sales-skills/sales-loyalty

Customer Loyalty Programs

Help the user design and manage loyalty programs — from strategy and structure through points/tiers/rewards mechanics, member engagement, and ROI measurement. This skill is tool-agnostic but includes platform-specific guidance for Brevo Loyalty, Smile.io, LoyaltyLion, Yotpo, Stamp.me, and custom-built solutions.

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge.

Ask the user:

1. What do you need help with?

   • A) Program design — creating a new loyalty program from scratch
   • B) Tool selection — choosing loyalty program software
   • C) Points & rewards — setting up earning rules and reward catalog
   • D) Tiers / VIP — designing tier levels and progression
   • E) Member engagement — increasing participation and redemption
   • F) Analytics & ROI — measuring program effectiveness
   • G) Integration — connecting loyalty to e-commerce, CRM, or POS
   • H) Migration — switching loyalty platforms
   • I) Something else — describe it

2. What type of business?

   • A) E-commerce / DTC
   • B) Retail (physical stores)
   • C) SaaS / subscription
   • D) Hospitality / restaurants
   • E) B2B
   • F) Multi-location / franchise
   • G) Other

3. Current loyalty setup?

   • A) No program yet — starting from scratch
   • B) Using Brevo Loyalty
   • C) Using Smile.io
   • D) Using LoyaltyLion
   • E) Using Yotpo
   • F) Using a custom-built solution
   • G) Using another platform
   • H) Have a basic program (punch card, discount codes) but want to upgrade

If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to the relevant step. Lead with your best-effort answer using reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly), then ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions at the end.

Step 2 — Strategy and approach

Loyalty program types

| Type | How it works | Best for | Example | |---|---|---|---| | Points | Earn points on purchases, redeem for rewards | E-commerce, retail | 1 point per $1 spent, 100 points = $5 off | | Tiered | Higher tiers unlock better perks | Brands wanting aspirational status | Silver → Gold → Platinum with increasing benefits | | Paid / VIP | Pay for membership with exclusive benefits | Premium brands, Amazon Prime model | $99/year for free shipping + early access | | Cashback | Earn store credit on purchases | Price-sensitive customers | 5% back on every purchase | | Punch card | Buy X, get 1 free | Cafes, salons, simple retail | Buy 10 coffees, get 1 free | | Experiential | Rewards are experiences, not discounts | Luxury brands | Early access, exclusive events, personal styling |

Program design framework

1. Define the objective — retention, AOV increase, purchase frequency, referrals, data collection?
2. Choose the model — points, tiers, paid, hybrid?
3. Set earning rules — how do customers earn? (purchases, reviews, referrals, social shares, birthdays)
4. Design rewards — what can they redeem? (discounts, free products, free shipping, exclusive access, charity donations)
5. Create tiers (optional) — 2-4 tiers with clear progression and meaningful benefits at each level
6. Plan communication — welcome email, points reminders, tier upgrade notifications, expiry warnings
7. Measure — enrollment rate, active rate, redemption rate, incremental revenue

Points economy design

Earning rules (typical):

• Purchase: 1 point per $1 spent (or 10 points per $1 for psychological effect)
• Account creation: 50-100 points (one-time)
• Birthday: 50-200 points (annual)
• Product review: 25-50 points
• Social share/follow: 10-25 points
• Referral: 100-500 points

Redemption value:

• Target 5-10% effective discount rate (e.g., 100 points = $5 on a program where you earn 1 point/$1)
• Don't make rewards too hard to reach — first reward should be achievable in 2-3 purchases
• Offer a mix of reward values ($5, $10, $25, free product, free shipping)

Tier design

• 2-3 tiers is ideal — more than 4 creates confusion
• Name tiers — use brand-relevant names, not just Bronze/Silver/Gold
• Clear progression — spend $X/year or earn X points to reach next tier
• Meaningful benefits — each tier must feel noticeably better (not just 1% more discount)
• Maintain status — require annual re-qualification to maintain tier (prevents dormant high-tier members)

Step 3 — Platform-specific guidance

Read references/platforms.md for platform-specific loyalty guidance — Brevo, Smile.io, LoyaltyLion, Yotpo, Stamp.me, Skeepers, and the custom-built path (programs, pricing/plan gates, API surface, strengths/limitations, best-for). Read only the section matching the user's platform; for platform setup/integration, route to the dedicated /sales-{platform} skill.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

Launch checklist

1. Design program — model, earning rules, rewards, tiers (see Step 2)
2. Choose platform — based on your e-commerce stack and needs
3. Configure — set up program, earning rules, reward catalog, tiers
4. Design assets — loyalty page, widget, emails (welcome, points earned, reward available, expiry warning)
5. Set up automations — trigger emails/SMS based on loyalty events
6. Soft launch — test with a small group, verify points earning and redemption
7. Promote — announce vian email, site banner, checkout page, social media
8. Measure — track enrollment, engagement, and revenue impact weekly

Key metrics

| Metric | Benchmark | What it tells you | |---|---|---| | Enrollment rate | 20-40% of customers | Program attractiveness | | Active member rate | 40-60% of enrolled | Ongoing engagement | | Redemption rate | 20-40% of points issued | Reward appeal | | Member vs non-member AOV | 15-25% higher | Revenue impact | | Member purchase frequency | 20-40% higher | Retention impact | | Program ROI | 3-5x cost | Overall program value |

Gotchas

1. Don't make the first reward unreachable — if it takes 10 purchases to earn the first reward, most customers will give up. Design the first reward to be achievable in 2-3 purchases.
2. Don't create too many tiers — 2-3 tiers with meaningful differences beats 5 tiers with marginal distinctions. Each tier should feel like a real upgrade.
3. Don't forget expiration communication — if points expire, you must warn members before expiration (30 days, 7 days, 1 day). Surprise expiration creates angry customers.
4. Don't discount your way to losses — if your effective discount rate exceeds your margin, the program loses money. Model the economics before launch (typical target: 5-10% effective discount).
5. Don't neglect non-purchase engagement — the best loyalty programs reward reviews, referrals, social engagement, and account actions — not just purchases. This keeps members engaged between purchases.

• Self-improving: If you discover something not covered here, append it to references/learnings.md with today's date.

Before recommending a specific platform skill

This skill covers a strategy domain across many platforms. Before pointing the user to any specific platform skill (any /sales-{platform} listed in ## Related skills, e.g., /sales-mailshake, /sales-klaviyo, /sales-apollo), read that platform skill's actual SKILL.md first. The 1-line description in ## Related skills is enough to identify a candidate — it's not enough to commit to it or to write a prompt that invokes it well.

How to read it:

• If ~/.claude/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md exists locally, Read it.
• For sales-* skills, WebFetch directly from this repo: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sales-skills/sales/main/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md — e.g., for sales-mailshake: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sales-skills/sales/main/skills/sales-mailshake/SKILL.md.
• For non-sales-* skills (third-party), look up {org}/{repo} in ~/.claude/skills/sales-do/references/skill-sources.md if installed and fetch the same skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md path under that repo.

After reading, ground your recommendation in something concrete from the SKILL.md (its scope, a sub-flow, its argument-hint shape, or a "Do NOT use for..." negative trigger). Align any generated invocation with the platform skill's argument-hint. If the platform skill turns out not to fit the user's situation, swap to another or handle the question here directly rather than recommending a poor fit.

Related skills

• /sales-skeepers — Skeepers platform help (Brand Communities, Verified Reviews, Influencer Marketing)
• /sales-loyaltylion — LoyaltyLion platform help (points, tiers, rewards, Klaviyo Events, API)
• /sales-brevo — Brevo platform help (Brevo Loyalty setup and configuration)
• /sales-affiliate-program — Affiliate and referral programs with commission payouts
• /sales-email-marketing — Email communication for loyalty program members
• /sales-checkout — Checkout optimization (loyalty display at checkout)
• /sales-integration — Connect loyalty tools with e-commerce and CRM
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do

Examples

Example 1: Designing a loyalty program for a Shopify store

User says: "I run a DTC skincare brand on Shopify with $80 AOV. How should I structure a loyalty program?" Skill does: Recommends points-based program with 2 tiers. Earning: 1 point/$1 + bonus points for reviews and referrals. Rewards: $5 off (50 points), $15 off (150 points), free mini product (100 points). Tiers: Regular + VIP (spend $500/year for 1.5x points, free shipping, early access). Recommends Smile.io for Shopify. Result: Complete program design with economics, platform recommendation, and launch plan

Example 2: Measuring loyalty program ROI

User says: "Our loyalty program has been running for 6 months and we're not sure if it's working" Skill does: Defines key metrics to pull (member vs non-member AOV, purchase frequency, retention rate, redemption rate). Provides benchmark comparisons. Identifies common issues (low engagement, unreachable rewards, no communication). Result: Measurement framework with specific metrics, benchmarks, and optimization recommendations

Example 3: Setting up Brevo Loyalty with email automation

User says: "We're on Brevo Enterprise and want to launch a tiered loyalty program with automated emails" Skill does: Walks through creating a loyalty program in Brevo → defining tiers and earning rules → setting up reward catalog → building automation journeys triggered by loyalty events (enrollment → welcome, tier upgrade → congratulations, points expiring → reminder) Result: Loyalty program configured in Brevo with automated email flows for all key moments

Troubleshooting

Low enrollment rate

Symptom: Less than 10% of customers joining the loyalty program Cause: Program not visible enough, value proposition unclear, or signup process too complex Solution: 1) Add loyalty callout on homepage, product pages, and checkout. 2) Offer sign-up bonus (50-100 points). 3) Simplify enrollment to 1 click (email only). 4) Show the first achievable reward at signup ("You're 2 purchases away from $5 off!").

Members not redeeming rewards

Symptom: High points issuance but low redemption (< 15%) Cause: Rewards not appealing, redemption process too complex, or members forget they have points Solution: 1) Survey members on desired rewards. 2) Simplify redemption (1-click at checkout). 3) Send points balance reminders monthly. 4) Add lower-tier rewards that are easier to reach. 5) Show points balance prominently on account page and in emails.

Program losing money

Symptom: Loyalty program costs exceed the incremental revenue it generates Cause: Effective discount rate too high, or program attracts deal-seekers without increasing loyalty Solution: 1) Calculate effective discount rate (total rewards redeemed ÷ total member revenue). 2) If > 10%, reduce earning rate or increase redemption thresholds. 3) Add non-discount rewards (early access, exclusive content). 4) Implement minimum spend for redemption. 5) Segment: compare member lifetime value to non-member — if no difference, the program isn't driving incremental behavior.