Loyalty Redesign: Building Community

Redesigned a loyalty program to cut costs while improving customer engagement and brand community.

Client

Under NDA

Timeline

7 Weeks

Services

UX Research

Concept, Design, and Development. All-in-one.

Challenge

"We're losing money with every loyal customer we gain."

This was the paradox a premium pet food company presented us with one morning. Every time a customer reached the highest tier of their program they would automatically receive a 12% discount on all future purchases. The more loyal their customers became, the more unsustainable their business model grew. The existing program was beautifully simple: Register: Get 3% off Spend 50,000 CZK: Get 7% off Spend more: Get 12% off No points to calculate. No rewards to claim. Just straightforward savings that customers had grown to love – and expect. The program was costing the company significantly each month, but more importantly, it was missing opportunities to create genuine engagement with their community of pet owners and breeders.

Exploration Study - Comprehending the Human Component

We needed to hear directly from those who would be most affected by any changes. But traditional interviews wouldn't be enough – we needed to understand their deep-seated emotions about the program.

We conducted in-depth interviews with:

  • 3 loyal customers who had reached the highest discount tier

  • 2 newly registered customers just starting their journey

  • 6 breeding stations with various relationships to the brand – some loyal, some who had left, and some who had never joined

But here's where we got creative. Instead of only asking standard questions, we used "Pitch Provocations" – extreme scenarios designed to elicit genuine emotional responses. We would present ideas like complete program removal to see raw, unfiltered reactions.

Building solutions

Research Insights & Opportunities

My Learnings

During our workshops with stakeholders, a pattern emerged that changed our entire approach. We realized we weren't just redesigning a discount system – we were rebuilding a community infrastructure.

The breeding stations weren't just looking for discounts; they wanted business support, marketing materials, and ways to connect with other professionals.

Regular customers weren't just seeking savings; they wanted to feel like informed, empowered pet owners.

1. End Customer Insights

The automatic nature of the program created an unexpected disconnect. Customers received discounts without any active participation, leading to:

  • Low emotional investment in the rewards program despite high discount rates

  • No sense of achievement or brand connection since tiers advance automatically

  • Passive relationship with the brand, focused solely on price advantages

2. Breeding Station Insights

Our interviews revealed that breeding stations needed more than just financial incentives. Their success heavily relied on:

  • Limited awareness of all available program benefits and features

  • Strong desire for business development support and marketing materials

  • Need for better tools to manage their program participation

3. Unexpected Finding

Veterinarians emerged as key influencers in the pet food ecosystem. Their recommendations carried significant weight:

  • Direct impact on both individual customer and breeding station purchasing decisions

  • Potential for a new strategic partnership channel for future program development

Sometimes the most powerful insights come from pushing people out of their comfort zones (our Pitch Provocations proved this). The answer often lies not in the product itself, but in the community around it. The riskier path can be the right one if it solves both emotional and business needs

Challenges on the Way

Methods

The Solution

We developed three distinct paths forward:

  1. The Safe Route: Gradual Transition

  • A careful, step-by-step reduction in benefits targeting only new customers

  • Potential savings: 25%


  1. The Sweet Spot: Points-Based Rewards

  • A complete reimagining of the program using gamification and flexible redemption

  • The solution would be based on collecting points that later can be redeemed for discounts or gifts

  • Potential savings: 41%


  1. The Bold Move: Cashback Revolution

  • A radical shift to immediate, visible savings

  • The solution would provide cashback options to the customers.

  • Potential savings: 33%

My Learnings

Research Insights & Opportunities

Sometimes the most powerful insights come from pushing people out of their comfort zones (our Pitch Provocations proved this). The answer often lies not in the product itself, but in the community around it. The riskier path can be the right one if it solves both emotional and business needs

During our workshops with stakeholders, a pattern emerged that changed our entire approach. We realized we weren't just redesigning a discount system – we were rebuilding a community infrastructure.

The breeding stations weren't just looking for discounts; they wanted business support, marketing materials, and ways to connect with other professionals.

Regular customers weren't just seeking savings; they wanted to feel like informed, empowered pet owners.

1. End Customer Insights

The automatic nature of the program created an unexpected disconnect. Customers received discounts without any active participation, leading to:

  • Low emotional investment in the rewards program despite high discount rates

  • No sense of achievement or brand connection since tiers advance automatically

  • Passive relationship with the brand, focused solely on price advantages

2. Breeding Station Insights

Our interviews revealed that breeding stations needed more than just financial incentives. Their success heavily relied on:

  • Limited awareness of all available program benefits and features

  • Strong desire for business development support and marketing materials

  • Need for better tools to manage their program participation

3. Unexpected Finding

Veterinarians emerged as key influencers in the pet food ecosystem. Their recommendations carried significant weight:

  • Direct impact on both individual customer and breeding station purchasing decisions

  • Potential for a new strategic partnership channel for future program development

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