Creating a loyalty program for your panel is the foundation for increasing profitability and revenue by increasing panelist retention, survey frequency, and supporting panelist acquisition programs. Panel incentive programs, when done correctly, build brand advocacy and increases the lifetime value of the panelists. But to get to this point, you will need to have panelists to enroll and be engaged. Your program needs to capture all the necessary data because getting the critical insight into your panelist for your clients sets the stage for the goldmine of information needed for future panel projects.
Let’s take a quick look at four basic building blocks of creating a great panel loyalty program strategy: objectives, gaining program support of key stakeholders, rewarding the participants, and measuring the program.
Objectives
Organizing the logistics of the panel is one of the most crucial steps in order to conduct a successful loyalty program. Below are a few examples of what can jump start the planning phase:
- Plan and develop a clear value proposition
- Define your audience
- Create overall goal
- Prepare to evolve the loyalty program to keep panel engagement
Key Stakeholders
Great, you planned your loyalty platform, so just find someone and prepare for launch! Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. There are so many loyalty platform designers, ensuring you choose the right one is essential. A designer who takes shortcuts, doesn’t focus on the basics, or doesn’t run trials may not have your best interest at heart.
Constructing a sound loyalty program and seeking inter departmental support is a must. The more your backed, the better the chance you have at loyalty platform approval from upper management. Help them understand the value in a loyalty program, and the income it drives- all while cultivating brand awareness.
How Will Participants Be Rewarded
The only way to expand your panelist base is to offer the right reward mix. There are several types of incentives to select from, including cash payments, PayPal, digital rewards, merchandise, experiential rewards, and games. Carefully consider each type when making your selections to ensure your audience is motivated by the incentive you offer, and it fits into your budget.
Below are three of the most popular reward offerings, to expand on these three, head to our Build a Winning Loyalty Program Strategy for Your Panel full length article featured on Greenbook, a renowned market research blog.
- Cash
- Tiered
- Points-Based
How Will The Program Be Measured
Identifying your program’s ROI goals and benchmarks really helps gauge the success of the program. A great loyalty management software should provide the data for the major performance metrics. Establishing these helps not only you, but also gives upper management peace of mind.
Determine the best way to measure your program. A great place to start is achieving alignment from all the key stakeholders on metrics in advance. This can help avoid any mishaps or misunderstandings. Having the solutions when problems arise will help keep you one step ahead of the game and on track.
The system selected should instantly connect your panelists to an extensive offering of incentive reward products for instant engagement and provides you with a straightforward and easy way to change the reward mix as needed. You should be able to run multiple panel projects and programs with different demographics simultaneously, each with its incentive scheme tailored to your needs.
In essence, to create a successful loyalty program, reduced to the simplest aspect is you only need to focus on one question throughout the planning process: Is this going to make our customers happy? Whether it is the technology used, event processing strategies, rewards offered, or notifications issued, when creating your loyalty program, if you satisfy this goal; then loyal panelists will drive more survey completions, word-of-mouth and social proof for your brand. Additionally, your current panelists can help you turn valuable prospects into loyal members of your panel community.
To learn more on the Build a Winning Loyalty Program Strategy for Your Panel– check out our recent article written by our CEO, Kathryn Felke, published at www.greenbookblog.org . The expert team at ADR is available to help you build your winning loyalty strategy. Call today at 866-415-7703 or click on Demo above for more information.
