Many of us use our spare time to surf the web, as opposed to virtually any other human activity because: A.) We can. And B.) It’s literally one click away.

Good loyalty rewards programs should feel and act the same way.

Smooth Out the Seams

For all intents and purposes, the threads that bind us to the brands that have traditionally dominated the marketplace have come undone. Old school brand loyalty is dead, or so they say. But loyalty itself isn’t. After all, internet companies like Google and Amazon enjoy nearly unchallenged market domination in their respective fields – information search, and online shopping.

Why? Because the services they offer are so incredibly easy, so straightforward, and for time-pressed consumers, so much more preferable than making the effort to patronize a brick-and-mortar establishment. The logic of the internet lends itself to creating a seamless experience devoid of any and all barriers between a consumer and their point of destination (or purchase).

Today, transactions work at the speed of light. Your rewards system should too.

Unfortunately the logic most businesses seem to pursue, when it comes to implementing a loyalty program, is the exact opposite. Keychains, cards, and other forms of wallet filler are a physical burden foisted on most consumers without their permission. Small wonder why both parties hate them. They have become, in effect, barriers.

At some point, most consumers will weigh the effort required to obtain a freebie, and the value of the freebie itself, and probably conclude that you don’t really want to reward them in the first place. At that point, a poorly conceived and implemented loyalty program is likely doing more harm than good, and should be discontinued altogether.

Consumers want ease, not more barriers to hurdle. As it turns out, the best rewards a company can give to its loyal patrons are a seamless experience and respect for customer time. Successful companies such as Amazon nail both those things.

Empower the Engagement

The whole point of instituting a loyalty program is to encourage engagement, and hopefully cultivate sales in the process. One of the best ways to do that is to ensure that the rewards ecosystem itself is completely integrated into daily life – seamlessly. Systems such as vPromo’s electronic loyalty program allows reward members to use their existing credit card, to make both the loyalty transaction and the act of rewarding much, much easier.

With the swipe of a credit card, users can earn points or punches and redeem rewards for the merchant’s reward program. No more cards to lug around. No more coupons that need to be cut or printed out. Therefore, the best loyalty rewards programs are themselves engaging to use, fast, and simple; i.e. seamless.

This kind of straightforward simplicity is the stuff loyalty is made of.

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