THANKS FOR DOWNLOADING THE PREMIUM LOYALTY STARTER BUNDLE. In a premium loyalty program, your best customers pay a membership fee to access enhanced benefits like instant discounts, free shipping, and exclusive experiences. In this comprehensive content bundle, you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started with a program for your best customers. From premium loyalty basics, to the most common questions retailers are asking, to data collected straight from 2500 consumers, you’re covered. Ready to get to started? Here’s a quick summary of each piece of content, along with the best order to read them in. 1. The Definitive Guide to Premium Loyalty This all-inclusive overview provides the most essential elements of a successful premium loyalty program. It’s a great place to begin if you’re just getting started, but it’s also a great refresher if you’re already familiar with premium loyalty programs. 2. Premium Loyalty: Answers to the Questions You Should be Asking This eBook digs into the most important questions retailers ask about premium loyalty (and you may have already been asking yourself). You’ll find all the answers and more. 3. 2020 Premium Loyalty Data Study: What Do Your Customers Expect in 2020? This data study provides information surveyed from 2500 U.S. consumers. It dives into how they feel about paying for a loyalty program, the types of benefits they expect to receive, and what they’re expecting from retailers to earn their ongoing loyalty. 4. 5 Loyalty Lessons from Amazon Prime This webinar provides an in-depth review of 5 loyalty lessons you can learn from Amazon Prime, and the impact Prime has made on other retailers’ loyalty programs. You’ll also learn how you can use some of these same strategies in your unique loyalty program. Click Here to Watch the Recording If you’d like to talk more about a premium loyalty program for your brand, email us at [email protected] or call us at (860) 358-9198 The Definitive Guide to Premium Loyalty CLARUS commerce Table of Contents 3 Introduction: Premium Loyalty – Why Now? 6 What is a Premium Loyalty Program? 10 At the Intersection Of Loyalty & Subscriptions 14 Who Does Premium Loyalty Make Sense For? 22 A Premium Loyalty Program Build, Quarter-by-Quarter 27 What about the Financial Model? 32 What KPIs Should You be Measuring? 41 Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before Going All In 48 2020 and Beyond 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Premium Loyalty - Why Now? Have you noticed the number of loyalty program relaunches lately? Target, Macy’s, Starbucks, and others have revamped or enhanced their programs over the past couple of years, just to name a few. And it’s no surprise. Shopping habits have changed, and loyalty has gotten harder. Nearly 70% of consumers agree their loyalty is more difficult for a retailer to maintain than ever before. But what is causing the change? And why do so many programs feel so similar? Customers are driving everything and not the retailers. They are forcing the change with more expectations than ever and making it difficult for retailers that aren’t making the journey with them. Three global trends are driving these expectations that aren’t limited to retail, but are having a massive impact on retail: Unlimited choice, instant gratification, and the membership economy. INTRODUCTION 3 Click here to read more about the three megatrends impacting the rise of premium loyalty. UNLIMITED CHOICE Consumers have more power than ever. It’s easier than ever for your customers to pull out their smartphones and find products at the lowest prices and with the fastest shipping. Add to that the fact that there is more competition than ever before, and differentiation and personalization become non-negotiables, especially in a loyalty program. 4 INTRODUCTION INSTANT GRATIFICATION Your customers expect everything instantly now. Food, movies, music, rides, discounts – People don’t want to wait. They expect everything to be instantaneous. The same goes for loyalty programs. Your customers don’t want to earn rewards over time. They want valuable benefits every time they engage with your brand. Loyalty programs need to offer instant benefits whenever someone engages. THE MEMBERSHIP ECONOMY Your customers’ daily lives now include memberships and subscriptions – and lots of them. Netflix, Spotify, clothing, home essentials and even vehicles are now subscription-based. Your customers are comfortable with this model and happily pay for things that add value. The same goes can go for loyalty programs. Here’s how premium loyalty can help you take advantage of these trends and provide more value to your best customers. INTRODUCTION 5 CHAPTER 1 What is a Premium Loyalty Program? 6 You’ve heard of Amazon Prime. And with over a million members in the U.S., you might even belong to it. But aside from that obvious example, many brands have rolled out premium loyalty programs. Restoration Hardware, CVS, GameStop, and Lululemon are a few well-known examples. While these programs all feature unique benefits, there are core things they have in common: Instant benefits and unique experiences, which is what customers today are looking for. Premium loyalty is a reaction to what your customers already want. LET’S BEGIN WITH THE DEFINITION OF PREMIUM LOYALTY Simply put, a premium loyalty program is a type of loyalty program that is so valuable, consumers are happy to pay for membership. Members pay an annual fee to receive enhanced, instant benefits. These can be transactional benefits like discounts and free shipping that can be applied to every order. Or they can be unique experiential benefits like access to exclusive events or VIP customer service. CHAPTER 1 - WHAT IS A PREMIUM LOYALTY PROGRAM? 7 It’s different than a traditional points-based loyalty program where members must earn rewards over time. At its core, premium loyalty places your customers at the center of everything you do. Your best customers want exclusivity, so it’s about giving them the best of your brand. That’s why so many retailers are thinking about premium loyalty programs as a part of their overall marketing strategies. PREMIUM LOYALTY GIVES YOUR CUSTOMERS THE BEST OF YOUR BRAND The word premium sparks thoughts and emotions centered around the best of the best. 8 CHAPTER 1 - WHAT IS A PREMIUM LOYALTY PROGRAM? These programs create deeper emotional relationships between customers and retailers. As a result, members engage a lot more. Therefore, a premium loyalty program should provide premium benefits and experiences, which is to say, the very best and most attractive ones your brand can offer. As you think about a premium loyalty program for your brand, ask yourself these questions: • What can I do for my customers that would add value to their everyday lives? • What is a benefit that my customers would want that can’t be offered by any company? • What would make a part of my customer base love our brand? The answers are different for every brand and that’s the point. It’s about Lululemon providing not only free shipping, but also yoga classes to its members. It’s about RH not only discounting furniture 25% but also giving free interior design services. It’s about CVS not only giving instant discounts but providing its members with 24/7 access to a pharmacist. It’s about your brand going above and beyond the usual and offering your best customers a premium experience that makes sense for them. CHAPTER 1 - WHAT IS A PREMIUM LOYALTY PROGRAM? 9 CHAPTER 2 At the Intersection Of Loyalty & Subscriptions 10 Adding a price tag to your loyalty program doesn’t make it a premium loyalty program. It must be valuable. It’s about putting your customer at the center of everything and creating an amazing experience for them. YOUR CUSTOMERS DON’T WANT TO WAIT FOR REWARDS Traditional free programs still have a place, and they can even work well together which we’ll explore later, but premium loyalty requires a different mindset. Traditional loyalty programs require members to transact first and eventually get a reward. But consumers don’t want to wait for rewards. CHAPTER 2 That’s why premium loyalty members will pay to access exclusive discounts, perks, content, and experiences that are not available to anyone. CHAPTER 2 - AT THE INTERSECTION OF LOYALTY & SUBSCRIPTIONS 11 Members gain access to exclusive benefits without needing to accrue points or spend a specific dollar amount (other than the membership fee). A member might pay $50 a year to be in your program. In exchange, that member immediately gains access to the full benefits and can use them right away and as many times as he or she wants. These can be transactional benefits like a discount on every order, free shipping, or free return shipping. Or, these can be experiential benefits like fitness classes, interior design consultations or discounts on excursions. HOW IS PREMIUM LOYALTY DIFFERENT THAN A SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAM? Loyalty, like many areas, is moving toward subscription. 12 CHAPTER 2 - AT THE INTERSECTION OF LOYALTY & SUBSCRIPTIONS But while premium loyalty programs and subscription programs can perhaps be considered relatives, they’re not the same. EXAMPLES OF EXAMPLES OF EXAMPLES OF TRADITIONAL SUBSCRIPTION PREMIUM LOYALTY LOYALTY PROGRAMS PROGRAMS PROGRAMS DSW REWARDS DOLLAR SHAVE CLUB AMAZON PRIME PETCO PALS REWARDS BLUE APRON LIDS ACCESS PASS PREMIUM NORDSTROM THE NORDY CLUB CHEWY RH MEMBERS PROGRAM OFFICE DEPOT OFFICEMAX REWARDS BIRCHBOX CVS CAREPASS KOHL’S YES2REWARDS BARKBOX REI CO-OP Subscription programs do require a recurring fee for members, but in exchange, members automatically receive a set number of products or services on an ongoing basis.