On 25th March 2026, we hosted our first Loyalty Brunch, bringing together brand-side practitioners for a 45-minute, no-nonsense conversation under Chatham House rules.
Hosted by our Founding Contributor, Pauline van Dongen-Deckers, the session focused on a question many teams quietly wrestle with:
How do you know when your loyalty program needs an upgrade?
Across industries — from travel and retail to fitness and fuel — the same challenges kept surfacing.
Engagement vs participation
Many programs are successful at getting customers to sign up, but far less successful at keeping them active. Low engagement remains one of the most common frustrations.
Proving value internally
Several participants highlighted the difficulty of demonstrating true incremental impact. Strong customer metrics don’t always translate into a clear business case, especially when investment continues to grow.
Rewarding the wrong behaviour
A recurring theme was that loyalty programs often over-serve already engaged customers, while struggling to influence those who are inactive or at risk.
Price sensitivity vs emotional loyalty
In highly competitive or price-driven sectors, loyalty is fragile. When price becomes the deciding factor, even the best-designed programs can struggle to hold customers.
Overcomplication
One of the clearest lessons: complexity kills clarity. Over-engineered mechanics, points structures, and reward systems often confuse customers rather than motivate them.
What worked (and what people are doing about it)
The session also surfaced practical approaches being tested across the industry:
- Using data-led segmentation to better understand customer behaviour
- Simplifying programme structures to improve clarity and adoption
- Focusing on behaviour change, not just reward distribution
- Building internal buy-in through clearer commercial storytelling
- Balancing instant rewards with longer-term incentives
There was no single solution — but there was a shared understanding:
Loyalty programs don’t fail because of lack of effort. They fail because they’re not aligned to behaviour, value, or clarity.
Actionable Takeaways From The Group
- Segment properly before designing anything
- Don’t just reward loyal customers — change behaviour of inactive ones
- Keep mechanics simple — if you can’t explain it easily, it won’t work
- Prove incremental value early (or expect internal resistance)
- Balance instant gratification with longer-term goals
- Design for engagement, not just acquisition
- Consider emotional drivers, not just price incentives
- Remove friction in redemption journeys
- Use data to tell a commercial story internally
- Accept there is no “perfect” programme — iterate constantly
Our next Loyalty Brunch is on 17th June
Members can register here – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QarNFpmkQ9qNaRobysji4A
