7 Top Tips: Building a Business Case for a Loyalty Programme

7 Top Tips: Building a Business Case for a Loyalty Programme 💰

Securing buy in and investment for a bespoke loyalty programme requires more than a great idea; it demands a watertight business case. The key is to demonstrate tangible value for all stakeholders – this means technological, process and commercial impacts need to be considered throughout. Here are the essential points you need to cover to get the board on board.

Tip 1: Focus on Automation, Not Just 'New Tech' 💻

Frame the loyalty programme not as a new piece of software, but as an operational digital upgrade. Highlight how a custom solution will automate manual processes—like reward management and data entry—that currently consume valuable time and resources. By freeing up your team from this low-value drudgery, you're not just saving money; you're boosting productivity and allowing your best people to focus on strategic initiatives. In addition to this it can be seen as a platform upgrade that enables future scalability and saves countless manual and integration hours beyond this one process

Case Study: With the Colooder Gloucester Rugby App, the club has an even closer bond with its supporters. Clock built an app that brings their services and third party suppliers into one ecosystem that:

·       Helps them build a better relationship with fans.

·       Improve their offering on match days and non-match days alike.

·       And ultimately help the club to increase revenue and drive Fan Lifetime Value.

Tip 2: Your App is a Data Goldmine 📊

Emphasise that the platform will be a powerful engine for business intelligence. Every interaction, from a purchase to a push notification response, is a data point. This rich, real-time data will give you a granular understanding of customer behaviour and preferences. This isn't just about vanity metrics; it's about informing key business decisions, optimising marketing spend, and driving future strategy.

Tip 3: Champion Seamless Integration to Avoid Legacy “Technical Debt” 🔗

Board members are wary of fragmented tech stacks. Assure them that a custom solution will be engineered to integrate seamlessly with your existing POS, CRM, and e-commerce platforms. This prevents the creation of data silos and ensures a unified view of your customers. A bespoke build also avoids the inflexibility and ongoing subscription costs of off-the-shelf software, which can become a significant source of integration headaches over time.

Case Study: We built the Elle Collective for Hearst Publishing - offering members access to curated promotions, offers, and experiences. 

Integrating with Hearst’s identity provider, we built a seamless experience without the need for multiple email and passwords, providing Hearts access to first party data and razor sharp insight into the wants and needs of its members.

Tip 4: Quantify the Increase in Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) 📈

This is the commercial heart of your pitch. A loyalty programme is your most effective tool for increasing customer retention, and retention directly impacts profitability. Use the compelling statistic that a 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by 25-95%. A well-executed programme turns transactional relationships into enduring brand loyalty, nudging customers to spend more and more often.

 Case Study: We helped The Telegraph completely overhaul their legacy loyalty scheme. The new **Telegraph Extra** platform led to an 84% approval rating among subscribers, significantly boosting engagement and conversion rates.

It was a direct investment in their subscriber base, driving CLV by making their most loyal customers feel valued.

Tip 5: Show How Data Drives Upselling and Cross-selling 🛍️

The data collected is a strategic asset for revenue generation. Explain how the platform will enable hyper-personalisation. The app can automatically suggest premium product upgrades (upselling) or complementary items (cross-selling) based on a customer's purchasing history. This moves beyond generic marketing and directly impacts the bottom line. Our work with Mythical Society drove fan engagement, a deeper relationship and enabled not only more merchandise sales, but a whole new paid content revenue stream.  

Tip 6: Position Your Programme as a Competitive Advantage 🚀

In a crowded market, a great loyalty programme can be a key differentiator. It gives customers a compelling reason to choose you over a competitor. By offering genuine value and an exceptional user experience, you build a powerful emotional connection with your brand, transforming customers into brand advocates.

Tip 7: Present a Financial Model, Not Just a Vision 💰

Your final argument must be grounded in numbers. Be transparent about the total investment and present a clear, data-backed projection of the ROI.

Quantify the revenue growth from increased customer retention and the financial savings from process automation. Finally, address potential risks and outline a realistic strategy for a smooth implementation and launch.

Need a Partner to Build Your Business Case? 🤝

Crafting a robust business case can be a lot to handle. At Clock we have a proven track record of helping businesses secure funding for their custom loyalty programmes. We can provide you with the data, case studies, and expertise you need to build a compelling, evidence-backed argument that gets the green light. Get in touch to start building your winning business case today.