Loyalty Programmes: A Sustainable Revenue Growth Strategy

The market is finally starting to recognise what loyalty has the potential to become.

For years, loyalty programmes were associated with punch cards, discounts on the next purchase, and generic birthday emails sent to every customer. Functional. Predictable. Generic. And, above all, forgettable.

The problem was never the programme itself. It was the lack of intelligence behind it.

Customer loyalty has always mattered. But for a long time, “loyalty programme” was viewed as an operational benefit rather than a business strategy. That misconception continues to cost companies millions, as they pour resources into acquiring new customers while their existing customer base quietly walks away.

Winning new customers is important. Keeping them is where profitability is created.

This is not a matter of opinion—it’s business mathematics.

Returning customers purchase more frequently, spend more per visit, and cost significantly less to convert. They already know your brand and trust your products. What they need is a compelling reason to continue choosing you instead of the competitor just a few clicks away.

When designed strategically, modern loyalty programmes do exactly that:

• Increase purchase frequency without relying on aggressive discounting.
• Grow average basket size by encouraging customers to explore more of the portfolio.
• Reduce churn by strengthening emotional engagement—not just transactional relationships.
• Generate valuable behavioural data that enables smarter business decisions.

It is this last point where many organisations continue to leave significant value untapped.

Data Has Become the Core Asset

The next generation of loyalty programmes is no longer defined by the rewards it offers. It is defined by what it learns about customers—and how effectively that insight is translated into action.

Artificial Intelligence applied to CRM is accelerating this evolution. Organisations are using AI to recommend the right product, through the right channel, at the right moment. They can identify customers at risk of leaving before they churn and create offers that feel individually tailored—because they are.

Personalisation at scale is no longer a conference buzzword. It is already delivering results for organisations that have stopped relying on assumptions and started leveraging the data they already possess.

A Practical Example: What Happens When You Stop Treating Every Customer the Same

At the end of 2025, I worked with a leading regional grocery retailer that operated its own branded credit card but had never introduced a loyalty programme. Strategically, the programme was launched in November of that year.

We did far more than implement a points system.

We designed a complete customer engagement strategy built around behavioural segmentation, personalised customer journeys, channel-specific communications, and full integration across every customer touchpoint.

The impact became visible within the first few months:

• 85%+ customer identification rate, demonstrating strong early adoption.
• Purchase frequency doubled among programme members compared with non-members.
• Higher average basket value, achieved without aggressive promotional activity.
• A rich behavioural data asset that began informing merchandising decisions, marketing communications, and promotional planning.

The real transformation, however, went beyond the numbers.

The business stopped seeing its customer base as a homogeneous audience and started understanding it as a collection of individuals—with different behaviours, preferences, and purchasing moments. That shift fundamentally changed how the company communicated, personalised offers, and built long-term relationships.

Loyalty is not created through promotions.

It is built through the accumulation of relevant experiences that customers have with a brand over time.

And when loyalty is approached as a strategic capability rather than a marketing tactic, it becomes one of the most sustainable drivers of long-term revenue growth.

As for customer experience and the rapidly evolving expectations of today’s consumers—that deserves a conversation of its own.

Until next time.

Reach out to Daiane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daianetavaresmkt/