When customers join your rewards program without actually engaging with it, you’re losing sales. That’s because a thriving brand community relies on customers completing valuable actions on a regular basis, not least of which includes making purchases.

Ultimately, your program can only add value to your customer experience when customers actually redeem the points that they’ve earned.

Nudges boost program engagement

With Smile Nudges, you can mimic the experience of being asked for your rewards card at checkout and make program engagement a continuous part of your customer experience.

Jimmy Joy points spending Nudge
Nudges are the ecommerce version of a cashier reminding customers to redeem rewards in store.

Now, what was once a difficult task for ecommerce stores is now supremely easy. with reward reminders designed to engage with your customers when they are most likely to use their hard-earned rewards.

Make it easier for customers to spend points

There are few things as frustrating as realizing you could have received a discount or free shipping after you’ve already made a purchase, and it’s these types of experiences that can stall your program members at the Engage stage of your community cycle.

This is why we’ve built points spending Nudges. These reminders are an easy way to ensure customers don’t forget about points they’ve earned that can be cashed in for a reward before they complete the order they’re currently considering.

SHEFIT points spending Nudge

Just like how the cashier would ask if you want to use your saved points before you check out, the points spending Nudge is shown when it’s valued most - on the cart page of your website. In just a few clicks, logged-in customers with enough points for a reward are able to check their points balance, purchase a reward, and copy the code to use during checkout. All of a sudden, their points are valuable again, and the two-way exchange of value inherent to being a member of your community is reestablished!

On average, beta users saw a 30% increase in points spending.

These accessible reminders inject a sense of immediate gratification into the checkout process — something that’s difficult to achieve when your customers need to wait to receive their order. By not obscuring the shopping process, points spending Nudges add tangible value to your customers’ experience, greatly increasing the likelihood that they will spend the points they’ve already earned. The thrill of earning valuable rewards then encourages them to be more engaged in the future program engagement, prompting members to keep earning points by making additional purchases.

Keep recent rewards top of mind

One of the keys to an effective rewards program is email marketing. Not only is it inexpensive, but it also allows you to remind customers about different aspects of your brand community in a timely manner. From points expiry emails to a fantastic launch campaign, email marketing allows you to deliver value at every stage in your customer journey.

This value-add approach to email marketing is why 61% of customers are happy to receive promotional emails from you on a weekly basis. However, even if they’re happy to hear from you there’s still the issue of time. No matter how happy they are to learn they have enough points for a reward, it can still slip their mind and result in them making another purchase without actually cashing in.

Reward usage Nudges nip this in the bud by reminding customers of the most recent reward they’ve earned. These Nudges are the best way to remind customers of the value of being part of your brand community, particularly if you’re running a VIP program. Sometimes customers won’t know they’ve unlocked a new reward just for entering the next level of your program and end up missing out on the value you want them to enjoy. With Nudges, you can easily show them this recent reward, and in just a couple of clicks they can use it on their next purchase.

Beta users saw rewards usage increase by up to as much as 30%.

When being rewarded is this easy, it makes it more desirable for your customers to re-engage and keep earning. These positive feelings also intensify their desire to share your rewarding experience with others, expanding your marketing reach without increasing your ad spend.

With more word-of-mouth referrals and more customers redeeming rewards, your brand community continues to thrive and grow organically, setting you up for long-term success that

was just looking for a Nudge in the right direction.

Nudges are a powerful program engagement boosting tool

A strong brand community relies on every member joining, engaging with, and sharing with others. If any one of these pieces breaks down your community can’t continue to grow, putting you at risk of once again falling into the illusion of growth.

When customers experience reciprocal value, they're more likely to engage with your brand.

This is why customer engagement is so important. As the bridge between the first and third stages of your community building strategy, you need your customers to stay engaged. This is where Nudges come in. With Nudges, it is now much easier to boost your rewards program engagement in the moments that matter most to your customers.

In the end, Nudges fuel the engagement engine that keeps your brand community growing, thriving, and succeeding.