In this article:
Overview
Most rewards in your loyalty program are ones your customers buy with points. A trigger-based reward is different: we give it to your customer for free when something happens, such as moving up a tier or reaching a Challenge milestone. Your customer doesn't spend any points on it.
You can give any of your existing rewards this way, or create one just for the purpose and hide it from your rewards list, so customers can only get it from the trigger.
Where trigger-based rewards come from
Four parts of your loyalty program can give a trigger-based reward:
Tier entry rewards, a one-off reward when a customer moves up into a tier, such as $5 off on reaching Silver. You add them to your tier benefits.
Rules. The Birthday and Loyalty Pass install rules can give a reward instead of points. So can the Referral rule, for the referring customer, on Shopify and BigCommerce.
Challenges, where each milestone and the ongoing reward can pay out a reward instead of points.
Reward drops, a time-limited reward your customers claim from their loyalty page.
Tier entry rewards, rules and Challenges give the reward as soon as your customer qualifies. A reward drop gives nothing until your customer claims it.
How to create a trigger-based reward
Step 1: Create the reward
In LoyaltyLion, create a new reward as usual.
Set what it gives and any limits, such as a minimum spend or an expiry date.
Name it after where it comes from, such as "$10 off (Gold welcome)", so you and your customers can tell it apart from rewards bought with points.
Step 2: Hide it from your rewards list (optional)
Hide a trigger-based reward when you don't want customers to buy it with points.
On the reward's Availability card, click Manage.
Under Reward distribution, choose Trigger-based distribution only, then click Done.
Click Save changes.
The reward no longer appears in the rewards list on your loyalty page, and customers can't buy it with points. Your tiers, rules, Challenges and reward drops can still give it. Leave Reward distribution on No restrictions to let customers buy the reward with points as well.
Step 3: Connect it to a trigger
Where you pick the trigger-based reward depends on the trigger:
Tier entry: go to Program, then Tiers, and open Benefits. Click Add benefit, choose Entry reward as the Benefit type, pick the Reward, tick the tiers under Applies to tiers, and click Add tier benefit. Entry rewards can be set on your second tier and above.
Birthday, Loyalty Pass install or Referral rule: open the rule, and under Customer gets (or Referring member gets on the Referral rule), choose Reward, then pick the reward. If you use tiers, the Birthday and Referral rules let you pick a different reward for each tier. The Loyalty Pass install rule gives the same reward to every tier.
Challenge: on each milestone, set Type to Reward, then pick the reward under Which reward.
Reward drop: go to AI Campaigns, click Create campaign, and choose Reward drops. Under The reward, pick the reward.
Which rewards each trigger can give
Not every trigger can give every kind of reward. A reward the trigger can't give doesn't appear in the list when you pick one. This table shows which rewards each trigger can give:
Reward | Tier entry | Rules | Challenges | Reward drops |
Discount (money or percentage off) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Free shipping | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Collection voucher | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Free product voucher | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Custom reward that gives out a code | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Custom reward you fulfill yourself | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Gift card (Shopify only) | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Seamless free product | No | No | No | Yes |
No trigger can give these rewards:
Rewards that are turned off or deleted
Redeem at checkout
Rules and Challenges can't give a reward with inventory tracking turned on. Reward drops can.
On BigCommerce and Magento, rules and Challenges can give voucher rewards only. Reward drops are available on Shopify only.
Free products from reward drops
A voucher from a trigger arrives as a code your customer can use straight away. A seamless free product from a reward drop works differently, because your customer has to choose the product and add it to their cart:
When your customer claims the drop, we add the free product to their rewards, at no points cost.
On your loyalty page, they choose a variant and add it to their cart.
If they leave without checking out, the free product goes back to their rewards, so they can add it to their cart again later.
Your customer can collect the free product until the drop closes.
Deleting the reward or its product stops your customers collecting it:
Don't delete a free product reward, or its product in Shopify, while customers still have one to collect. If you do, they can't add it to their cart.
Before you go live
Check these before you switch on a trigger-based reward:
Importing customers into tiers on a live program gives entry rewards. An entry reward only fires when a customer moves from one tier into another, so placing customers at launch doesn't trigger it. An import after launch that moves customers up gives each of them the entry reward for their new tier.
A reward in use can't be turned off. You can't turn off or delete a reward while a tier, rule, Challenge or reward drop can still give it. To retire it, pick a different reward on each trigger first.
Programs with more than one online store. The Birthday and Loyalty Pass install rules can't give a reward while your loyalty program covers more than one online store, so give points on them instead. The Referral rule is set up for each store, so it can still give a reward.
Tell your customers. A trigger-based reward appears with your customer's other rewards on your loyalty page. To make sure they notice it, announce it from your email platform with the Customer claimed reward event.
FAQ
Does a customer spend points on a trigger-based reward?
No. We give a trigger-based reward for free, and your customer's points balance doesn't change.
Can a customer buy a reward with points and also receive it from a trigger?
Yes, if the reward's Reward distribution is set to No restrictions. Choose Trigger-based distribution only to stop customers buying it with points.
Does Trigger-based distribution only limit which triggers can give the reward?
No. It only hides the reward from your loyalty page's rewards list. Any tier, rule, Challenge or reward drop can still give it.
Why isn't my reward in the list when I pick one?
The trigger can't give that kind of reward, the reward is turned off, or, on a rule or Challenge, the reward has inventory tracking turned on.
Can a customer get the same tier entry reward twice?
Only once per tier period, as set out in when an entry reward triggers again.