Launching a loyalty program is a major milestone, but according to loyalty experts, it's only the beginning.
Brands often spend months designing program mechanics, selecting rewards, building technology, and preparing for launch. While enrollment numbers and early excitement can signal a successful rollout, those metrics alone don't determine long-term success. The first year is when brands learn how customers engage with the program, identify what drives meaningful behaviors, and make adjustments that build lasting loyalty.
For this installment of Supplier Perspectives, Loyalty360 asked leaders from Group O, ITA Group, Baesman, Maritz, CORA Loyalty, and Valuedynamx what brands should prioritize after launch, how they should measure success, and which pitfalls they should avoid during the critical first year. While each contributor offered a unique perspective, one message stood out: year one isn't about proving a loyalty program is finished; it's about building a foundation for long-term growth.
Key Takeaways
- Launch is only the beginning. The first year should focus on building member trust, delivering value, and learning how customers engage with the program.
- Behavior matters more than enrollment. Metrics like activation, repeat purchases, redemption, and customer retention provide a clearer picture of long-term success than sign-ups alone.
- Use early insights to optimize. Customer behavior during the first year can help brands identify friction points and refine communications, rewards, and the overall member experience.
- Continuous improvement drives long-term loyalty. The strongest programs treat year one as an opportunity to test, learn, and evolve—not as a finished product.
Contributors
- Paul Flemr, SVP, Incentive Marketing Solutions, Group O
- Max Kenkel, Senior Manager, Customer Loyalty Solutions, ITA Group
- Sydney Shapiro, Strategic Account Executive, CRM & Loyalty, Baesman
- Tim Crank, Strategic Sales Executive, Loyalty & Rewards, Maritz
- Beth McCoy, CEO, CORA Loyalty
- Eileen Peacock, SVP, General Manager, Valuedynamx
Launch Is Only the Beginning
Many organizations treat launch as the culmination of months, or even years, of planning. Contributors, however, agreed that the real work starts once members begin engaging with the program.
"The first priority is to stop treating launch as the achievement," said Beth McCoy, CEO of CORA Loyalty. "Launch is the announcement. Year one is where the program either becomes part of how the customer behaves or quietly disappears into the background."
Rather than focusing solely on immediate ROI, contributors emphasized that the first year should be spent building trust and proving value to members. Helping customers understand how the program works, what they're earning, and why it benefits them lays the groundwork for long-term engagement.
"In year one, my recommendation is this: build member trust," said Eileen Peacock, SVP, General Manager at Valuedynamx. "If you create a new loyalty program with the sole goal of generating revenue in the first year, you've misunderstood the assignment. The first year is about proving value and making sure your members understand exactly what they are getting each and every time they engage with the program."
As members begin interacting with the program, brands also gain access to one of their most valuable assets: customer behavior. Those early interactions reveal what resonates with members, where friction exists, and how the experience can evolve over time.
"Engagement works both ways, and customers who respond to offers, redeem rewards, and actively participate in the experience are proof that the program is creating value," said Paul Flemr, SVP of Incentive Marketing Solutions at Group O. "This is also when you start to see real behavioral data, and that is where the real opportunity lies. The most effective programs use those early insights to make adjustments quickly—whether that means refining how members earn, improving communications, expanding reward options, or making the overall experience easier to navigate. Year one should be viewed as a learning period where customer actions help shape future program decisions."
Taken together, these perspectives underscore a common message: the first year isn't about proving a loyalty program is perfect. It's about establishing member trust, delivering early value, and creating a strong foundation that brands can continue building over time.
Behavior Matters More Than Enrollment
Enrollment may be the easiest metric to measure, but contributors agreed it's far from the most important. The real measure of a program's health is whether members return, participate, and ultimately change their behavior over time.
"I could see brands latching onto enrollment numbers as important, and they are, but I'm more interested in what those customers are doing," said Max Kenkel, Senior Manager of Customer Loyalty Solutions at ITA Group. "In addition to the common enrollment and engagement metrics, brands should pay attention to how many times and how quickly new members are coming back."
Looking beyond enrollment gives brands a much clearer picture of whether the program is influencing customer behavior. Sydney Shapiro, Strategic Account Executive, CRM & Loyalty at Baesman, said organizations should monitor activation rates, repeat purchase behavior, reward redemption, engagement across channels, customer retention, and incremental revenue generated by members versus non-members.
"Monitoring customer lifetime value and behavioral changes over time provides a much clearer picture of whether the program is driving long-term loyalty instead of simply attracting sign-ups," Shapiro said.
Tim Crank, Strategic Sales Executive of Loyalty & Rewards at Maritz, believes it's equally important to distinguish between the behaviors a loyalty program is designed to encourage and the metrics used to evaluate them.
"Behaviors tell you whether customers are doing what the program was designed to encourage," Crank said. "Metrics tell you whether those behaviors are becoming more frequent, more valuable to the business, and more sustainable over time."
Depending on a brand's objectives, those behaviors may include repeat purchases, redemption, referrals, profile completion, cross-category purchasing, increased purchase frequency, or customer advocacy. Supporting metrics such as active member rate, revenue penetration, spend lift, redemption rate, retention, earning velocity, and referral rate help determine whether those behaviors are translating into long-term value.
While enrollment metrics are important, contributors emphasized that brands should evaluate whether members are building habits that strengthen both the customer relationship and the business itself.
Avoiding Common First-Year Pitfalls
The first year of a loyalty program is rarely without challenges, but contributors agreed many of the most common pitfalls are avoidable. This is why brands should approach the first year as an ongoing process of learning, testing, and refining the member experience.
"One of the most common mistakes brands make is assuming the hard work is done once the program launches," Flemr said. "Too often, success is measured by enrollment numbers alone, while engagement and participation receive less attention. If members are not earning, redeeming, and interacting with the program, enrollment numbers quickly lose their meaning."
Once a program is live, contributors stressed the importance of regularly evaluating performance and using customer insights to guide improvements. Rather than relying on assumptions, brands should continually review what's working, identify friction points, and adjust the experience accordingly.
"Successful programs require continuous optimization based on customer behavior and performance data," Shapiro said. "We also see brands focus too heavily on acquisition while overlooking member engagement after enrollment. Establishing a regular cadence for reviewing data, testing new approaches, and refining the customer experience helps ensure the program continues to deliver value for both customers and the business."
At the same time, optimization doesn't mean constantly reinventing the program. Frequent, large-scale changes can create confusion for members and make it more difficult to build lasting habits.
"The strongest programs stay focused on a small number of meaningful behaviors, measure them consistently, and refine the program based on evidence rather than continually redesigning the entire experience," Crank said.
Ultimately, contributors agreed that the most successful first-year programs aren't defined by a flawless launch. They're defined by a willingness to learn, adapt, and continuously improve the member experience. For brands that embrace that mindset, year one becomes more than a proving ground; it becomes the foundation for long-term loyalty.