Natalie Monko Lead Project Manager

• Digitalization
• Fintech

November 16, 2022 4 min read

How Do You Choose Loyalty Program Management Software for Your Business?

The world’s loyalty program management software market size is poised to rise from $8.6 billion in 2021 to $18.2 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 16.3%. The key drivers are the penetration of smartphones, the growing need to embrace a user-centric approach, and the rising expansion of the e-commerce market.

At Surf, we have vast experience in building loyalty management software (LMS). For example, our team created a loyalty app for a large retail company that currently has 9,6 million monthly active users. We also developed a mobile app for an online pet shop with an integrated loyalty program that allowed the client to boost conversion rates from 5% to 15% within the first two weeks.

In this article, we will help you choose between turnkey and custom LMS. Furthermore, you will learn the main advantages of LMS systems. 

Benefits of loyalty program management software

Thanks to LMS, organizations improve consumer engagement and increase sales. With LMS, you will be able to easily run, manage, and track the performance of your loyalty program. Recognizing potential benefits, 81.9% of companies plan to invest more in building customer loyalty over the next three years.

As part of their programs, brands generally offer points, rewards, discounts, coupons, redeem codes, and cash backs motivating shoppers to buy more and boosting their satisfaction. To maximize profit, you should deliver a mobile loyalty app.

Top features of a loyalty program management system

As major corporations providing their own digital retail loyalty schemes to attract new customers, increase retention, and generate revenues, LMS integration is especially vital to SMEs for maintaining a competitive edge. The functionality of loyalty program management platforms may differ depending on your business goals. But there are some key features that you should implement.

Turnkey vs custom loyalty program software

Choosing between market-ready and custom loyalty management software is one of the most important decisions you need to take. Both options have their pros and cons, so let’s try to find out which one will align with your goals. Have a look at the images below.

How to choose between custom and turnkey software

To choose between a turnkey and custom loyalty program management system, it is important to set the primary objectives, determine the requirements, estimate budget, and take into account existing resources, for instance, in-house technical expertise. 

Loyalty program software for small businesses

As a rule, small companies pursue to quickly receive a cost-effective solution with a basic set of features. In order to address these challenges, they should turn to the vendor of a market-ready platform. There are numerous off-the-shelf loyalty program applications, for instance, Loyalty Gator, Marsello, Antavo, Loopy Loyalty, FiveStars, and Perkville. 

When searching for turnkey LMS, take into account aspects like prices, reviews, ratings, and functionality. Then, you should consider whether or not the supplier offers technical support and maintenance. 

Software for large-scale companies

Medium-sized enterprises and large organizations, in turn, generally pursue to meet business-specific needs while delivering the best user experience. What’s more, they seek for scalability to extend the product and flexibility to make changes at any time. High customization and a unique user interface (UI) / experience (UX) are also crucial. 

In this case, tailor-made loyalty management software will be the best option. With custom LMS, brands can implement any functionality whilst managing prices, upgrades, and feature rollback. To hire a trusted IT partner, you should check out portfolio, client testimonials, and firm rewards. 

Wrapping it up

Loyalty program management software will help you boost the audience’s engagement, minimize churn, increase the sales volume, and gain a competitive advantage. If you do not have specific requirements to a feature set and are unlikely to scale the product in the near future, you should pick a turnkey system. In case you need to deliver rich functionality and adapt a loyalty management platform to internal processes, tailor-made software is your choice.