The expert interview with loyalty consultant Stefan Beck

What is the biggest misconception about loyalty programmes?

The biggest misconception is the assumption that loyalty can be generated through points and discounts. This assumption arose because, in the past, discounts were hugely important across all sectors. But why is this an oversimplification? Points that I accumulate in a scheme generate activity, but do not automatically create loyalty. Discounts increase price sensitivity whilst simultaneously reducing margins.

Genuine loyalty is built on trust, collaboration, business value and service quality. From a B2B perspective: customers stay not because there is a rewards programme, but because processes run smoothly, because their contacts deliver added value, and because they can better achieve their business objectives with their partner. A study shows that buyers who have a high level of trust in a company are willing to accept prices 1.7 times higher than customers who do not develop this trust. Points drive transactions – trust builds loyalty.

Which factor has the greatest impact on success?

In my view, the most important factor for success is creating relevance for customers. This means that successful programmes do not ask, ‘What rewards do we give customers?’, but rather, ‘What additional business value do we create?’

One aspect that is often underestimated here is segmentation. Many programmes on the market treat all customers the same. If I treat a key account customer, a medium-sized business and a small business customer equally within the same programme, I cannot optimally maximise the benefits.

Furthermore, personalisation is often lacking, and different added values for different customers are frequently not provided. That is why successful programmes always ask: ‘What problem am I solving for customers – or what benefit am I creating for them?’
Looking at the figures: a B2B study shows that a successful programme generates a 13 per cent higher customer retention index and leads to a significantly higher cross-selling rate. This means that the most important currency in loyalty is not the reward – but relevance to the customers.

What questions should a company ask itself first if it wants to set up a new loyalty programme?

Most companies start by thinking about software and looking at the market to see which provider might be suitable. I would take a different approach – prioritising strategy over technology, and linking strategy to clear objectives. A company should ask itself five key questions at the outset:

1. Which business objectives should the programme support?
2. What customer behaviour do we want to encourage?
3. Which customers are strategically important to us?
4. What added value do these customers expect from us?
5. How do we measure success?

And what’s really important here: ask the customers. It makes sense to involve, right from the start, the very people for whom the programme is actually being built. If you look at the objectives of successful programmes, they revolve around cross-selling, upselling, customer lifetime value, share of wallet or platform usage.

In other words: all the time I invest in planning at the start pays off during implementation – more flexibility, fewer mistakes. My recommendation: first define the strategy, then the mechanics, then the software – and only at the very end should you consider points systems and rewards.

What distinguishes average programmes from successful ones?

The answer is relatively simple: average programmes reward past sales. Successful programmes influence future behaviour. What’s interesting here is that studies show successful programmes are integrated much more deeply into the customer experience than less successful ones. They are more data-driven, closely linked to sales and customer service, and are continuously refined by those responsible.

Average programmes focus more on rewards, offer less personalisation, have virtually no data integration with CRM or sales systems, and lack market research-based management. I know of many programmes that carry out hardly any market research and rarely ask customers whether they are satisfied with the offer. Successful programmes, on the other hand, influence future behaviour, create genuine value for participants and are continuously refined in a data-driven manner.

The hallmarks of success are therefore: having a clear objective, generating significant customer value and making a measurable contribution to revenue growth. In conclusion: loyalty must not be an afterthought to marketing – it must become part of the customer experience in order to be successful.

What are the biggest mistakes companies are currently making with loyalty programmes?

With existing programmes, the situation is as follows: many companies measure activity rather than impact. They count logins, points or redemptions – but not the actual business outcome. These are the top five mistakes we frequently see:

1. Too much focus on discounts – incentives rather than customer value. This reduces margins, makes customers interchangeable and creates little emotional loyalty.
2. Lack of personalisation – one of the areas where AI can help, namely by placing greater emphasis on data and communication.
3. Overly complex programme rules – too complicated for users.
4. No integration with sales and CRM systems – this creates data silos that are counterproductive to the use of AI.
5. No measurement of success. When companies are asked how successful their programme is, there are often no concrete answers.

What we see as particularly critical here is that many companies measure revenue, but not customer retention, share of wallet or churn rate. Most programmes measure activity – not loyalty. And if a loyalty programme awards lots of points but fails to retain customers, then it is a cost centre rather than a driver of growth.

What role do rewards and vouchers play in an increasingly digital and AI-driven world?

In short: they remain relevant – but are losing their dominant role. Why is this the case? Studies show that exclusive benefits, access to services, relevant experiences and personalisation are becoming increasingly more important than traditional rewards. Who will come out on top in the B2B sector? The future belongs to exclusive services, industry benchmarks, further training, certifications, access to communities, premium support and co-creation projects.

But why is this so important for B2B decision-makers? For them, four elements are essentially key: time savings, a knowledge edge, business benefits, and efficiency & expertise. These often carry more weight than traditional non-cash rewards. On top of this, AI offers a further advantage: in the voucher and rewards segment, it enables the creation of individual incentives, thereby injecting dynamism into a programme – because offers can be personalised for each individual customer.

A study shows that 78 per cent of decision-makers in the B2B sector see rising expectations for digital and personalised customer experiences. This means that, in future, relevance to customers will outweigh vouchers and rewards.