By:  Erika Stevens

As I am playing around with the different tools Google offers I am always impressed by the abilities to test different ads, content and promotions.  Going back daily and analyzing what did and didn’t work is rigorous, but that testing pays off.  It’s not enough to set up a promotion or a website and walk away.  This same principle applies to your loyalty program.  It’s not enough to set up a loyalty program and walk away.  There is a need for continual evolution and testing. 

There are so many ways to test loyalty programs.  Each test may deliver different results from increased participation to increased revenue.

                  *Test bonus point promotions to see an increase in visits

                  *Test timing of bonus points for biggest daily lift

                  *Track reward redemption and try new rewards

                  *Test contests for employees to increase enrollment

                  *Test all the forms of communications, email, text, mail to increase enrollment

                  *Survey your customers to see if your program passes their test – do they like it!

                  *Survey employees and test better ways to encourage participation

The title of this post may be misleading, because truthfully there is no perfect loyalty program.  But through testing  you will learn what works and what does not work.  Use your test results to continue evolving your loyalty program and striving for success.