Lured by an immediate discount and the promise of future rewards, consumers hand over basic personal information such as email addresses and income levels to retailers, restaurants, hotels and airlines when they join loyalty programs. But too often that doesn’t translate to a long-term relationship.

• Successful loyalty programs use the opportunity to collect first-party data to better understand how to engage with customers and deliver relevant experiences. According to experts who spoke with eMarketer, these are the three tactics that should be employed when structuring a loyalty program:
• Personalization. Using data to get a deep understanding of loyalty members, going beyond demographic profiles and buying preferences to learn what content in messaging will best engage members.
• Customer experience. Using data to guide the brand as it tracks the consumer journey, so a marketer can anticipate which benefits members will most likely engage with after the initial sign-up.
• Omnichannel. Learning through interactions from members how they access the loyalty program and ensure that the program functions across multiple channels, both online and off.