The leading British technology and Internet apps blog Make Use Of recently launched a loyalty-cum-rewards program where readers earn points for sharing its articles on social networks.
In the past, I’ve come across rewards for filling forms, completing surveys and taking other actions but this is the first time I’m seeing a website rewarding social sharing in such a direct and explicit manner. (A whitepaper received by sharing a vendor’s web page on a social network is NOT a reward, even if I say so myself!).
Some might argue that if people find content truly worthy of sharing, they’ll share it without any incentive. Others might justify rewards on the ground that “a little something” always helps, as Al Capone once said, “You can do a lot more with a smile and a gun than with a smile alone”. Therefore, only time will tell whether this is a harebrained idea or lighthouse for content marketing.
Moving on to the program mechanics, which is the real crux of this blog post.
I heard about Make Use Of’s loyalty program from its email sent to my email address. After I clicked through the CTA button on the email, I reached a landing page where I authenticated myself again via my preferred social network. This means Make Use Of had two different ways to identify me. Still it asked me to “open an account” as though I was a new visitor to its website. I was ticked off by this silly step. I said to myself, “if you can’t even do this small thing, how can you foster loyalty, which is a big deal”, and decided not to join Make Use Of’s loyalty program.
Instead of delighting me, Make Use Of’s loyalty program ironically puts me off.
Is there a lesson for publishers and others who’re planning a similar loyalty program?
Yes.
Use technology to self-enroll customers and credit rewards without any action from customers. Like what banks do with their credit card loyalty programs. I don’t enroll for a credit card loyalty program. The bank automatically enrolls me into it when it issues the credit card to me. I don’t take any specific action to earn reward points. Whenever I make a purchase on the credit card, reward points are automatically credited to my account.
Companies can go one step further and notify customers of membership into a loyalty program only when they become eligible for a gift. While I couldn’t find any example of this in the loyalty industry, PayPal has used this approach to acquire new customers and stimulate greater usage by existing customers. The leading PSP lets its customers send money to people who don’t have a PayPal account. PayPal alerts beneficiaries that they’ve received money – aka “gift” – and asks them to sign up for PayPal in order to cash out their receipts.
By following such approaches, companies can reduce friction from their loyalty programs and gain more bang for their rewards buck.