Create Loyalty Program

This tutorial will show you how to create a loyalty program using the Dashboard. We will set up a complete loyalty workflow with digital wallets, program rules, rewards, and automatic notifications. 

Contents

1. How does it work?
2. Program details
3. Earning Rules
4. Rewards
5. Tiers
6. Distributions
7. Metadata
8. Summary
9. Loyalty card publication
10. Customer Cockpits
11. Tracking and maintenance
12. Useful resources

How does it work?

The Campaign Manager creates a loyalty program that consists of the following elements:

• Digital loyalty cards are represented by unique codes, which function as digital wallets for points when shared with end customers.
• Earning rules that define actions and conditions for assigning new loyalty points to the customer's card.
• Rewards that are exchanged for a particular number of loyalty points.
• Tiers that divide your loyalty program into membership levels (optional). Customers are qualified into a particular tier based on their current point balance. Each tier can have different rules for earning and exchanging points for rewards.
• Notifications are optional messages sent to end customers or 3rd party applications. Notifications deliver loyalty cards and automatically notify card owners about new loyalty points or reward redemptions.
• Metadata is a space for your custom attributes. You can assign metadata attributes to the loyalty campaign and each loyalty tier. Read more about metadata.

Additionally, this guide shows the following loyalty concepts that you can use after creating the campaign:

• Publications of loyalty cards – we will show you how to assign loyalty cards to your customers.
• Customer cockpits and their URL addresses – the cockpit is automatically created for each new customer in your account. By sharing its URL, your customers can track their loyalty score, program updates, and exchange points for rewards. 

Let us create a complete loyalty workflow step-by-step. Go to the Campaigns tab in the Campaign Hub section and run the Campaign Manager with the plus icon.

Program Details

Choose Create next to the Loyalty Program campaign and add the program name. By default, your program is set to auto-increase voucher count mode. If you leave auto-increase voucher count mode on, the campaign will be auto-extended with new cards when the initial batch of loyalty cards runs out.

If you want the codes to follow a predefined pattern, check Advanced code settings and set the syntax.

When ready, go to the next step. 

Earning Rules

Loyalty points accumulated on a loyalty card can expire in a pre-defined time frame. 

You can turn on points expiration for the campaign by navigating to the second step in the Campaign Manager > Enable points expiration. 

Next, enter the period (number of months) for the expiration points. The points will expire within the set number of months after the customer creates an order. Read more about how Voucherify handles expiration dates for points earned on the last days of the month.

The first option lets you set the points expiration to a specific date, counted from the action date that triggers the loyalty points to be earned. You can also  round up the points expiration date to a specified period after the earning activity. Check off the rounding option and choose your preferred period.

Read more here on loyalty points, expiration periods, and rounding options.

Choose Create earning rule to define the first action that rewards your customers with points. 

Start by selecting the action that triggers points. You can choose from:

1. A customer paid for the order.
2. A customer performed a specific action (custom event).
3. A customer entered a particular customer segment.
4. A customer joins the loyalty tier structure.
5. A customer leaves the loyalty tier structure.
6. A customer's tier is upgraded.
7. A customer's tier is downgraded.
8. A customer's tier is prolonged.

Go here to learn more about earning rules.

If you choose a tier-type earning rule, you must select whether the rule is related to any tier or a specific tier.

Define the start and expiration dates of the earning rule. After fulfilling the rule conditions, points will be assigned only during this period. Defining the earning rule timeframe is optional. If you leave it unset, the earning rule will inherit the campaign timeframe (start and expiration date). All time-related limits are optional and described precisely in this guide.

Timeframe options include:

• Start date & time
• End date & time (expiration)
• Valid in this timeframe only (recurring)
• Valid on particular days only

Next, specify the number of points that customers should get when they match the rule. 

For each earning rule type, you can create either a basic rule that gives a fixed amount of points or a more advanced rule that adds points proportionally in a given context. 

Customers can receive points after a defined time using the Pending Points feature. The feature allows you to set a specific pending period in days. Once the configured number of days has passed, the points will be credited to the customers.

Next, add or unset metadata for an earning rule.

You can learn more about metadata in our dedicated guide here.

Using optional validation rules, you can define additional limits for your customers that will be checked before triggering points. 

To attach validation rules, select one from the existing sets of rules or create a new set on the spot.

Validation rules can limit the earning rule to specific customer segments, cart structures, or other buying circumstances of your choice. Go here to read more about validation rules supported in loyalty programs.

When ready, save your earning rule with Save. Add as many earning rules as you want to your campaign. The Points expiration & earning rules view will list all active rules. 

If you want to edit or delete the earning rule, click the tricolon and choose an option from the list. You can view the metadata assigned to the earning rule by clicking on the icon under Metadata.

When all rules are set, go to the next step and prepare your Rewards Catalog. 

Rewards

Choose the reward by selecting the Add reward button. The search field will be empty if you have not prepared your rewards earlier. You can create a new reward by selecting the plus button and choosing an appropriate reward type.

After defining the reward and its source (for example, a gift card campaign), define the number of loyalty points needed for the reward redemption. All added rewards will be listed in the Rewards Catalog. 

• Rewards details -> Assignments tab
• Loyalty campaign -> Rewards tab
• Edit loyalty campaign -> Rewards tab (where the auto-redeem reward can be configured).

Go to the next step to enable Tiers. If you do not want to use the tiers, skip this section.

Tiers

Tiers are optional membership levels of your loyalty campaign. Setting up tiers is a  four-step process.

Note that the Auto-Redeem feature operates before loyalty tier checks are performed. This means that if you have a configuration like Auto-Redeem = 100 points and Tier X = 100 points (based on points balance), a customer will never reach that tier. This happens because the points will be automatically spent through Auto-Redeem before the balance is checked for tier qualification.

However, for loyalty tiers based on points collected within a period, Auto-Redeem does not interfere. Since these tiers are based on the total points earned rather than the current balance, the fact that points are automatically redeemed does not impact the number of points collected during a given period.

As a general recommendation, it is advised not to define tiers based on points balance in combination with Auto-Redeem, as it may create conflicts and reduce the effectiveness of the tier system.

Step 1: Defining tier timeframe

Customers have two options for qualifying for a tier: points-based and time-based.

Points Balance

In the first option, customers qualify for the tier if their points balance is in the points range of the tier. This means that they fall out of a tier if their point balance is out of the defined range and enter a tier if they reach the minimum required to be in that tier. You can customize this further by specifying when the tier will expire for a customer. This happens when the customer falls out of the points range by default.

Using the Custom option, you can define a period for which the tier is valid even after the customer falls out of the points range. The expiration date counter starts when the customer reaches the minimum required points needed to be in the tier. You can define the expiration period in months and also choose to round the expiration date to some period (e.g., end of the month, quarter, year, etc.).

Points collected in a period

In the second option, customers can qualify for the tier if they collect enough points in a given period. So, in addition to reaching a points range, the customer also needs to have collected the points within a set period, which can be a month, quarter, half-year, or year.

Here are how tier start and expiration dates are defined:

Follow the next three steps to set up individual tiers and customize earning rules and rewards to tiers.

Step 2: Adding tiers

Click Create tier and define its details (points range, name, and, if needed, custom metadata). Confirm with Save.

You can add as many campaign tiers as you want. Note that each tier needs to cover a different point range. You can edit and delete tiers using the tricolon.

Step 3: Mapping earning rules

Next, you can define new points mapping to each earning rule. The mapping changes the way points are assigned in a specific tier. The mapping can be based on multiplying the default points value as defined in the earning rule, or it can be redefined as a fixed, custom number of points that overrides the default points set by the earning rule. New points assignments changed through mapping will be executed only for members in the particular tier. Choose Map earning rules and Add mapping for the rule you want to edit.

The mapping changes how points are assigned in a specific tier; a multiplier changes the default number of points assigned to the earning rule. 

Remember to confirm mapping with Save.

Step 4: Mapping rewards

Click on Map Rewards to define new tier-specific reward prices. Click Add mapping for the reward whose price in points you would like to edit. As a result, customers from different tiers will need to use a different number of points to get the same reward. 

The mapping changes how many points are needed to obtain a reward. The mapping can be based on multiplying the default points value as defined in the reward, or it can be redefined as a fixed, custom number of points that overrides the default points set for the reward. You also have the option to turn off a reward for a particular tier by choosing Not available. This way, you can define rewards as available only in specific tiers. New reward prices changed through mapping will be executed only for members in the particular tier. You can view the metadata assigned to the reward by clicking on the icon under Metadata.

When tiers are ready, go to the next step to set up automatic notifications. 

Distributions

This section allows you to set up automatic messages that are sent when certain loyalty events happen. These messages can go to customers or external systems using channels like sms, email, webhook, or one of the built-in integrations. You can add a new distribution by clicking Add notification and selecting one of the available trigger events:

• Reward redeemed – used when a customer redeems a reward
• Successfully published – used when a voucher is successfully published to a customer
• Customer rewarded loyalty points – used when a customer earns points in the loyalty program

Once a notification is added, it appears in a table showing:

1. Name
2. Action after which the message is sent (trigger)
3. Communication channel (like email)
4. Current status (Live or Draft)
5. The time it was created or scheduled to be sent

You can manage each notification through the options menu on the right side of each row.

Read more about setting up distributions in this guide.  

Metadata

Summary

Next, go to the Summary to see the overview of the campaign setup. 

In the last step, you can see the program summary and return to each section to make edits. When everything is set correctly, click Save to confirm the loyalty campaign.

After saving the campaign, Voucherify will show you a campaign dashboard with metrics and stats you can track. Voucherify automatically updates reports to show the ongoing program performance.

The loyalty campaign is ready. Now, you can publish and share loyalty cards with end customers. 

Loyalty card publication

• Invoke Create Publication API method.
• A web widget placed on your website.
• Manual or automatic distribution via the dashboard.
• Manual publication using the Publish button in the detailed loyalty card view.

Customer Cockpits (Digital wallet)

Each customer with a loyalty card has a digital wallet with earned points and available rewards. Depending on balance changes, Voucherify will dynamically activate/deactivate particular rewards for a customer. As a result, a customer can exchange earned points for specific rewards.

To visit the customer's cockpit, go to their profile and click the cockpit icon.

Redeeming Loyalty Rewards

When a customer collects the required number of points, the reward is automatically published in their cockpit (it is active). Then, they can decide if they want the reward by clicking on the respective button.

If a customer chooses to transfer points for a reward, Voucherify updates their points balance. A customer can use the chosen reward during the purchase, which invokes the validation and redemption process noted in the Voucherify dashboard.

Tracking and maintenance

Go here to learn about tracking results and maintenance of your loyalty campaigns.