Loyalty programs have differing goals. For some, the purpose of loyalty is to maximise the value of each transaction. For others, the value of transactions is secondary to customer retention, so repeat purchasing behaviour is the key measure of success. Others still rate advocacy as their key goal. These different performance indicators share an underlying prerequisite: member engagement.

Members “engage” when they make contact with the program. It could be clicking on a link in an email, sharing a social media post, or earning rewards. These behaviours are all milestones on the path to program success, no matter the goal of the program.

Card-linked offers strengthen member engagement in three major ways.

First, members are more active and spend more when they receive relevant partner offers. While not every partner will be the perfect fit for every member, a robust network of partnership content drives engagement. On its blog, the Australian Loyalty Association cites a figure: members who redeem partner offers spend 3.4x the average annual spend of those who do not.

Second, card-linked offers empower loyalty program owners to transform everyday purchases into touchpoints for their brands. Every time a member earns rewards on a transaction made with an participating brand is a new moment at which the member is reminded of the loyalty program and its value. This practice keeps the business’s branding at front of mind — a subtle superpower that drives flow-on behaviours, like repeat purchasing and advocacy.

When your loyalty program includes card-linked offers, you can turn otherwise unrelated transactions into new engagement touchpoints.

Third, card-linked offers are a much lower-friction way of conducting loyalty transactions. Members link their loyalty account securely to their payment method, so rewards accrue automatically when transactions are completed via the eligible card. There’s no duplicate loyalty cards, no forgetting to scan, and no manual reconciliation of loyalty transactions later on.

Loyalty Now celebrates the launch of Telstra Shop & Earn, the new card-linked offers program from Telstra. Now Telstra members can earn rewards when they shop with participating brands across Australia. Learn more here.