Loyalty programs can have an astounding impact on your business, increasing visits, spend, and overall revenue immediately and for years to come.

But to reap the rewards of a loyalty program, the program must be set up and run with both strategy and foresight.

With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of five “dos” and “don’ts” that will prime a loyalty program for success. Let’s first look at them at a high level: […]

People are creatures of habit. We get out of bed at the same time, start our day by visiting the same website, and go to the same place for our morning coffee on the way to work.

Although consumers’ habits may be hard to change, doing so can have a significant impact on your business.

While the number of trips per week that consumers make to convenience stores decreased between 2014 and 2017, dropping from 3.6 to 2.6, consumers continue to frequent c-stores for coffee purchases.

These coffee purchases can be the key to reversing that trend in visit frequency, as well as increasing spend.

After all, if people become accustomed to getting their morning coffee from you, it’s natural for them to make that a regular—perhaps even daily—habit. And if they’re already visiting your c-store for coffee, it would make sense for them to fill up an empty tank, buy a sandwich for lunch, or make another kind of purchase too.

Coffee seems like such a small purchase, but it can really be a catalyst for changing customers’ behavior and generating more revenue.

So how can you perk up your coffee program? […]

You already know your customers. But you may still be making a very common mistake and sending promotions to your customers as if they ARE all the same.

Many convenience stores send out one promotion to their entire customer base. At best, that promotion make entices a few people, while it doesn’t interest (or even alienates) others.

At worst, the promotion could cannibalize profits and jeopardize the entire purpose of the campaign.

Cannibalization refers to when a promotion works against you and “eats away” at your profits.

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It’s likely you don’t need to be sold on the efficacy of loyalty programs. But, just in case you need a little reminder, a recent study found that just a 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits anywhere from 25% to a whopping 95%. Clearly, loyalty and retention are still exceedingly important parts of your business. 

But, at the same time, another study has found that active loyalty program members—those who are engaged and regularly participate in a program—has decreased 2% over the past few years.

And while 2% isn’t a huge number, there are a couple things to note. First, that tiny little 2% can represent millions in the industry and perhaps even hundreds of thousands of dollars to a restaurant or convenience store business.

Next, that 2% only reflects the recent trends. If it’s the sign of a downward trend moving forward, it could spell big trouble for loyalty-dependent businesses.

So why are customers becoming less active in the loyalty programs they signed up for?

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