Loyal customers are the difference between a small business struggling to survive and a constantly expanding renowned brand. Any business would find it difficult to survive on occasional one-time purchases. In fact, acquiring a new customer costs up to 25 times more than simply retaining the ones you have.

The good news is that keeping your patrons and increasing their lifetime value is not that hard. Actually, about 9 out of 10 customers would prefer to reuse the same brand if they feel appreciated. And is there a better way to make someone feel valued than giving something back in return? Honestly, there isn’t. In fact, 83% of customers claim they would spend more on brands they feel loyal to. You can pretty much see it happening with footwear, where people would pay $500 for plain white sneakers just because there is a brand logo on them.

So, as it seems, creating a loyalty program is the easiest way (next to actually offering quality products or services) to build a cult following for your brand. Now, we’ve discussed in length the Why, What, and How of loyalty programs just recently. So, if you missed this post, we urge you to read it before you continue. Today, we won’t discuss what a loyalty program is, why you need it, what types of programs exist, and what the best practices are. Instead, we will focus on the tools to help you build a successful loyalty program.

5 Best Customer Loyalty Plugins for WordPress Users

With 39% of all online stores being powered by WooCommerce and WordPress, it’s hard to imagine talking about loyalty programs without discussing their plugins. Indeed, the platform offers a goldmine of highly effective plugins that can help you build your loyalty program.

Though there are dozens of effective loyalty program plugins, we’ve chosen the 5 that we find most useful.

Sumo Reward Points

As the name suggests, Sumo Reward Points is a points and rewards plugin that allows you to build your unique loyalty program through its extensive options. You can award points for basically anything – purchases, writing reviews, sharing your products, referrals, signing up for your store, subscribing to your newsletter, and so on. These points can later be redeemed in the form of lucrative discounts and other prizes.

The best part about Sumo Reward Points is its seamless interface and extensive customization options. You can set points for all your products or choose just a few. You can set the value of each point and how much of it a customer would get if they did a specific action. But that’s not all. Sumo Reward Points allows you to create and customize emails to notify your patrons about their points and what rewards they can get.

Moreover, you can create Bulk Gift Vouchers, which can be pretty handy for holiday marketing campaigns. You can also restrict some users from earning and redeeming rewards or points if you suspect fraudulent behavior. For example, if someone buys and returns products with the only goal of accumulating points, you can actually punish them.

Another great benefit of using Sumo Reward Points is that their subscription fee is relatively low. Currently, the price is fixed at $49 annually, which is a steal considering what you get in return. Rarely can you find a more affordable loyalty program plugin.

WPLoyalty

The WPLoyalty plugin is another robust loyalty platform for WooCommerce, which is often preferred for its range of features and customization options. Just like with Sumo, WPLoyalty allows you to reward customers based on various actions, going a step further. With this plugin, you can award points for things like leaving a product review, reaching some achievements, and even for birthdays. Plus, you can choose whether to give points or go directly for discounts on one, some, or all of your products.

The best part is the customization options. They allow you to tailor your loyalty program precisely to your unique branding. While other choices are better for small businesses, WPLoyalty is perfect for fast-growing niches that expect rapid expansions. This allows you to retain your loyalty program despite the rapidly growing customer pool.

The dashboard will also allow you to make fast but informed decisions on how to tweak your loyalty program strategy based on real-time customer behavior. So, yes, WPLoyalty would be perfect for fast-growing and rapidly changing businesses, as you can make quick and efficient decisions based on facts, not on whims.

On the downside, WPLoyalty might be a bit overwhelming if you are looking for a simple solution to your loyalty program needs. Though the plugin is not complicated to set up, there is a slight learning curve, and for smaller businesses with unpretentious needs, there is hardly a reason to install such a complex solution.

Moreover, the starting price is twice as high as Sumo’s – roughly 100 USD annually.

Still, if you are after a loyalty program that can accommodate your needs regardless of your fast-paced development, WPLoyalty is the plugin for you.

MyCred

MyCred is another powerful ally when building your customer loyalty program. It offers a lot of the features the previous plugins do, but there is a twist. With MyCred, you can gamify your loyalty program, making it even more entertaining for your clients. Yes, you can still award points for purchases, subscriptions, and all that jazz, but you can skyrocket the customer’s engagement by offering points based on the outcome of some relatively simple games. This will make your customers stay on your website longer, which is an SEO goldmine.

Still, you can also customize your games to be a great marketing tool, such as introducing your products or simply giving discounts on the right merchandise.

Moreover, through gamification, you can give your customers different ranks, badges, and other small gestures to increase their satisfaction. This gives you the immense power to build your loyalty program how you see fit. The flexibility in redeeming the wards also empowers this. Customers can get cash, discounts, or anything else that will make your brand recognizable.

The best part is that the plugin is entirely free, so if you need just a basic loyalty program, you can build it for practically nothing. Still, you will have to pay starting at $29 for more advanced features and gamification.

On the downside, MyCred is not as seamless to work with as other plugins. There is a significant learning curve regarding the extensive customization options. Naturally, a newcomer would take significantly longer to initiate the program.

Though MyCred is an outstanding plugin, it may be too much for businesses needing simpler loyalty programs. However, for brands who are trying to impress their customers and engage them with more than simple points, MyCred is a Godsend.

WooRewards

As you might have guessed, WooRewards was explicitly created to complement the WooCommerce e-commerce platform. So, if you use a different plugin for your e-commerce needs, this one won’t do you any good. If you do operate with WooCommerce, however, WooRewards is a golden opportunity to enhance your loyalty program without needlessly loading your website.

Admittedly, WooRewards offers more simplistic loyalty program features, but it does allow you some customizability. Due to its integration with WooCommerce, it can utilize the data gathered from customers, and you can offer personalized rewards. For example, if someone is interested in a particular brand, you can offer them a discount on its products in exchange for reward points.

WooRewards doesn’t offer overcomplicated customization, and naturally, it’s an entry-level platform. Still, for new e-commerce owners learning on the job, WooRewards provides an outstanding solution with no learning curve and is seamless to set up and operate.

The only downside, except for the apparent lack of more advanced customizations, is the price. Currently, the cost is about $110 annually or $325 for lifetime use, which can be a bit salty for its primary target – new business owners.

Gratisfaction

Gratisfaction is another outstanding choice for those who want to build an enticing and entertaining loyalty program. The twist with this plugin is that it encourages customers to actively share your content. That’s why Gratisfaction is integrated with various social media platforms, which enables patrons to share their experiences, achievements, and rewards with a click of a button. Moreover, it rewards their actions with even more points. This is the perfect solution for brands with community-building goals.

The plugin is equipped with an advanced analytics panel, which provides detailed insights into users’ behavior. Naturally, this allows you to make data-driven decisions rather than just shooting in the dark.

Best of all, the platform allows you to segment users into different tiers. This way, you can base your rewards on factors like single-purchase values, purchase frequency, and others.

The only downside of this plugin is the insufficient free version, which allows only up to 100 customers. Moreover, the pricing starts at $19.95, and you are billed monthly, which is quite costly.

Still, Gratisfaction is a solid loyalty program solution that deserves a try, especially if you are looking into tiers loyalty program strategy.

Now that we have seen how to build our loyalty programs with WordPress, it’s time to look beyond. After all, not all online shops use WooCommerce or WP. So, let’s have a look at the best universal Loyalty Platforms anyone can use.

5 Best Customer Loyalty Platforms for Everyone

Though a sizable chunk of e-commerce websites use WooCommerce as their platform, the majority don’t use WordPress or this platform. Other platforms have a significant presence on the market as well. Squarespace Online Stores has 14.67%, Spotify has 10.32%, and Wix Stores has 8%. About 13% of all e-commerce websites utilize smaller platforms. Naturally, relying only on WordPress Plugins is not ideal when discussing loyalty programs. So, to accommodate this sizable chunk of the market, we also looked at customer loyalty program platforms that everybody can use, no matter their preferred e-commerce platform. So, let’s have a look:

LoyalZoo

LoyalZoo is on this list because it offers a unique twist. It’s one of the few platforms that give Hybride retailers with online and offline points of sale the opportunity to create a well-integrated loyalty program.

The platform offers a simple and user-friendly interface, making the setup process effortless regardless of your experience. Furthermore, you will be able to have some degree of customization, but that’s not its highlight. The showstopper here is the Digital punch card interface. Loyalzoo focuses on a customizable digital punch card interface, which has been shown to increase spending among card members. This feature is invaluable for those business owners with an offline point of sale. This interface will allow users to gain points from multiple stores within a chain, making it a great starting point for growing businesses. The branded loyalty card issued by LoyalZoo is a nice touch that can help you with your branding and image.

Still, there are some downsides. For starters, businesses operating solely online may find the platform lacking some features others offer. This becomes a bigger issue when you consider the price. Yes, the price is well justified for a business that will take advantage of its unique infrastructure. But for those who will only utilize its online capacities, the price is definitely too high.

The most significant disadvantage, however, is the platform’s dependence on a POS system. Businesses need to have POS systems in place to fully utilize Loyalzoo, which may not be feasible for all companies or may require additional investment.

Regardless, if you operate a hybrid online and offline business, LoyalZoo is definitely the first platform to check out.

Smile.io

We can’t ignore one of the largest rewards program platforms in the world, now, can we? Smile.io has over 100 million participating members and over 100,000 active reward programs.

The platform is extremely easy to use, and anyone can set it up in a matter of minutes. This makes it a preferred loyalty program platform for small businesses and startups. Moreover, the starter price of 49 per month is quite affordable. Yes, there is a free version, but it’s highly limited, and basically, it’s best to just go for the starter package from the beginning.

One of Smile.io’s highlights is its intuitive UX design, which was entirely based on merchant feedback. In essence, this is a platform that was more or less designed by the same people who use it. Naturally, it offers one truly vast customization library that could satisfy almost any need. The best part is that you won’t need a developer at any point.

Moreover, some pretty sweet details make the use of Smile.io even better. Like the nudges and on-site reminders, for example. They will encourage your customers to engage with the program, thus increasing your traffic and giving you more opportunities to sell.

The only downsides are its limitations regarding in-store applications and some POS integration problems. On top of that, there is little flexibility when it comes to messaging customization. Most importantly, you must check if the platform works with your e-commerce infrastructure. Though it works seamlessly with Shopify, Big Commerce, and Wix, some other platforms may experience difficulty integrating Smile.io.

Despite all, this Customer Loyalty Program software is a top solution for all sorts of businesses, regardless of their niche or size.

Marsello

Admittedly, Marsello is not among the most famous loyalty program software. The reason behind this, however, is not quite clear. The platform operates as an app development tool, which allows you to create a phone app that your customers use as a loyalty card. Naturally, this allows utilization across all sales channels, be it physical or online.

While Marsello functions as a development tool, it’s definitely not as hard. Operation is seamless and allows vast customization. Want to customize your points and rewards structure? No problem. You can add new rewards based on customer data and feedback, along with various other methods of incentivizing your audience to purchase.

Furthermore, the detailed data analysis done by this software allows you to segment your customers based on many factors. For example, if someone pays 3000 bucks in one visit but doesn’t return for months, while another customer spends 200 dollars weekly, you can customize rewards based on their purchasing habits.

Best of all, Marsello is truly effortless to integrate. It plays nicely both with big and small e-commerce platforms, as well as with WooCommerce. It connects seamlessly with POS and other e-commerce apps and utilizes AI to gather and analyze data and give you suggestions.

The price, however, is a bit steep, as you will have to pay $125-$135 a month for the basic package.

Marsello is genuinely one of the best and most flexible customer loyalty program platforms on the market. The price is well worth it.

Kangaroo

Local businesses are often thrown in the mix with national and global conglomerates. Of course, that’s unfair to these small mom-and-pop enterprises with vastly different needs. Kangaroo acknowledged that problem and created one truly inspiring loyalty program platform to accommodate their needs.

With a focus on customization and flexibility, Kangaroo empowers businesses to build personalized loyalty programs tailored to their specific needs and brand identity. One-size-fits-all is simply not their way.

One of Kangaroo’s key strengths lies in its robust acquisition and brand awareness tools, which include referrals, contest modules, social sharing, and raffles. These features help businesses attract new customers while fostering a sense of community around their brand. Moreover, Kangaroo’s personalized customer rewards, such as points rewards and specialized offers, incentivize repeat purchases and increase customer retention.

Additionally, Kangaroo offers powerful automation capabilities for email, SMS, marketing, and customer experience, streamlining communication and enhancing the overall customer journey. The platform’s reporting dashboard provides valuable insights into customer behavior and program performance, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions to optimize their loyalty initiatives.

Despite its outstanding features, Kangaroo has its fair share of downsides. The $59 a month may be a bit overwhelming for local shops. The 30-day free trial is a good start, but anyone who has tried creating a loyalty program knows it won’t produce significant results in the first 30 days. Moreover, though the vast customization options are, without a doubt, an asset, they may become a bit overwhelming for inexperienced users.

Still, Kangaroo is, without a doubt, the go-to loyalty program platform for local businesses. These small enterprises need precisely Kangaroo’s customization and a tailored approach to retain their customers.

FiveStars

Finally, we have FiveStars. This platform combines payment, marketing tools, automation, and rewards into a single software. Needless to say, this is a gold mine for rapidly growing businesses looking for an all-in-one solution.

One of FiveStars’ highlights is its simplicity and ease of use. With simple customer loyalty sign-ups and check-ins using a phone number, businesses can effortlessly onboard customers and track their engagement. Moreover, the platform offers automated campaign setup for rewards with in-app, SMS, and email integrations. This ensures you can effectively communicate with your customers and drive sales.

Furthermore, the platform can help you enhance your overall customer satisfaction by utilizing AI and customer satisfaction surveys. Naturally, this will lead to better customer retention.

However, FiveStars does have some downsides to consider. Firstly, the pricing information is not publicly available, requiring businesses to contact FiveStars for pricing details, which may be a barrier for some potential users. Additionally, while the platform does not offer a free plan, it compensates with a 30-day trial period for businesses to explore its features.

FiveStars is the all-in-one solution many startups and fast-growing businesses look for. It allows you to build your loyalty program based on data. Also, it gives you the opportunity to customize more than your loyalty program. You can match all your marketing messaging with your loyalty program and share it across all channels, allowing you to retain your branding and improve your brand awareness.

Some final thoughts

These are our picks for the best customer loyalty program platforms. There is something for everyone, indeed. Whether you are looking for a simple add-on for your WooCommerce online shop or searching for an all-in-one solution for your hybrid online and offline business, the choice is yours. Still, utilizing the right platform and knowing how to build yourself a stellar loyalty program is only half the job. Before all that, you need to find a brilliant hosting provider to ensure customers won’t bounce or struggle to load your website.

HostArmada offers you precisely this – a lightning-fast web hosting solution that utilizes robust security measures and provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee. With our help, you will never lose a customer due to poor page loading time or crashed websites. All you need to do is check our plans and pick the one that best suits your needs. And remember, loyalty starts with fast and secure access to your website. So, don’t delay your success.