Looking to optimize the loyalty program for your food and beverage brand? We’ve got the perfect blueprint for you to follow. A typical best-in-class food and beverage loyalty program includes:

Let’s start with tiers. Tiers are a fundamental part of any food and beverage loyalty program because:

A best-in-class food and beverage loyalty program should have a specific subscriber tier that offers subscribers the opportunity o unlock more exclusive rewards. For example, you may give your non-subscriber customers free shipping, but your subscribers free shipping on a named day of their choice. Or, you may give non-subscribers rewards such as early access to sales, while subscribers also get early access to new products as they launch. You may also give customers in your higher tiers more VIP rewards such as invitations to exclusive events or webinars, or the ability to join a focus group.

Typical rewards that we see in subscriber tiers include:

We recommend that you brand your loyalty tiers in a way that aligns with your loyalty program. For example, if LoyaltyLion were to launch the Pride Points loyalty program, we might have a Cub tier and a Lion tier, and our Subscriber tier could be called Savannah.

Subscriber tiers are a great way to encourage increased program engagement and participation, but they also provide a more rewarding experience for members. Most importantly, they help to reduce subscriber churn.

Find out how to set up Subscriber Tiers.

Best-in-class food and beverage loyalty programs often include free product rewards. We recommend using free product rewards because:

The most innovative food and beverage loyalty programs include free product rewards that customers can redeem in exchange for their points. For example, you may offer customers with 100 points the opportunity to add a free product to their basket with their next order.

Typical free product rewards that we see in a loyalty program include:

We recommend that you use free product rewards in a way that aligns with your product strategy. For example, if you are launching a new product that you want as many of your customers as possible to try, include a sample-size version as a free product reward. If customers like the sample they will then return to but the product at full-size. You can also use free product rewards to clear excess inventory of products that didn’t sell as anticipated.

Find out how to set up free product vouchers.

Best-in-class loyalty programs help brands to reduce their reliance on discounting and motivate customers to return and buy again sooner. Double points days or weeks are an extremely effective way of re-engaging loyalty program members without an immediate financial incentive.

We recommend food and beverage brands run double points days because:

Typical ways that we see brands using double points days include:

We recommend promoting your double points days across email and SMS. We also recommend posting about double points days on social media so that non-members can see what they’re missing out on.

When it comes to your loyal customers, double points days or weeks can be just as effective in driving a sale as discounts. They also work more effectively in the long-term as they help members unlock rewards that they return to redeem sooner.

Find out how to set up double points days here.

The vast majority of food and beverage brands are using social media to connect with their customers in between purchases, and to drive the next purchase. The best loyalty programs sync loyalty and social media strategy to drive greater engagement.

We recommend food and beverage brands use their loyalty programs to support social media activity because:

A best-in-class food and beverage loyalty program will offer members points in exchange for following the social media channels that are important to your brand strategy.

Typical social media channels that we see brands building into their loyalty program include:

We recommend that you also use loyalty points to incentivize and reward customers who tag your brand on social media as this will also significantly increase your reach.

Integrating your loyalty program with your social media strategy allows you to reach more or your members, more of the time. It also helps you to get your products and promotions in front of a wider audience, and keep in touch with any customers who opt out of email or SMS communications.

Find out how to incentivize social follows here.

Need a hand setting up any of these tactics within your loyalty program? We’re here to help - just contact support@loyaltylion.com.