4 best loyalty program apps in 2024

In an increasingly digital and competitive world, maintaining digital loyalty is becoming more important than ever, and is something that both businesses and social media content creators cannot afford to neglect in their marketing.

It's hardly surprising then that high-profile brands have been investing heavily in loyalty programs to bolster customer satisfaction, including the likes of Starbucks, Reebok, Lancôme, and more. But what's starting to gain more traction is loyalty rewards programs that revolve around social media growth and engagement, and that content creators can use to further grow their online presence; which in today's day and age is a form of digital currency, given the monetization opportunities on offer. 

In order to streamline loyalty and reward initiatives, a number of different apps have emerged that offer a seamless and user-friendly way to increase engagement and growth - all using referral, giveaways and rewards as a motivating force. The problem however, is that all have similarities and unique offerings, and for marketers who don't have a great deal of time, knowing which loyalty app to go with can be a time consuming pursuit.

But fear not. 

This article will save you a great deal of time by presenting a list of 4 of the best loyalty program apps of 2024! The insight provided will help you to identify apps that provide seamless integration so you can offer customizable loyalty and rewards initiatives to your existing/target audience in order to enhance customer engagement, satisfaction and retention.

Growing your loyal customer base or social media community has never been easier, so read on to learn more!

What is a loyalty program app?

Put simply, a loyalty program app is a digital tool that allows brands and content creators to seamlessly implement and manage loyalty and reward programs in order to increase customer loyalty, sales, or social media growth. In practice, what these apps do is allow loyal customers (or community members) to obtain various types of rewards for simply interacting with, or purchasing from a brand.

Traditionally, loyalty programs have tended to revolve around loyalty cards or points, where stamps or digital points were awarded for in-store or online purchases. But as more and more people are starting to engage with their favourite brands or influencers online, modern loyalty program apps have become more than just a conventional stamp card, and are now more about sophisticated digital experiences such as interactive contests.

Below are the two main types of loyalty programs in 2024.

Types of loyalty programs:

• Traditional customer loyalty programs: These require customers to perform transactions such as purchases to earn (redeem) stamps or points.
• Social media rewards programs: They grant loyalty points for social media interactions to leverage the platform’s expansive reach for brand growth.

The key to an effective loyalty and reward program is finding the balance between rewarding customers, and encouraging them to do something on behalf of your brand or business. It is why customized loyalty solutions can significantly contribute to a brand’s ability to do this seamlessly. 

The benefits of using a customer loyalty app

The integration of loyalty and reward apps offer many benefits for both businesses and content creators, and can really make the difference between a streamlined and exciting loyalty campaign, or a stressful and cumbersome one. 

Below are some of the benefits you can expect to get from using loyalty apps and platforms.

Convenience

The first obvious benefit when using a loyalty program app is convenience. Customers/community members respond much better to a streamlined loyalty process compared to one that is complex and manual. So what a loyalty app does is allow for everything to occur in one place, and easily accessible  through a smartphone or laptop. 

Customization

Another benefit of using an app for your loyalty program is that they tend to have an array of different  customization features that small businesses and content creators can use to tailor their approach. So whether it's providing growth tasks, unique rewards, managing stamps, or creating special events for loyal members, a customizable app allows you to adapt to your specific needs. This level of customization helps in designing unique experiences that resonate much more with your target audience.

Streamlined referrals

Perhaps one of the biggest appeals of loyalty apps is how they can effectively streamline referrals. Unlike in the past when referrals had to be carried out manually, people that want to participate in loyalty programs can now do so through unique referral codes that are embedded in these apps. This makes it much easier to promote amongst friends, resulting in an increase in participation.

In addition to this, these apps allow for referral tracking that is 100% accurate, which means that participants will never be denied their rewards due to human error; which is something that has arisen back in the days of manual attribution.

Analytics

As far as medium and long-term benefits are concerned, you can greatly benefit from the analytics dashboard found within most customer loyalty program apps, as these insights can really help you to understand the behaviour of customers and community members. This data is collected whenever your chosen app is used by your customers or any community member, and information can then be employed towards readjusting your future loyalty strategies with impact.

Cost-effective

Loyalty apps are more affordable than traditional marketing channels as they enable marketers to reach and keep customers at a cheaper rate. Through personalized offers and rewards, you can target existing customers’ base for greater conversion rates with minimal expenses. Furthermore, the information gathered within these apps may be utilized to fine-tune advertising strategies; thus enabling you to focus your energies on areas that will generate highest return on investment (ROI).

4 must-have loyalty rewards apps

For businesses and content creators looking to enhance their loyalty programs, the following four apps are excellent starting points.

1. Tropee

Overview: 

Tropee is the leading loyalty and rewards program that is designed to turn your audience into a powerful growth engine.  Using Tropee, content creators and brands can get their followers/community members to partake in an array of different tasks that are specifically designed to bring about social media growth (Instagram, Twitter, Twitch and more), engagement and referrals. What's more, this can all be done with just a mere click. 

Pros: 

Below are some of Tropee's main selling points.

• Customizable tasks: You can choose from more than 80 different tasks that align with your goals, and if you can't find any, then you can simply create your own from scratch. This variety ensures that participants can help you achieve your goals in a myriad of different ways.
  
  
• Unlockable rewards and giveaways: Incentivize immediate engagement through unlockable rewards for the purpose of obtaining desired user actions. The more tasks that are completed, the more rewards that can be unlocked.
  
  
• Simple link sharing: Content creators and brands can easily share their Tropee rewards program by simply using a unique URL. This can be included on your landing page, blog posts, social media profiles, email signature; and anywhere else you have an online presence. This allows you to gain participants from various online locations.
  
  
• Built-in viral sharing: Tropee has built-in sharing, meaning that anyone who wants to participate in a loyalty program can get points for every referral. What this does is significantly increase the likelihood that a reward program goes viral, and this is because there's a strong incentive for participants to generate as many referrals as possible.
  
  
• Auto-updated tasks:  Instead of having to create new tasks manually, Tropee can simply update them automatically instead. For example, if your original task was for your community to watch a YouTube video, this feature automatically updates this task with another video to watch. In other words, your tasks will constantly stay up-to-date and relevant.
  
  
• Easy-to-use analytics: Tropee provides easy-to-use analytics that can tell you how many tasks have been completed; which countries are driving the most visits to your program, and real-time updates on how many participants have recently joined; among other useful information.
  
  
• Free plan: Tropee is 100% free, and what's more, no credit card is required when signing up.

Cons: 

Although Tropee is arguably the best platform at what it does (social media growth and engagement leveraging prizes and rewards), it may not be what consumer-based businesses are looking for due to many requiring more traditional loyalty points programs. However, if you have a business that has an online presence, then Tropee can bring significant online growth.

2. Smile.io

Smile.io is a leading loyalty platform that focuses on small and medium-sized businesses that use Shopify. The platform boasts a comprehensive set of tools for referrals, managing loyalty points, and VIP programs; all with the aim of enhancing customer engagement and retention.  

Pros:

Below are some of the main selling points for Smile.io.

• Wide range of integrations: Smile.io is integrated with various well-known marketing and business intelligence tools like Mailchimp, Hubspot and Klaviyo; all which contribute to a united front in loyalty program management.
  
  
• User-friendly interface: The platform is very easy to use, is quick to set up, and is easily customizable; even for those without technical backgrounds. Suffice to say, Smile.io can be used by absolutely anyone.
  
  
• Robust support: In addition to offering a wealth of educational resources such as e-books and informational blogs, the platform also offers 24/7 support, meaning that if users encounter any problem, then Smile.io will be there to quickly remedy this.
  
  
• Versatile plans: Last but not least, Smile.io has a wide-range of plans available, including a basic free plan, to more advanced that entail unlimited integrations, and VIP programs. So whatever your budget, you can find a suitable plan for your needs. 

Cons: 

Because Smile.io focuses more on e-commerce platforms, the platform is more ideal for online retail businesses, and not so much for content creators and digital brands. So content creators who want a loyalty solution that goes beyond the consumer side of things are better off choosing a platform that is more targeted towards social media growth.  

3. Loyoly

Overview:  

Loyoly is primarily focused on Shopify-based businesses, and serves as a loyalty and referral platform aimed at strengthening customer relationships and increasing sales. It achieves this by providing several utilities that encourage re-purchases, increasing brand engagement, and helping to create new customers.

Pros:

• Versatile engagement strategies: Loyoly offers more than 30 unique engagement strategies, and caters for a wide-range of customer preferences and behaviours. This allows for more bespoke (and tailored) interactions.
  
  
• Streamlined loyalty program management:  Loyoly streamlined loyalty program management, where businesses can easily tailor their programs by setting rewards, defining the rules, and tracking the performance of their campaigns with the utmost efficiency.
  
  
• Referral program optimization: This platform gives brands the tools they need in order to launch impactful referral programs that encourage customers to expose your brand, and to bring about new purchases/sign-ups. Like the other platforms, this is a cost-effective utility for expanding reach and customer acquisition.
  
  
• Actionable customer insights:  Loyoly offers valuable insights into how each program is doing. This data allows businesses to spot trends, tailor their strategies, and personalize each reward for greater engagement and loyalty. 
  

Cons:

The level of customization might be limited compared to some competitors. Furthermore, Loyoly's primary target audience appears to be e-commerce businesses, so it may not be as useful for other types of business models.

Conclusion 

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it's increasingly clear that brands and content creators need to continuously find innovative ways to foster loyalty and engagement among their audience. So whether you're looking to bolster customer satisfaction, enhance social media engagement, or streamline your marketing strategies, the 4 aforementioned loyalty apps offer powerful solutions to help you achieve these goals.

But please note, before signing up to one of these loyalty apps, you should first take your time to research into each value proposition, and see which one best aligns with your operational needs. One suggestion is to make sure that your chosen solution has the right mix of convenience, customization and cost-effectiveness.

Best of luck with your loyalty reward campaigns!