
Zoho CRM
Open Loyalty is #1 Headless Loyalty Platform with the most flexible set of loyalty blocks for building personalized loyalty programs. Thanks to the API-first approach and 50+ pre-built loyalty mechanics (eg. points, tiers, rewar...Read more
Loyalty Gator's customer loyalty program software allows businesses - big and small - to create unique customer loyalty programs based on their specific objectives. The software allows users to create and track their own promotio...Read more
Loyverse POS is a cloud-based, mobile point-of-sale solution aimed at small retail, restaurant and salon establishments. With this software, users can manage inventory, visualize sales analytics and manage customer relationships. ...Read more
4,000+ customers in 45 countries are running iVend Retail by CitiXsys Americas Inc., an integrated suite of applications that delivers sales and operational tools for stores including e-commerce, mobility and more....Read more
QR Loyalty Cards is a cloud-based loyalty card system for small businesses. It provides loyalty card design tools and card tracking. Users can design and print loyalty cards and track customer purchases using any device with a web...Read more
Annex Cloud is a cloud-based loyalty platform that enables users to track customer activities and offer rewards for online purchases, writing reviews, uploading pictures and referring friends. Annex Cloud helps users to provi...Read more
Preferred Patron is a customer loyalty management solution designed for companies of all sizes that offers incentive promotions, visitor loyalty management, multi-channel marketing and gift card management functionalities within a...Read more
Apex Loyalty is a loyalty and engagement management software based on the Salesforce platform, which helps businesses connect with partners, distributors and retailers to manage sales. The cloud-based solution enables organization...Read more
Loopy Loyalty is a cloud-based customer loyalty program solution for businesses such as restaurants, gyms, bars, coffee shops, fitness centers and massage parlors. The solution can be accessed via native mobile apps available for ...Read more
You’ve heard some variation of it a million times: It’s up to 10 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one.
It’s only cliche because it’s true, and even more stats prove the positive impact a loyalty program can deliver to many types of companies, from clothing, sporting goods and toy stores to restaurants, coffee shops and car washes.
“Loyalty programs are proven to increase customer lifetime value by up to 30 percent or more by increasing visit frequency, increasing spend per visit and winning back lost customers.”
-Chris Luo, FiveStars
Whatever your goal, a loyalty program is a great way to engage new customers, retain old ones, increase spending and foster a connection to the brand. Loyalty program software, then, is a crucial tool for optimizing this process.
This guide is designed to help those seeking customer loyalty software learn about the common features, benefits and other key aspects to finding the system that best fits your needs.
Here’s what we'll cover:
What Is Customer Loyalty Program Software?
Common Features of Customer Loyalty Software
The Impact of Customer Loyalty Programs
Strategies for Increasing Millennial Participation
The idea is simple: Customers who frequent your business gain points for making purchases or taking other actions, and they can then redeem those points for a wide variety of rewards, such as more merchandise or services from your business.
Loyalty programs are popular with restaurants, airlines and hotels. Because consumers have so many options for where to eat or where to stay, companies can use loyalty programs as a way to create lifelong customers.
Customer loyalty software gives users the ability to customize different aspects of a loyalty program, from creating rules around how customers earn and spend points and how many points they earn per purchase to which customers are VIPs.
Reporting and analytics capabilities for identifying trends in the program round out the core features.
We’ve created a list of the most common loyalty program software features included in many popular systems:
Rewards management | This feature gives the user control of the rewards structure and details about how points are earned and spent. Businesses can customize the program with gamification to further encourage points-earning behavior, so customers are more likely to engage with the program to earn a new badge or reach a new level. |
Customer relationship management (CRM) | The CRM functionality of loyalty software allows users to collect and store customer information, view how many points each has and monitor how they’re using them. Businesses can even send targeted messaging to customers who have a certain number of points to encourage them to make further purchases. |
Member portal | Because we live in an omnichannel world, consumers expect the ability to manage their loyalty points and spending wherever they go. Companies often offer online member portals where program participants can view or redeem points and receive notifications about sales or promotions. |
Mobile app | A mobile loyalty app is an increasingly common form of a member portal. This gives customers another place to manage points on the device they use all day. |
Card management | Many systems include the ability to issue physical loyalty cards or gift cards in addition to digital cards. |
Integrations | Most customer loyalty systems can integrate with content management systems, so the functionality works on a company website or social media pages. Some systems also integrate with a point-of-sale (POS) system so customers can see how many points they’ve earned or spend points directly at checkout. |
Companies that offer loyalty programs are hoping customers are incentivized to return and purchase more products and services by participating. Here are some compelling stats showing the power of loyalty programs:
Software Advice performed a survey of millennial travelers to learn more about their behavior and participation in loyalty programs offered by hotels.
We found that 46 percent of millennials tend to join loyalty programs of the companies they’re already loyal to, and more than a quarter (27 percent) are willing to become brand ambassadors and post on social media to earn more points.
Companies can expect millennial consumers to behave similarly with loyalty programs from any type of business. Focus on your customers who are already loyal to the brand and treat them with easy-to-earn and spend points to drive more sales.