How to set up a Reward Points system for Magento 2 store

In this dynamic market, where the customer acquisition cost continues to increase dramatically, every business loves to keep existing customers around. Meanwhile, the price and product availability are no longer a determinator; brands have to find other practical approaches to retain customers.

A reward points system seems a bit ordinary but is still extremely useful in fostering customer loyalty and keeping them committed to your online store.

This blog would bring you an ultimate guide to setting up a comprehensive reward points system for Magento 2.

Why should you integrate a Reward Points system into your Magento 2 store?

For Magento 2 stores, an automated system that enables your customers to earn and spend points can pull your customers closer and keep them loving your brand. Appealing reward points programs can effectively help merchants capture and maintain customers.

The reward points functionality is a built-in feature in Magento Enterprise. However, Magento 2 stores operating in the Magento Community can still utilize this function by integrating a third-party module. In case you build your online store with PrestaShop, a marketplace like PrestaHero is highly recommended for you to find an appropriate Reward Point add-on that helps to keep customers returning to your store.

If you haven’t had a reward points system for your Magento 2 store, here are the six most convincing reasons why you should implement one immediately.

Foster customer loyalty

Loyal customers are those who are willing to do repeat business with your brand. They are the most valuable customers that you should try effortlessly to obtain. A 5% increase in loyal customer base can contribute to a 25% to 95% growth in business profits.

Implementing a visible and accessible rewards system is a great way to keep customers returning instead of switching to other providers. When shoppers are rewarded for each order or interaction, they see more value is added during their shopping journey. Thus, they are encouraged to commit to your Magento 2 store.

Boost conversion rates

In this eCommerce space, shopping doers are more reluctant to make purchase decisions as they have too many alternatives to consider.

Giving these buyers points right after they register, subscribe, or finish their first purchase, can help remove their hesitation and speed up their buying process. When customers find their purchases more beneficial, they feel more comfortable completing the order.

Attract more new customers

Your satisfied customers love to share their positive shopping experiences. You can even turn these engaged customers into active advocates by rewarding them for sharing or referring.

Rather than invest a massive amount of money in an entire marketing campaign, adding points to customers’ accounts for each successful referral is a much more cost-effective method to acquire new customers.

As 92% of people rely on friends' or relatives’ suggestions when making purchases, referees are more comfortable converting. They will even complete orders quicker if offered with points or discounts.

Enhance brand awareness

Encouraging your existing customers to interact on popular social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. helps strengthen your brand image significantly.

By rewarding them with some points, you motivate customers to share, rate, and review your business effortlessly. As all people are connected, you reach more potential prospects and expand your customer base effectively.

While 63% of consumers read reviews before buying, a reward points system that entices customers to leave reviews and share their positive experiences will be a powerful tool to advertise your business.

Increase customer satisfaction

A well-designed reward points system that gives participants points on special occasions can significantly increase satisfaction.

These days, consumers love to be treated individually and get personalized gifts. They will be surprised and delighted to receive extra bonuses on special days like birthdays, promotional days, and major holidays.

Improve the shopping experience

With a smart reward points tool, you are free to incentivize each behavior customers perform. Besides rewarding purchasing, granting points for other activities will help engage customers and create a joyful shopping experience.

Supporting customers to redeem points conveniently as discounts or payment methods makes them more excited to return to your store. For a majority of consumers, convenience is a critical factor that determines their happiness with the brand.

Allowing customers to keep track of their transactions quickly from their accounts makes them more confident that their benefits are guaranteed.

How to set up an advanced Reward Points system for Magento 2 store?

Choosing an advanced Reward Points extension

In this case, we used the Magento 2 Reward Points by Mageplaza.

The extension is an all-in-one solution that empowers users to design their fascinating programs without any limitations.

Strictly following Magento 2 coding standards and frequently updated, Mageplaza Reward Points is always fully compatible with Magento 2’s latest version and almost any other third-party modules.

Design loyalty programs

• Customize point labels/point icons

Instead of merely labeling reward points as “Points,” store owners are suggested to name their reward points more with more eye-catching labels, such as “Flowers,” “Heart,” “Coin.”

Similarly, points icons which are symbols of your brand’s loyalty points can be displayed creatively.

By just doing some simple configuration in the backend, reward point labels and icons are presented attractively on the store front end.

With a little effort, you can create a much stronger impression on shopping doers and have more deals.

• Display point indicators/point spending slider

Point indicators indicate the number of reward points shoppers earn after completing the order. This feature can actively remind buyers about the benefits they can gain when doing business with you.

By utilizing a smart reward points module, admins can show point indicators at several positions, including the Product page, Category page, Mini cart, Cart page, and Checkout page.

Rather than asking users to enter the number of points, using a point spending slider on the Cart page or Checkout page helps increase the customer’s shopping experience. Only by pulling a slider, do things get done more quickly yet efficiently.

• Configure notification emails

Any reward programs participants love to be updated. Notification emails that inform customers about changes in their balances or points expiration would enhance customer satisfaction.

With some quick steps in backend configuration, you can easily keep your customers up-to-date.

Set up earning/spending process

Any confusion can make your beloved customers disappointed. Thus, it would be best if you made your rewards system as transparent as possible.

Earning process

Setting up a clear earning process and clarifying it on your programs’ policy will make it easier for both store admin and participants to keep track.

• The smart reward points module allows adding points to customer balances right after the invoice is created or order is completed.
• You can decide to set the point’s expiration period. For example, points expire after 30 days from the day points are added. This setting helps to motivate shoppers to come back to your store sooner and purchase more to keep their benefits.

• The number of points converted from purchases can be rounded as standard, up, or down.
• Allowing taxes or shipping fees to be converted into points maximizes the earning potential for your users.
• Retrieving the points when customers refund orders helps maintain fairness between your business and customers.

Spending process

• Sometimes, to optimize your rewards programs’ effectiveness and profitability, you have to set a threshold for customers to start using their points and the maximum points they can spend per order.
• Like earning, points can also be applied to taxes or shipping fees.
• When customers place orders with several reward points, they certainly love to get these points returned when their orders are refunded. By configuring this, you show your shoppers how much you care about them.
• To enhance convenience when applying reward points, you can also set spending points as max applicable points by default.

Reward for purchases

By enabling customers to earn points for each completed order and redeem them in future purchases, you encourage them to buy more from your store.

A comprehensive reward points system will empower you to set up flexible earning/spending rates per store view and customer group.

• The earning rate indicates the conversion rate from X (currency) to Y (points).
• From the grid view, store admins can manage the vital information of the created earning rate.

• The spending rate defines the conversion rate from X (points) to Y (currency).
• The spending rate grid view allows you to acknowledge generated rates.

To create attractive offers while still guaranteeing profitability, you can design more complicated catalog/shopping cart earning/spending rules.

By setting specific conditions and actions, you can grant more points when customers purchase more profitable products or larger order volumes. The more loyal and valuable customers gain better benefits.

Reward for behaviors

Rewarding for the desired actions performed by customers can remarkably increase customer engagement and satisfaction. The participation of customers also benefits your marketing strategies a lot.

Attract new customers

Motivating shopping doers to create a new account on your Magento 2 store is the first step to turning a visitor into loyal customers. By rewarding some points for new accounts, you can accelerate this action effectively.

Grow opt-in list

A small portion of points can be a big encouragement for your customers to subscribe to your newsletter. You grow your email list and then carry out successful email marketing campaigns.

Get more product reviews

Reviews and ratings are a compelling way to erase the hesitation of pre-buyers. However, they are not easy to obtain.

Offering rewards whenever customers leave a review, you can instantly make your Magento 2 store full of feedback.

Encourage social sharing

Allowing users to earn points for each like/share on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. can make the shopping journey more enjoyable and effectively help your brand reach more targeted customers.

Surprise customers on birthday

Adding points to customer accounts on their birthday and sending them a personalized message is a warm-hearted method to keep customers sticking to your brand.

Reward for referrals

Now and then, word of mouth has still been the greatest marketing approach. Incentivizing customers’ sharing is an excellent idea to get more new customers yet revenue.

From the admin backend, you can configure to give the referrers a fixed number of points or a percentage of orders that they refer successfully.

Besides, you can offer points or discounts for the referees to drive the conversion.

Participants are provided with a unique referral URL or referral code and properly manage their performance from their accounts.

Optimize loyalty programs

Reports and analyses are vital components of any successful marketing strategy. An intelligent Magento 2 rewards module must support gathering sufficient information.

By analyzing customer data and sales statistics, you can determine your loyalty programs’ effectiveness and improve it.

Understanding customers’ behaviors, such as what kind of offers attract them the most, how they spend their points, etc. helps you maximize your campaigns’ performance.

Conclusion

A comprehensive reward points system is a must-have solution for every Magento 2 store. Carefully designed and well-managed, rewards programs can effectively help merchants enhance customer retention and acquisition rates.

We hope that you have had a great suggestion to boost your Magento 2 store’s performance!