5 expert tips to build a high-impact loyalty program (without the complexity)

Instead of short-term incentives, loyalty drives high-value behaviors that fuel your bottom line: more frequent visits, higher spend, and more predictable revenue. The key is keeping it simple and focusing on what matters: building stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships.

That’s why The Loyalty People and Marigold teamed up to share what works. In a new downloadable guide and on-demand webinar, they lay out a simpler, smarter path to revenue-driving loyalty.
Here are five expert-backed tips to help you build a program that works.

1. Stop discounting everyone but reward loyalty intentionally

Not all customers are created equal. And yet, many marketers treat them that way, offering blanket discounts that erode margin without creating real loyalty.

As Roger Williams, Head of Loyalty Center of Excellence at Marigold explains in the Loyalty essentials 101 webinar:

Instead of leading with discounts, lead with strategy. Use your program to reward high-value behaviors, such as referrals, repeat purchases, or social engagement. Not only does this preserve margin, it also builds a stronger connection with your most valuable customers.

2. Understand the psychology behind true loyalty

Loyalty isn’t just about points. It’s about how you make people feel. The best programs tap into five core emotional drivers:

• Recognition: Feeling seen, remembered, and valued as an individual.
• Status: VIP access or elite tiers satisfies our desire to feel special.
• Surprise: The joy of an unexpected reward, which will be associated with your brand.
• Community: Belonging to a group of people that share the same values.
• Progression: The satisfaction advancing, which feeds our need to grow.

When customers feel emotionally connected, they keep coming back. Not out of habit, but because the experience resonates with them.

3. Choose the program structure that best matches the desired emotional journey

Every loyalty program structure creates a different emotional experience. The key is choosing the one that fits your brand and your audience.

• Points-based “earn and burn” systems:
  Create a “collection” mindset. Customers feel a sense of progress with every purchase, which fuels instant gratification and longer-term engagement.
• Tiered programs:
  Appeal to ambition, recognition, and the desire for exclusivity.
• Surprise-and-delight rewards:
  Generate joy and emotional lift through unexpected perks. These small moments of surprise make your brand more memorable.
• Gamified experiences:
  Infuse routine interactions with anticipation and fun. Gamification turns loyalty into a playful experience customers want to return to.
• Cause-based or community-driven programs:
  Foster a sense of belonging and purpose. Letting customers donate points or support local causes connects your brand to shared values and makes people feel part of something bigger.
• Experiential rewards:
  Strengthen emotional ties by offering access to memorable moments. These could include exclusive events or behind-the-scenes experiences.

A donation-based option might appeal to values-driven customers. A tiered model might motivate frequent spenders. Align your structure to the emotions you want to create for a more impactful relationship with loyalty members.

4. Use data to unlock both personalization and profit

Loyalty programs generate rich zero- and first-party data. That data becomes a feedback loop: the more your customers engage, the more you learn, and the better you can serve them.
With real-time segmentation, you can:

• Trigger rewards after a key milestone or “golden moment”.
• Spot and re-engage members at risk of churning.
• Personalize offers based on behavior, not guesswork.

Roger Williams explains how this is now no longer out of reach, even if you don’t have a loyalty program yet:

Marigold’s Loyalty Essentials module makes advanced segmentation accessible. You no longer need months of development to launch.

5. Measure what matters and prove your ROI

Loyalty is a measurable growth strategy. But to understand whether your program is actually working, you need to focus on the right metrics.

In the Loyalty Essentials webinar, Roger Williams emphasized point redemption rate as a key signal of program health:

“One of the most important KPIs to track is whether your customers are redeeming points. A low redemption rate often means they’re not engaged—or the rewards don’t feel relevant. Redemption is a moment of value, both for the customer and the brand.”

In other words, if points are being earned but not used, your program may not be delivering on its promise. Tracking redemption helps you spot when to adjust rewards, simplify access, or better communicate value.

To quantify the impact, here’s a simple formula from the guide Loyalty: The profit engine you’re missing guide to estimate loyalty ROI:

Average order value × Increase in repeat visits × Active loyalty members = Increase in monthly revenue Let’s say your average order is $12. You launch a simple tiered program and enroll 10,000 customers. If return visits from members double, that’s $240,000 in additional monthly revenue.

This is how loyalty pays off. Small shifts in behavior can create a massive revenue impact when applied across thousands of customers.