Building a successful loyalty program starts with great rewards. The way you structure your rewards can make all the difference in customer engagement and long-term loyalty. Here are our top recommendations for designing rewards that drive results:
Make the First Reward Easy to Earn
Customers should feel progress quickly. Offering a low-barrier reward helps build early momentum and reinforces positive engagement. You can even provide a reward upon sign-up to drive engagement.
Example:
Reward a small free item such as a coffee or small discount after just 1–2 visits.
Keep Your Program Simple and Easy to Understand
A loyalty program should be immediately clear and easy to grasp. Avoid complicated rules, hidden conditions, or long point explanations. It should fit on a small poster!
Tips:
Use straightforward language (e.g., “Earn 1 point per $1 spent”).
Make the reward steps visible on receipts, apps, or in other marketing material.
Provide an FAQ or summary card for reference.
Offer 3 to 5 Clear, Motivating Rewards
Too many choices can overwhelm. Instead, offer a small, curated selection of attractive rewards. The simpler the better!
Example reward structure:
Free appetizer
15% off your next bill
Free drink or dessert
Make Rewards Desirable
Rewards should feel like a treat — not just a discount. Know what your guests value most.
Tips:
Ask customers what they want via surveys or informal feedback.
Offer both tangible (e.g., products, services) and experiential rewards (e.g., upgrades, early access, VIP access).
Align Rewards with Your Business Goals
Design your program to encourage behaviours that benefit your business.
Examples:
Encourage weekday visits by offering double points on slow days.
Offer new products as rewards to encourage customers to try them.
Make a loyalty membership mandatory for any benefit or discount, to drive up engagement.
Result:
Your rewards drive not only loyalty, but strategic business growth.
Use High-Profit Margin Items for Rewards
Choose rewards that are low in cost to your business. By offering items with high profit margins, you can deliver high perceived value to members without significantly impacting your bottom line.
Pro tip:
This helps you control costs while still impressing your guests.
Final Thoughts
The key to a strong loyalty program is balancing value for the guest with benefit for your business. Make rewards exciting, easy to understand, and aligned with what matters most — and you’ll build a program that keeps customers coming back. You can also check out our blogs page to see some industry trends and more tips!