Creating profile-based loyalty programs

Reward customers with loyalty points linked to their customer profiles.

important

Before you create a loyalty program, enable the loyalty feature.

Click Loyalty on the leftmost menu.
Click Create Loyalty Program, then click Profile-Based.
In Basic info, enter the program's basic information:
- In Loyalty program name, type the name you use to find the loyalty program.
- In API name, type an identifier for your loyalty program. It can be used for integration purposes.
  
  note
  You cannot change this after you create the loyalty program.
- (Optional) In Description, type a description to help you identify the program.
In Time zone, select the reference time zone.
note
The time zone setting is used for:
- Displaying analytics in the loyalty dashboard.
- Start and expiration dates for rewards added manually or via the Rule Builder.
- Sending loyalty program notifications.
You cannot change this after you create the loyalty program.
(Optional) In Join policy, select the policy that defines when customers join the loyalty program. Select one of the following policies:
- Points earned: Customers join the loyalty program when they earn points for the first time.
- Points activated: Customers join the loyalty program when their points become active for the first time.
note
You cannot change the selected policy if there are point transactions in the loyalty program.

In Reward schedule, define when your rewards become active and when they expire:

In Reward start date, select whether your rewards become active immediately or on a date relative to the customer session.

Examples: Relative reward start

For all the examples mentioned in this table, we assume that the customer session closes on 12 October 2024, 07:20:50.

Relative reward start date	Points become active on
`10` minute(s) after the session	`12 October 2024, 07:30:50`
`1` hour(s) after the session	`12 October 2024, 08:20:50`
`5` day(s) after the session	`17 October 2023, 07:20:50`
`5` day(s) after the session, start of the day	`17 October 2024, 00:00:00`
`5` day(s) after the session, end of the day	`17 October 2024, 23:59:59`
`1` week(s) after the session	`19 October 2024, 07:20:50`
`1` week(s) after the session, on the last Sunday	`20 October 2024, 23:59:59`
`1` month(s) after the session	`12 November 2024, 07:20:50`
`1` month(s) after the session, on the last day of the month	`30 November 2024, 23:59:59`

In Reward expiration, select whether your rewards have an unlimited validity or expire on a date relative to the session.

Examples: Relative reward expiration

For all the examples mentioned in this table, we assume:

The customer session closes on 12 October 2024, 07:20:50.
The rewarded loyalty points are active immediately.

Reward expiration	Points expire on
`10` minute(s) after the session	`12 October 2024, 07:30:50`
`1` hour(s) after the session	`12 October 2024, 08:20:50`
`5` day(s) after the session	`17 October 2023, 07:20:50`
`5` day(s) after the session, start of the day	`17 October 2024, 00:00:00`
`5` day(s) after the session, end of the day	`17 October 2024, 23:59:59`
`1` week(s) after the session	`19 October 2024, 07:20:50`
`1` week(s) after the session, on the last Sunday	`20 October 2024, 23:59:59`
`1` month(s) after the session	`12 November 2024, 07:20:50`
`1` month(s) after the session, on the last day of the month	`30 November 2024, 23:59:59`

(Optional) In Return policy, choose how loyalty points are rolled back for partially returned, cancelled, and reopened customer sessions. By default, only pending loyalty points can be rolled back.
- To allow the deduction of active points when there aren't enough pending points in the customer's loyalty balance, enable Active points deduction. The active customer balance cannot be negative.
In Subledgers, click Enable Subledgers to be able to create subledgers in your loyalty program, or click Disable Subledgers to disable this option.

note
Subledgers inherit all the tiers and their point thresholds from the main ledger.
You cannot change this after you create the loyalty program.
(Optional) In Tiers, create tiers for your program and define their settings:
1. Click Create Tier and configure the following parameters:
  - In Tier name, type the name of the tier.
  - In Min point threshold, define the number of points needed for customers to enter the tier.
2. Click Save to create the tier.
  
  Repeat as needed to create up to 20 tiers. You can also create your tiers later.
3. Select when to downgrade customers who do not have enough points to remain in their tier after it expires:
  - Immediate downgrade: The customer is downgraded to a tier that matches their current balance as soon as they don't have enough points to remain in their current tier.
  - Scheduled downgrade: The customer remains in their current tier until the tier is reevaluated.
  important
  - If there are point transactions in the loyalty program, and if scheduled downgrade is active, you can edit only the Tier name setting.
  - For performance reasons, tier reevaluations occur every 30 minutes. A tier that starts on March 1, 10:40:00 that is reevaluated monthly might instead be reevaluated on April 1, 11:00:00, at the nearest 30-minute interval.
4. For Scheduled downgrade only:
  - In Expiration type, select one of the following options:
    - Relative to program join date: The tier is reevaluated relative to when the customer joined the loyalty program.
      - In Reset every, set how often the tier is reevaluated. For example, every six months, on the last day of the month.
    - Relative to tier join date: The tier is reevaluated relative to when the customer joined the tier.
      - In Reset every, set how often the tier is reevaluated. For example, every week, relative to the tier join date.
    - Absolute expiration date: The tier is reevaluated relative to the start date of the tier cycle for all customers in the loyalty program.
      - In Tier cycle start, select the start date of the tier cycle. For example, March 1, 2024.
      - In Reset every, set how often the tier is reevaluated. For example, every two years.
  - In Select how to downgrade customers..., select one of the following options:
    - Match current balance: The customer enters the tier that matches the number of active points in their point balance.
    - Go down one tier: The customer enters the tier below their current tier.
In Environment, select the environment for your loyalty program and the Applications you want to connect to the program:
- In Loyalty program environment, choose between a live or sandbox environment.
  
  note
  You cannot change this after you create the loyalty program.
- (Optional) In Connected Applications, select which Applications you want to connect to the loyalty program.
  
  note
  To use a loyalty program, you have to connect it to one or more Applications. After creating the program, you can edit it to connect it to new Applications and remove former ones as many times as you wish.
Click Create Program.

You can find the created program on the Loyalty page, and you can use it directly in your campaigns.

tip

To reward customers with loyalty points linked to cards that they can use to collect and spend points, see creating card-based loyalty programs.

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