Paid Subscription Customer Loyalty Program

Now that you know how rewards programs work, the paid customer loyalty program — or subscription-based loyalty program — can be easily adapted to your e-commerce or brick-and-mortar store.

Paid loyalty, or fee-based loyalty programs, give customers immediate and ongoing benefits for a participation fee. These fees can be recurring or one-time.

Paid programs may need to require proof-of-value to get signups, but the business can gain higher customer value from members. A recent report by McKinsey shows that consumers are 62% more likely to spend more on a brand after joining a paid loyalty program. Giving away custom-branded matches like the Full-Color 2-inch Matchboxes or using them as an incentive for a  paid program is the start of a perfect plan.

The most common example of a paid loyalty program is Amazon Prime. There is a different value for each of the “Unlimited” Amazon packages and customers can choose which they would benefit from the most.  While it seems like a hard model to mimic, paid loyalty can suit many different business models.

There are three elements that successful paid loyalty programs have in common:

1. The benefits clearly outweigh the fees, which encouraged sign-ups.
2. Members stick around for more experiential advantages, like personalized experiences and members-only content.
3. Engagement levels are high. Paid programs have a continuous flywheel of interaction that elevates the program’s value.

Not sure where to start? Ask customers what they want from a rewards program. You can easily run a survey or poll with your customer base to find out. Then create a rewards program accordingly.

Read about the four basic types of customer loyalty programs.

1. Points-based Loyalty Program – Published 03/10/2023
2. Tiered Loyalty Program – Published 03/17/2023
3. Paid Loyalty Program – Published 03/24/2023
4. Value-based Loyalty Program – Published 03/31/2023

Have you read about all of them?