Customer Loyalty Program

[gazeborob]

Is it possible to build our own customer loyalty program based on dollars purchased, or do we have to buy an add-on module from a third party?

It appears the the only reward program in shopsite is based on number of items purchased, not by dollar amount. Can that be changed?

Thanks,
Rob

[4erika]

I understand this is a very old post, but is there any update on this? I've always assumed that the reward program was actually a customer loyalty program. I was surprised to see that it's more of a variation on a coupon program. I would like to reward registered customers who order a certain dollar amount over time. Is there any way to do this?

[Jim]

There are several differences between the Product Rewards and Coupons.
1. Coupons can give a % off or a $ amount off of the shopping cart total or specific products in the cart. Rewards only give free product, not a discount in price.
2. Rewards can be setup to be for a single shopping cart or can accumulate purchased items until the required number of products have been purchased and then the reward can be redeemed. In order to accumulate the number of items purchased toward the qualifying number of products the shopper must be registered and logged in for each purchase. Coupons apply only to the shopping cart where they are entered and the required quantity or cart total can't be combined from multiple orders.
3. Coupons can be automatically applied to the shopping cart if the shopper is a registered shopper and assigned to a group to which the coupon has been assigned.

The reward program is based strictly on the number of qualifying products purchase and the reward is alway a product. There is no way to base the reward on a total of dollars of product purchased. You could simulate a dollar total by making the number of qualifying products purchase be a certain number which would then add up to approximately the total dollars you want the shopper to purchase to get the free product. I.E. Purchase 10 products with a price of 10.00 each (making a total of 100.00) and get another product for free, would essentially be a 10% reward that could be earned in a single purchase of the 10 items or spread over several purchases (if registration if enabled).

[4erika]

That really only works as a loyalty program if the majority of your products are at the same price...like t-shirts or hot dogs. Not many businesses are set up like that.

It's a shame that the most basic and effective marketing tool used by online and brick and mortar companies who seek to develop customer loyalty, rewards for total dollar amount purchased, is not addressed by this software. I love the software for its other features, but the lack of this feature has been a big disappointment. Now, rather than one simple promotion that would appeal to all of my customers, I have to come up with multiple reward campaigns based on our different product categories (price or product line) and hope that one of them triggers interest in each customer who shops on the site. And that would only be short-term interest. It does nothing to encourage loyalty, which is every business' number one priority. I can imagine customers going to the site and being disappointed to see many promotions and not one that benefits them. When there is no promotion that currently benefits a customer, they may go to a competitor. But a loyalty program, encourages a customer to stick with you no matter what.

Please Shopsite, Develop a customer loyalty add-on, at least for registered customers.



http://archive.fohboh.com/profiles/blogs/daily-deals-and-coupons-vs-a-strong-loyalty-program

http://www.dmnews.com/consumers-want-loyalty-rewards/article/292607/

http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/customer-care/customer-loyalty-schemes

http://www.northjersey.com/shopping/194593561_DeMarrais__Coupons_vs__loyalty_programs_have_several_strategies_for_success.html?c=y&page=3