In a time of economic uncertainty, ruthless competition and ongoing transformation, companies of all types look to loyalty programs to protect share and fuel growth. The most effective programs no longer act like isolated “earn-and-burn” schemes. They operate as integrated platforms and fully connected ecosystems that deepen emotional ties with customers, unlock richer data, and open new revenue streams  

As history shows, loyalty programs are not “set-and-forget” endeavors. Ongoing investment and continuous improvement are required to stand out from the pack and maximize bottom-line impact over the long term. But recent research and market experience show that companies can modernize and optimize their loyalty programs by applying the principles of platform businesses (e.g., connecting consumers with richer offerings, leveraging network effects) to generate uncommon growth.   

The Evolution of Loyalty Programs: From Purchase-Driven Schemes to Differentiating Experiences 

In the early days, loyalty programs were narrow in scope and operated in simple, straightforward fashion: customers earned points for purchases and then redeemed those points for discounts or special offers. Typically, the goal was to drive repeat purchases though monetary rewards and recognition. These programs worked well enough that they became standard in some industries, though there was a common downside to their transactional approach: increased pressure on margins that sometimes sparked a race to the bottom.  

Today, loyalty programs have become commoditized because of intense competition and the dominance of co-branded credit cards. There is an entire sub-culture of “points experts” and consumers who make a hobby of maximizing their rewards. Rising customer expectations for rewards and benefits make any modifications to loyalty programs a sensitive matter.  

Over time, forward-looking brands began to see loyalty as a platform for growth, not just a retention tactic. Today, the most effective programs function like connected ecosystems, going beyond the foundation of rewards and recognition to build communities, foster long-term engagement and even attract new customers. Instead of rigid tiers of rewards, benefits are more flexible and can be customized to customer needs. Most recently, paid membership models have added another dimension of opportunity for deeper engagement and differentiation.  

The big insight is that emotional loyalty – built through connection, community, and relevance – is more powerful and sustainable than more traditional approaches focused exclusively on transactional rewards. Though they can be difficult to create, emotional connections turn loyalty programs from marketing cost centers into drivers of scalable growth and multipliers of brand value.  

A Brief History of Loyalty Programs 

The first loyalty programs date back centuries and trading stamp programs were common in the early 1900s. But the modern era began in the early 1980s, when major airlines started frequent flier programs.

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The Business Case for Investing in Loyalty 

Though the benefits of loyalty programs are self-evident to executives in many sectors, research reveals the full depth and breadth of the value proposition.  

Increased Revenue and Profitability

At a time when marketers are being asked to simultaneously reduce overall spend and grow revenue, loyalty programs help them do more with less. According to Antavo’s annual Global Customer Loyalty Report,  83% of loyalty program owners report positive ROI with an average return on investment of 5.2x. 

Other research shows that increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%. Retained customers are also more likely to try new products and spend more than new customers because they are familiar with the brand. Given pervasive economic uncertainty, CMOs can’t afford to overlook such huge potential upside.  

The B2B value proposition is just as compelling, given the value of long-term relationships. Because B2B organizations have customer retention rates of 76%-81%, according to Forrester, and acquiring a new B2B customer costs five to seven times more than retaining an existing one, marketers have every incentive to  prioritize  loyalty programs in their growth plans.   

Acquisition, Not Just Retention

Well-designed loyalty programs offer a clear incentive to choose one brand over another. Programs oriented around exclusive experiences (e.g., early product drops, dedicated store hours, members-only perks, access to exclusive restaurants) can attract even the most demanding (and highest net-worth) customers. Further, they can drive word-of-mouth referrals by encouraging loyal customers to share the program with others. 

The ROI of loyalty programs should also account for customer lifetime value (CLV) and reduced churn, which are especially important in times of cautious consumer spending. One study found that loyal customers spend more than 30% more and that emotional connections to brands can lead to a CLV that is more than 300% higher.  

Data as Differentiator

Modern loyalty programs generate rich, first-party data about customer behavior, preferences and intent that power more relevant offers and richer customer journeys from day one. This is perhaps the most valuable information a company can get, particularly in the post-cookie world.  

Further, the insights and data assets produced by loyalty programs are especially important for companies that are not digital natives but want to build or adopt elements of platform businesses. No longer just for tech companies, digital platforms provide visibility across the customer journey, enabling the company to watch customers make choices, use what they acquire and interact with partners.  

The insights companies generate at every interaction offer opportunities for companies to add value. Loyalty data can also be used for strategic purposes, informing decisions about product development, service design, transformation initiatives, and even M&A strategy. 

Winning With Modernized Loyalty Strategies 

So, what does it take to be able to leverage loyalty programs as platforms for growth? And what leading practices can firms embrace to optimize the impact of their loyalty programs? In our market experience, we’ve identified a few attributes that characterize the most successful strategies. 

Integration and personalization are the keys to creating engaging experiences across channels and for making loyalty programs essential vehicles for content, community, gamification, and ongoing interaction, not just transactions. They can even lead to major business model enhancements. And they are required for any firm that wants to develop paid loyalty options, with customers purchasing direct access to enhanced services (e.g., free delivery, members-only offers) or exclusive status tiers. 

Fully Integrated and Data-driven:

First and foremost, loyalty strategies must be fully embedded in all interactions, including digital and physical environments and with every part of the organization (e.g., sales, service, billing). Modernized loyalty programs avoid restricting offerings to a card, app, or location. Such cross-platform and omni-channel connectivity has emerged as a leading practice.   

The data generated by loyalty programs can – and must – be operationalized to personalize the entire customer journey in line with individual preferences. For example, Sephora analyzes purchase history and applies AI tools to recommend products and personalize offers for members of its Beauty Insider program. The results are impressive:  

• A 30% increase in customer engagement via personalized offers
• 3x higher annual spend among top members  
• 15-25% higher annual revenue from active users 

Purposefully Engaging

In fashion and apparel, the emphasis has shifted from solely monetary driven (e.g., points) to meaningful engagement around passion points. The North Face has advanced its loyalty program, XPLR Pass, by connecting rewards to outdoor exploration, sustainability, and social connection. By emphasizing community, shared values, and experience, the company has embedded the brand more deeply into customers’ lifestyles.  

Similarly, H&M’s membership program rewards recycling and sustainable choices, with direct alignment between its loyalty strategy and ESG goals. The result? More than 120 million members across 26 markets now contribute 35% of overall revenues, with Plus members spending 3x more than non-members.  

Gamified and Fun

Giving customers extra reasons to engage helps foster growth. KFC enhanced its loyalty program with a gamified arcade offering spin-to-win features and in-app challenges. This content and entertainment hub led to a 53% increase in app downloads and a 40% rise in reward redemptions. Same-store sales jumped 12% thanks to 25% of customers increasing their visit frequency.  

High-value and Revenue-generating

CMOs should ensure they measure the effectiveness of loyalty programs based on tangible commercial metrics. That may be especially important for B2B organizations, given that there’s a common misconception that loyalty programs are largely for B2C industries. Miele’s B2B Dealer Loyalty Program features tiers based on sales volume and has moved the needle on critical metrics including 19% sales growth and a 62% rise in average appliances sold per order. 

Many prominent tech companies offer expert training, advanced technical support, networking opportunities, referral bonuses, and marketing support to their most loyal corporate customers. The most effective of these programs have seen engagement and customer retention rise by 40%, as well as 10%-20% gains in annual revenue. 

Growth has become harder to capture and sustain. Yet against this challenging backdrop, most organizations still default to “safe” initiatives, pursuing incremental gains while underestimating the urgency of disruption. Others scramble for creativity without commercial grounding. Too many delays in launching new products or services, losing precious time to competitors. 

Although growth is a top priority for business leaders, in reality, very few companies systematically scan for and evaluate new and bolder growth opportunities. This leaves the rest vulnerable to stagnation. Meanwhile, new business models and technology innovation are shaking up competitive landscapes and changing industries forever.  

While this uncertainty is unsettling, growth is still possible. In fact, disruptive business models are poised to drive a significant share of future growth. Studies show that over 40% of CEOs expect to reinvent their business models within the next decade to stay competitive.  

The message is clear: incremental improvements are no longer enough, even for traditionally stable sectors. Companies must have the conviction to take a bold and differentiated approach if they want to outpace disruption and deliver measurable results.

Understanding the Growth Issue

So, what are the interconnected forces that are contributing to negative cycles?

• Saturated Markets
  Everyone is chasing the same customers with near-identical offerings. Marginal tweaks or upgrades no longer stand out.
• Relentless Disruption
  AI, geopolitics and changing regulations are rewriting the rules. Reinventors win. Reactors fall behind.
• Organizational Constraints
  Outdated systems and risk-averse silos block change. The biggest barriers are often internal.
• Data Without Direction
  Too much data, not enough clarity. Insight only matters if it drives action.
• Culture Dilemma
  Disconnected cultures stall growth. Motivation suffers when purpose, leadership and values misalign.
• Shifting Expectations
  Customers want relevance, responsibility and personalization. Staying ahead means constantly being responsive and adapting.

Together, these forces create a paradox: growth has never been more essential, but it has never been harder to capture.  

The Scenarios of Growth

So how can companies position for the long term? At Prophet, we see growth as more than short-term fixes. Our Uncommon Growth Moves approach is a systematic set of innovative and human-centered strategies to drive exceptional, sustainable, above industry average growth over a five-year period. 

These typically happen in six critical business situations. Although each scenario carries high stakes, they also have the potential to serve as a powerful engine of change:

• Launching a new business model or platform
• Entering a new market, category or subcategory
• Developing a new channel or touchpoint
• Creating a new, or revitalizing a product or service
• Launching a new brand or rebranding
• Entering a new partnership or pursuing M&A

The Four Steps to Uncommon Growth

Driving uncommon growth requires more than just aspirational ideas or solid business discipline on their own. So, what can set you apart? The real power lies in combining imagination with rigor. This means bringing together creative exploration to uncover transformative opportunities, but at the same time, anchoring ideas in commercial analysis, to ensure they can be executed at speed and scale. 

The real value is recognizing how to identify and initiate a path towards lasting growth. Prophet’s proven four-step approach helps leaders balance these forces, turning ambition into impact, as we demonstrate in these real-world examples: 

1. Immersion and Strategic Framing

Focus on the most promising growth spaces by identifying unmet needs, disruptive analogues and future “swim lanes” for innovation.
 
For example, we worked with a multinational telco company to uncover its customers’ pain points and frustrations. Based on this research, we led a significant brand refresh that positioned them as a genuine alternative to the competition. This resulted in 17 quarters of customer and revenue growth and five billion U.S. dollars in revenue attributed to this reframed approach.

2. Creative Exploration and Concept Development

Conduct rapid ideation sprints with interdisciplinary teams, clustering and prioritizing bold concepts based on impact and feasibility.
 
We recently worked with a global FMCG company to help them explore and evaluate more than 300 new product concepts. This involved bringing together their leaders in a large, in-person co-creation event, that was reinforced by AI-supported ideation sessions.

3. Business Casing and Road-Mapping

Model revenue potential, resource needs, and feasibility to ensure that ideas are grounded in commercial reality.
 
One company we partnered with had ambitious plans to be an early mover in releasing a new product. When building their fast-paced go-to market and break-even plan, we ensured the approach was commercially viable and impactful.

4. Launch Planning and Activation

Translate ambition into market impact with execution blueprints, campaign development, and leadership engagement tools.
 
A well-executed launch is not just about unveiling a product or service. It is a bold statement that helps you to stand out in a crowded marketplace. We partnered with a leading global bank to develop a series of immersive, high-touch roll-out events for a new product, that targeted high net worth individuals and created more than 500 new leads.

References: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/c-suite-insights/ceo-survey.html

Under the banner of “Uncommon Growth,” we’re exploring what happens when CEOs and CMOs truly see eye to eye—not only in vision but in execution. In this conversation, we speak with with Chris Michalek, CEO and Erica Sniad Morgenstern, CMO of Personify Health, who share their unique experience in merging two distinct organizations, launching a new brand and leading with aligned purpose in an evolving marketplace. 

Personify Health is the first and only personalized health platform, created through the merger of Virgin Pulse and HealthComp. Bringing together health navigation, holistic wellbeing and benefits administration in one place, Personify empowers employers to deliver a better health experience for their people—through customized coaching, simplified benefits, and engaging programs. By optimizing investments in people and improving health outcomes, Personify is redefining what it means to build healthy businesses. 

To start, when you launched Personify, what were the core goals you set out to achieve?

Chris: Whenever you bring two companies together, especially ones from different sectors, you hope one plus one equals three. We wanted the combined capabilities to accelerate growth that neither could have reached independently. We see that today – clients are buying capabilities across both legacy companies, and that cross-pollination is creating real value. 

For example, we’re now selling our well-being solution into the TPA market in a way we wouldn’t have otherwise. And vice versa, well-being relationships are opening TPA opportunities. All of this should drive a growth rate one to three percent better than what others are seeing in the market. 

Erica: And we knew early on we needed a net-new brand to signal to the market that this wasn’t a legacy offering. This is a new category, created to solve a massive market need. The brand had to reflect that ambition from the outset. 

What has been the biggest challenge in trying to create a new category in the market? 

Chris: Teaching buyers to buy differently. They’re used to segmented purchasing, often through brokers. We’re telling them: “You can buy a holistic solution now, not siloed pieces.” That’s a mindset shift—and your value proposition must be airtight to succeed. 

Erica: Time is also a challenge, specifically, buyers’ time and attention. You must break through quickly. These were two very different buyer groups and we’re asking people to reframe how they think. That takes effort, so we needed a brand and a go-to-market strategy that hit hard and fast to earn that extra moment of consideration. 

Let’s talk about change management. You had to launch and integrate during buying season. What did that effort look like internally and externally? 

Chris: We prioritized integration—but recognized over time that both businesses needed to thrive independently too. We pushed hard to unite, and now we’ve stepped back slightly to ensure both legacy businesses are strong independently. That’s part of managing change—knowing when to push and when to pull back. 

Erica: We also had to pace the change for our clients. Internally, we moved fast. Externally, we were thoughtful—still using legacy app names where needed—so we didn’t disrupt their experience. There were moments when Personify was public-facing, but the Virgin Pulse app was still in use. That was intentional. We needed to manage the “pain of change” for our clients respectfully. That dual-speed transition was key to protecting our relationships. 

How would you describe the growth goals for Personify? Was it about exponential growth or steady progress? 

Chris: I call it smart growth. That means targeting the right customers and leveraging synergies to tell the story of how our capabilities make us better across the board.  For example, positioning ourselves as the most technology-forward TPA by leaning into well-being engineering capabilities. Or using our TPA data depth to position our well-being offerings as more informed and effective. That synergy makes each side stronger. 

We also doubled down on customers. Growth starts with retention. So first: retain and grow existing customers. Second: innovate. Third: enable a world-class commercial function. That’s how I think about growth. 

What’s the role of AI in that growth strategy? 

Chris: AI is central to our product innovation. It’s embedded into everything. From what customers see to how our engineering teams work. We’re using it to accelerate development and maintain competitive speed. If we don’t, we’ll fall behind—quickly. 

Erica: From a commercial standpoint, AI was a huge accelerator. One of the first things we did was train an AI tool to match our tone of voice. That helped us scale brand execution. AI also became a key part of our innovation story—used as a brand differentiator in how we talk about our solutions. 

You both clearly work in sync. What makes the CEO-CMO relationship work here—and why does that alignment matter? 

Chris: It’s a continuum—we balance each other. Sometimes she brings the big idea, and I take a more practical approach. Other times it’s the reverse. We have a good mix of purpose and innovation. It’s not always easy, but we have mutual respect, and we trust each other. And we’re both willing to take risks or bring the team back to execution when needed. 

Erica: Trust was there early on. We both came in aligned on what’s best for the company – not personal agendas. And I always back things up with data. That matters to Chris. He’s extremely metrics-driven. 

Chris: And I’ll add—I’ve worked with marketing for 20 years, but today’s marketing is more complex than ever. I’ve had to admit that I don’t know as much as I used to. Erica’s helped bring me along. Things like lead generation are now multimodal, AI-driven, and operationally intense. I respect her ability to communicate complexity. 

Erica, what advice do you have for other CMOs who want a real seat at the table? 

Erica: Seek to understand friction, not fight it. I had to step back and realize there was an education gap—not just on their end, but mine too. I needed to explain our world better and understand his more deeply. My advice is: embrace mutual curiosity over adversarial dynamics. 

Chris, what’s your advice for marketers trying to earn that CEO partnership? 

Chris: Relationships matter more than reporting lines. Erica never demanded to report to me; she focused on building trust and driving impact. Second—results over activity. CEOs are always asked what’s driving growth. I need marketers who can give me those answers. Bring data. Bring outcomes. That’s what earns trust. 

How did you define the role of brand in launching Personify—and what does it mean to employees? 

Erica: Brand is demand. It’s the currency of trust and the start of every commercial conversation. So, we built a brand that could sell—but also one with emotional resonance and mission clarity. From day one, our core was putting people at the center. The brand had to reflect that. 

Chris: Brand became our internal compass and external promise. It gave us a shared identity, and it helped our people rally around a unified mission. It helped us articulate values and culture. Even today, I keep the brand visible in my workspace because it’s meaningful. It was the right move, both short- and long-term. 

Chris Michalak is a purpose-driven leader with three decades of experience in the health and human capital industry. Most recently, he served as CEO of Personify Health. Previously, he held leadership roles as CEO of Alight Solutions, global chief commercial officer at Aon Hewitt, and CEO of Buck Consultants. Now Executive Chairman at Personify Health, Chris leads growth initiatives, strengthens client relationships, and guides the Board of Directors. He has also served on several boards and is graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Michigan State University.  

Erica Sniad Morgenstern is Chief Marketing Officer of Personify Health, where she leads marketing strategy, demand generation, product and client marketing, and corporate communications. She spearheaded the company’s successful rebrand to Personify Health, bringing creativity and impact to every initiative. Previously, she held senior marketing and communications roles at Welltok (acquired by Virgin Pulse) and Epocrates, the app of choice for half of all U.S. physicians. A graduate of the University of Florida, Erica is also an active member of Chief, Csweetener, The CMO Club, and Gator to Gator.