A year ago, Adore Society softly launched to a database of existing members. A week later, the program had more than 20,000 sign-ups. One year on, the program has flourished and exceeded business goals. Miranda Bliss looks at how to make a loyalty program a success.

Typically, a best-in-class loyalty program offers a ‘five benefits model’: social, personal, functional, experiential, and financially incentivised. 

Adore Beauty is not the first to launch a loyalty program within the beauty and retail industry. However, the extensive data-driven insights and tech has allowed the delivery of a unique and personalised experience for each member. It doesn’t stop there. The learnings over the past year will continue to steer the program. This should be help in Adore Beauty standing out from the rest of the industry. 

Here are some ways to elevate and launch a successful loyalty program:

Listen to your community 

The foundation for a good loyalty program is listening to your community. 

Since Adore Beauty’s humble beginnings, it has always valued customers’ feedback. When creating Adore Society, the focus was on leveraging insights and regularly drawing from customer interaction.This can help in informing decisions on the proposition and how to improve and add value to the consumer journey. 

From free express shipping, birthday and anniversary rewards, money-can’t-buy experiences which include exclusive events and masterclasses, these benefits were chosen based on what the customers want and need. 

Building brand loyalty shouldn’t rely purely on sales and promotions driven transactions, but helping people meet individual and group needs. In a market where customers are surrounded by options, listening to the community can go a long way.  

Make it personal 

Whether it’s looking for a vitamin C serum for dry skin or a brow gel that won’t budge, Adore Beauty was about believing in the individual consumer.

At Adore Beauty, it was about leveraging Beautywise AI technology. Originally built to help curate a beauty shopping journey that’s bespoke to the customers. The members are rewarded based on purchase preference and history.  

Why tiering works

A tiered reward system is not new news, but it’s highly effective. Adore Society sees all Adore members enjoying valuable rewards at every level.

Having spend on level movement instead of points earned reduces complexity for the customer, administration internally and avoids liability for the business. It also helps to grow the average order value along with increasing frequency and in turn improving the lifetime value of our members. 

Adore Society is a three level tiered system with further rewards unlocked as members progress. 

By rewarding the community with exclusive benefits as they unlock levels, it is increasing the value for members and retaining customers over a longer period of time. 

Foster a value-driven community 

Over the last year, Adore Beauty have been strategic in identifying what’s resonating with the customers. What have the customers enjoyed or found value in? A great example of this is the exclusive masterclasses. 

Over the years, Adore Beauty has grown to become a trusted credible voice that people look to for beauty tips and advice. It had an incredibly positive response to the masterclasses due to the educational value it has brought to the Adore Beauty experience. These benefits also continue to build our community where our members are able to learn about the beauty science and product tips, as well as being connected to like-minded shoppers. One of our most popular masterclasses was on Korean Skincare showcasing a range of brands with an exceptional gift for members.

Masterclasses have been virtual since launch which has opened up accessibility to a number of members that have never been able to access such events due to location or physical disability and has provided them with an incredible opportunity to connect with brands and products they love.  

Be creative with your offering! A loyalty program shouldn’t be restricted to sales and product gifting only. 

It’s not one size fits all 

Consumer behaviour is constantly shifting, so being agile and prepared to change is essential to sustaining your brand loyalty and momentum. That also means investing time and resources to understand customers behaviours and have an offering that aligns with their values and habits. Customers have become very comfortable and confident with online shopping over the past 12 months. At Adore Beauty, we have seen customers shopping from more categories within the business and at a growing rate of frequency. We adapted to this trend and expanded our value offering for members in order to meet their needs and build awareness of the categories we range. 

Competition is fierce among retailers, so investing resources towards a loyalty program and doing it correctly can see retailers reap the rewards. By building customer loyalty with a program, it drives repeat business, can increase profits and develop a strong and active customer base and community. Adore Society’s success has been driven by our community and the brand love we’ve fostered over the years, especially in the last 12 months.

Loyalty programs are set to be the future of how digital brands market themselves to consumers. As the digital marketing landscape evolves with Google planning to ban cookies by late 2023, digitally led businesses and brands with zero and first party data will have the advantage. A loyalty program like Adore Society is the right mechanism to capture and collect this data ongoing. 

 Miranda Bliss is the senior loyalty and retention manager, Adore Beauty.