consumers to navigate.
協調和組織問題可能進一步削弱經濟，特別是對於具有一個看似無關聯合作夥伴網絡的聯盟計劃。Plenti 是由美國運通運營的一個獎勵計劃，大約有十幾家公司參與，部分原因是因為該集團從未就對消費者有吸引力的積分共同價值達成一致意見，因此只持續了三年。參與公司之間的不同積分系統對消費者來說難以理解。

Poor understanding of customer behavior
對客戶行為的了解不足

A lack of insights about individual customers limits a company’s ability to target and personalize offerings. Too many programs don’t align around the behaviors they want to incentivize – whether that consists of more transactions, cross-shopping, repeat trips, or something else. When one of the largest retailers in Asia analyzed its customer base, it found that many consumers originally classified as low value (by average monthly spending and number of trips) were in fact high value (based on gross margin per item), and thus deserved more benefits than they received.
對於個別客戶缺乏洞察力會限制公司針對客戶的目標和個性化產品的能力。太多計劃並未圍繞他們想要激勵的行為進行對齊 - 無論是更多交易、跨店購物、重複行程還是其他行為。當亞洲最大的零售商之一分析其客戶群時，發現許多最初被歸類為低價值的消費者（根據平均每月支出和旅行次數）實際上是高價值的（根據每件商品的毛利率），因此應該獲得比他們實際獲得的更多好處。

Sometimes the company simply does not have enough data to build useful profiles. One restaurant chain had millions of active members in its loyalty program, but for some time only about one-quarter of them shared contact information, which made it impossible to personalize offers. The chain then set about fixing the registration problem.
有時公司根本沒有足夠的數據來建立有用的個人檔案。一家餐廳連鎖店在其忠誠計劃中擁有數百萬活躍會員，但有一段時間只有大約四分之一的會員分享聯絡資訊，這使得個性化優惠無法實現。該連鎖店隨後著手解決註冊問題。

More distraction, little differentiation, low engagement
更多干擾，少差異，低參與

The proliferation of insurgent brands, mobile apps, content, and experiences has intensified the battle for share of mind and wallet. In particular, the rise of digital media has reduced attention spans. Young consumers are especially prone to turn to social media for product recommendations and shopping.
叛逆品牌、行動應用程式、內容和體驗的激增加劇了在心智和錢包份額上的競爭。特別是，數位媒體的興起縮短了注意力持續時間。年輕消費者尤其傾向於轉向社交媒體尋求產品推薦和購物。

It’s not just digital media bombarding consumers, but also the growing number of loyalty programs. Among U.S. consumers who joined any loyalty program, they participate in 12 on average, our survey found. With that volume, it’s no wonder that many consumers find little reason to engage in some programs beyond acquiring discounts.
不僅是數位媒體在轟炸消費者，還有越來越多的忠誠計畫。根據我們的調查，在美國參加任何忠誠計畫的消費者平均參與了 12 個。有了這麼多的計畫，難怪許多消費者發現除了獲得折扣之外，很少有理由參與某些計畫。

In industries with high-priced goods such as home furnishings, the rewards often are almost meaningless relative to the value of the item. Worse, programs may be virtually invisible to customers, as the company accrues points liabilities without engendering additional loyalty, as is the case with some drug-store chains.
在高價商品行業，如家居用品，獎勵通常相對於物品價值幾乎毫無意義。更糟糕的是，對於顧客來說，這些計畫可能幾乎是看不見的，因為公司在不增加顧客忠誠度的情況下累積積分負債，這在一些藥店連鎖店中就是這種情況。

A Template for Program Redesign
程序重新設計的範本

Given these trends, many of today’s programs no longer generate desirable behaviors or profitable growth. Yet the executives that run them may feel trapped, worried that in the war for market share, shelf space, and consumer attention they cannot risk pulling back on their programs. Or they might want to change a program, but they’re not sure how to proceed.
鑒於這些趨勢，許多當今的計劃不再產生理想的行為或盈利增長。然而，運營這些計劃的高管可能感到困惑，擔心在市場份額、貨架空間和消費者注意力的競爭中，他們無法冒風險收縮計劃。或者他們可能想要改變一個計劃，但不確定該如何進行。

Creating a modern, sustainable loyalty program entails several steps that depart from how most current programs operate.
建立一個現代、可持續的忠誠計劃需要採取幾個步驟，這些步驟與大多數現行計劃運作方式不同。

Draw an accurate profile of customers.
繪製客戶的準確輪廓。

Redesigning a loyalty program starts with attaining a deep understanding of their preferences and behavior. The best customer profiles prioritize high-quality, actionable customer information over sheer volume of information. Companies should mine digital exhaust from website visits and e-commerce, combining that first-party data with demographic and behavioral attributes, in order to offer highly personalized features to program members.
重新設計忠誠計劃始於深入了解客戶的喜好和行為。最佳客戶檔案將高質量、可操作的客戶信息置於信息量之上。公司應該從網站訪問和電子商務中挖掘數據，將第一方數據與人口統計和行為特徵結合，以向計劃成員提供高度個性化的功能。

Returning to the large retailer in Asia that had misclassified its customer base, the company reclassified loyalty program tiers and took a targeted approach with promotional campaigns, to stimulate cross-category buying. Category spending rose three-fold for snacks and eight-fold for health and beauty products, with the overall basket size for consumers who redeemed promotions increasing between 75% and 225%.
回到亞洲的大型零售商，該公司對客戶群進行了重新分類，重新分類了忠誠計劃的層級，並針對促銷活動採取了有針對性的方法，以刺激跨類別購買。 零食類別的支出增加了三倍，健康和美容產品的支出增加了八倍，對於兌換促銷的消費者來說，整體購物籃的大小增加了 75% 至 225%。

Know what those customers value.
了解客戶重視的價值。

What attributes of the offering and experience matter most to program members? Personalization is the key. Some members would prefer to trade off discounts for more meaningful redemptions. One entertainment company found that 80% of customers value early access to virtual and live events over traditional points-based rewards. Some sports fans relish exclusive access to coaching sessions or curated statistics. Video gamers often want to show off their skills and achievements to other gamers.
提供和體驗的哪些屬性對計劃成員最重要？個性化是關鍵。一些成員更願意犧牲折扣以換取更有意義的兌換。一家娛樂公司發現，80% 的客戶更重視提前獲得虛擬和現場活動的機會，而不是傳統的積分獎勵。一些體育迷喜歡獲得專屬的教練課程或精心挑選的統計數據。視頻遊戲玩家通常希望向其他玩家展示他們的技能和成就。

Many consumers simply want more convenience. When a survey by Salesforce asked people what would encourage more frequent use of loyalty programs, many were interested in features that reduced friction, such as ease of tracking and simpler terms.
許多消費者只是想要更多的便利。當 Salesforce 進行調查時，問及人們是什麼會鼓勵更頻繁使用忠誠計畫，許多人對減少阻力的功能感興趣，例如易於追蹤和更簡單的條款。

Once a company has hypotheses about what each consumer segment really cares about, the hypotheses can be validated with in-market experimentation. The advent of artificial intelligence can streamline the process because AI tools tests propositions with synthetic audiences based on the digital behavior of real consumers.
一旦公司對每個消費者群體真正關心的假設進行了假設，這些假設可以通過市場實驗來驗證。人工智能的出現可以簡化這個過程，因為 AI 工具可以根據真實消費者的數字行為，測試對合成觀眾的主張。

Devise a compelling hook.
設計一個引人入勝的鉤子。

Most successful programs rely on one or more hooks to attract customers and keep them engaged. At Amazon Prime, the core hook remains free shipping (often within a day or two), though Prime has branched out to include a full-fledged ecosystem of offerings that has attracted more than 230 million subscribers, each spending an average $1,400 annually, versus $600 for non-Prime members.
大多數成功的計劃都依賴一個或多個鉤子來吸引客戶並保持他們參與。在亞馬遜 Prime，核心鉤子仍然是免費送貨（通常在一兩天內），儘管 Prime 已擴展到包括一整套的產品，吸引了超過 2.3 億訂閱者，每位訂閱者平均每年花費 1400 美元，而非 Prime 會員為 600 美元。

Here again, in-market experimentation will validate which options do and don’t resonate with program members. The most promising will merit a large-scale test.
再次進行市場實驗將驗證哪些選項對計劃成員有共鳴，哪些沒有。最有前途的將獲得大規模測試的價值。

Let the games begin. 讓遊戲開始。

Gaming has become the fastest-growing form of entertainment among younger generations. US 13-to-24-year-olds now spend almost as much time with video games as with social media or streaming video, a recent Bain survey found, so that gamification plays an increasingly important role in successful loyalty programs. When consumers have the chance to win, achieve, and gain a bit more value through games, many become promoters who fuel the marketing engine.
遊戲已成為年輕一代中增長最快的娛樂形式。最近的貝恩調查發現，美國 13 至 24 歲的年輕人現在花在電子遊戲上的時間幾乎與社交媒體或串流影片一樣多，因此遊戲化在成功的忠誠計畫中扮演著越來越重要的角色。當消費者有機會通過遊戲贏取、達成目標並獲得更多價值時，許多人會成為推廣者，推動行銷引擎運作。

Sephora’s Beauty Insider targets enthusiasts across makeup and skin care, with tiers structured to incentivize consumers to move up to the next tier. Prizes, in exchange for points, drop in the Rewards Bazaar for only a short time before they run out. In North America, the 17 million members of Beauty Insider now account for 80% of company sales, as the program has significantly boosted cross-selling and upselling of Sephora’s product lines.
Sephora 的 Beauty Insider 針對彩妝和護膚愛好者，層級設計旨在鼓勵消費者提升到下一個層級。獎品可以用積分兌換，在獎勵市集中只有短暫時間才會供應，直到用完為止。在北美，Beauty Insider 的 1700 萬會員現在佔公司銷售的 80％，該計劃顯著促進了 Sephora 產品線的跨銷售和加價銷售。

Some companies have taken gamification to gamers’ turf. Louis Vuitton partnered with Riot Games on the League of Legends World Championship in 2019, designing the carrying case for the trophy and later introducing skins for digital avatars with an equivalent line of real clothing to be sold alongside the tournament.
一些公司已將遊戲化帶到玩家的領域。路易威登與 Riot Games 合作於 2019 年的《英雄聯盟》世界冠軍賽，設計了獎杯的收納盒，並後來推出了數位化身的皮膚，並推出了相應的真實服裝系列，與比賽同時販售。

Build community.  建立社群。

The best communities form organically around a favorite team or activity. People with shared interests often want to learn, swap tips, or compete with others.
最好的社群是在一個喜愛的團隊或活動周圍自然形成的。擁有共同興趣的人通常希望學習、交換技巧或與他人競爭。

At the extreme, program members can become authentic ambassadors for the business. That’s the case with construction toy maker LEGO Group. The company runs LEGO Ideas, a global open innovation community where fans can submit their own ideas for new LEGO sets, vote for other members’ ideas, participate in challenges, and engage in other mini-build activities. A few of their ideas will be turned into commercial sets, with the original designer receiving 1% of the royalties.
在極端情況下，計劃成員可以成為企業的真正大使。這就是樂高集團這家建築玩具製造商的情況。該公司運營 LEGO Ideas，這是一個全球開放創新社區，粉絲可以提交他們自己的新樂高套裝想法，為其他成員的想法投票，參加挑戰，並參與其他迷你建造活動。其中一些想法將被製成商業套裝，原始設計師將獲得 1% 的版稅。

Consider an ecosystem with partners.
考慮一個具有合作夥伴的生態系統。

It may make sense for a program to partner with specialist firms. While the ecosystem should be broad enough to bring relevance and optionality to consumers, the selection of partners needs to fit with the originating brand and appeal to consumers’ priorities and passions. These can include a mix of aspirational experiences with more basic rewards. The Hyatt hotel chain’s loyalty program, for instance, is partnering with fitness company Peloton to outfit Hyatt properties with Peloton equipment and provide access to Peloton classes on guestroom TVs. The two companies hope to tap guests’ penchant for self-improvement and wellness on top of the functional desire to save money.
一個計劃與專業公司合作可能是有道理的。儘管生態系統應該足夠廣泛，以為消費者帶來相關性和選擇性，但合作夥伴的選擇需要與原始品牌相符，並吸引消費者的重點和熱情。這些可以包括具有抱負性體驗和更基本獎勵的混合。例如，凱悅酒店連鎖的忠誠計劃正在與健身公司 Peloton 合作，為凱悅物業配備 Peloton 設備，並在客房電視上提供 Peloton 課程。這兩家公司希望利用客人對自我提升和健康的嗜好，除了功能性的節省金錢的慾望。

Some partner programs go broad. Qantas Loyalty, a tiered, points-based frequent flyer system, has an integrated offering of products and services through more than 700 partners across dozens of industries including travel, retail, utilities, financial services, and health, augmented by Qantas’ consumer businesses in insurance, wine, and more. In 2023, the program added $2.2 billion revenue, with a 21% operating margin.
一些合作夥伴計劃覆蓋範圍廣泛。澳洲航空忠誠計劃是一個分層、基於積分的常客飛行員系統，通過超過 700 個合作夥伴在數十個行業中提供產品和服務，包括旅遊、零售、公用事業、金融服務和健康，並由澳洲航空的保險、葡萄酒等消費者業務提供支援。2023 年，該計劃增加了 22 億美元的收入，營運利潤率為 21%。

Typically, though, the greatest value stems from a handful of deep partnerships with tight integration across the customer’s experience in search, purchase, and use. Consider Delta Air Lines’ co-branded line of American Express credit cards. The exclusive relationship dates to 1996, and has steadily increased in profitable growth. The amount of money consumers charge to these cards approaches 1% of US gross domestic product and is now worth almost $7 billion annually to Delta, nearly double what it was worth just a few years ago.
通常，最大價值來自與少數合作夥伴的緊密整合，跨越客戶在搜索、購買和使用方面的體驗。以達美航空公司與美國運通信用卡的合作為例。這種獨家關係可以追溯到 1996 年，並且在盈利增長方面穩步增加。消費者在這些信用卡上的消費金額接近美國國內生產總值的 1％，對達美航空公司每年的收入現在幾乎達到 70 億美元，幾乎是幾年前的兩倍。

Invest, Test, Scale Up 投資、測試、擴大规模

The economics of a redesigned loyalty program can be compelling, through traditional measures of higher retention, share of wallet, and direct sales, along with newer metrics such as in-app transactions, revenues from a pay-to-participate program, or data-sharing arrangements between partners. In a few cases, the programs have migrated from a company’s marketing group to integrate with its commercial organization, in recognition of their potential to spur revenue growth.
重新設計的忠誠計劃的經濟效益可能是令人信服的，通過傳統的保留率、錢包份額和直接銷售等指標，以及新的指標，如應用內交易、付費參與計劃的收入，或合作夥伴之間的數據共享安排。在一些情況下，這些計劃已從公司的營銷部門轉移到與其商業組織整合，以認識到它們刺激收入增長的潛力。

To be sure, a successful program requires up-front investment. How much investment will depend on whether a company scales up quickly with a free program and adds paid tiers, or starts by building subscription revenues to make the program generate positive ROI faster.
確保成功的計劃需要前期投資。投資金額將取決於公司是快速擴展免費計劃並增加付費層級，還是首先建立訂閱收入以使計劃更快產生正面投資回報。

Early days tend to be the costliest. It can take a couple of years to move from zero to 25 million members, but then reaching 50 million can take half that time. Recent programs in the beauty and food industries have attracted 20 million members in less than 12 months. Once social media feedback, marketing investments, and benefits scale up, programs often flourish.
早期往往是成本最高的時期。從零到 2500 萬會員可能需要幾年的時間，但達到 5000 萬可能只需要一半的時間。最近在美容和食品行業的計劃在不到 12 個月內吸引了 2000 萬會員。一旦社交媒體反饋、市場投資和福利擴大，計劃通常會蓬勃發展。

Program leaders should start with the basics of identifying the most valuable customers, gleaning what they value most, and determining how a program can stimulate the appropriate behaviors at a reasonable cost. Technologies can help nurture the right kinds of engagement. Traditional AI helps to personalize and communicate program features at key moments that matter. Generative AI now refines that personalization based on questions that customers ask and other unstructured data. And non-fungible tokens can enhance the emotional value of a transaction, as when a sports fan downloads an NFT of the ticket for an important game to share later with family and friends.
項目負責人應從基本的開始，識別最有價值的客戶，了解他們最看重的價值，並確定如何通過一個計劃以合理的成本刺激適當的行為。技術可以幫助培養正確類型的參與。傳統人工智能有助於在重要時刻個性化和傳達計劃功能。生成式人工智能現在根據客戶提出的問題和其他非結構化數據來完善個性化。而不可替代代幣可以增強交易的情感價值，例如當一位體育迷下載一張重要比賽的 NFT 門票，以便稍後與家人和朋友分享。

Companies that first nail down the basics, then test and learn as they go, will raise the odds of eventually generating a strong ROI from their loyalty program, activating consumers to promote the brand.
首先打好基礎的公司，然後在進行測試和學習的過程中，將提高最終從忠誠計劃中獲得強大投資回報的機會，激活消費者來推廣品牌。