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Wheel of Progress Loyalty
The Wheel of Progress is a framework created by Eckhart Boehme and Peter Rochel leveraging jobs-to-be-done principles and methods to evaluate why customers "hire" a given product or service to accomplish a Customer Job.

It provides a canvas to be used when conducting consumer research to evaluate the journey a customer takes from first thought to continuous use of a given product or service. The framework enables capturing insights related to 12 individual elements of customer progress: Events (first thought, triggering events, hiring decision, job satisfaction); Forces of Progress (push, pull, habit, anxiety); Constraints (internal, external, time-based); Desired Outcomes (seek to achieve, hope to avoid); Hired Solutions (your product/service, competitor offerings); and Experience (customer jobs, pains, gains). There's alot to cover when talking about the framework (achieving richer customer insights) so I only highlight a few aspects of it in this blog post.

 

Loyalty Program Assessment

Leveraging the wheel of progress to reevaluate your customer loyalty program

Research shows that monetary rewards are not the only driver for customer loyalty programs, aspirational and emotional needs must be met as well. For customer loyalty programs to be successful over time, programs must be designed taking into account four key program considerations summarized below:
 
 

(1) Head and Heart

Program benefits must be tailored to both the head and the heart.

Offering only monetary benefits, a simple earn-and-burn mechanism, is no longer good enough. Customers want relationships with brands that make them feel appreciated, special and valued.

(2) Today and Tomorrow

Customers desire programs with both short-term and long-term benefits.

Customers want the ability to accumulate points towards a longer-term big reward, while, still being able to receive near-term benefits without losing too many points.

 
 

(3) Easy to Understand and Use

Program structures must be easy to understand and use in order for customers to get the most out of them.

Reducing the customer effort (cognitive, physical, emotional, time-based) is critical to driving new aquisition, program usage and retention within your loyalty program.

(4) Entire Loyalty Journey

Programs must engage effectively with customers at each stage of their loyalty journey.

A well structured loyalty program engages with each and every customer based upon where they are in the journey (awareness, consideration, joining, pariticipating, sharing/advocating).

 
The Wheel of Progress and its associated jobs-to-be-done based interview approach to can be used to assess whether rational, emotional and aspirational benefits are being realized by existing loyalty program members.

Types of Loyalty Programs

Different Loyalty Program Strategies

The purpose and objectives behind a given loyalty program can differ greatly from program to program. Here are four main strategies behind some well-known customer loyalty programs.

Embrace Top Spenders

Many loyalty programs are designed to embrace top spenders, focusing special perks, rewards, and benefits on their most loyal customers. This exlusivity is designed to hopefully entice others to join, aspiring to receive the same loyalty program benefits. VIP status is typically based upon annual fees/subscriptions and/or annual spend.

Avis Preferred, DoorDash, NorthFace VIPPeak, Sephora Rouge Status, RH Members

Target Priority Segments

Other loyalty programs are designed to serve important customer segments having different levels of spend and engagement with the brand. Often times these types of programs are structured as tiered programs offering tailored value propositions. Tiering can be based upon different factors (e.g., on-line activity, points earned, annual spend, miles traveled, purchase frequency, individual challenges/ badges, etc.).

AlaskaAir, Estee Lauder, Sephora Beauty Insider, Marvel Insider, Marriott Rewards

Engage Mass Market

Other loyalty programs are designed for everyone to be able to participate offering equal access to the same perks, discounts, rewards, and benefits. These programs are built to establish strong core brand alignment (e.g., everyday low prices, your everyday store) and build an ongoing connection (e.g., text, email, or App-based) and relationship to encourage future visits and purchases.

Starbucks Rewards, Gap Rewards, Petco's Pals Rewards, Target Circle

Superior Experience/Relationship Platform

Other loyalty programs are designed to be a platform for building a loyal customer base over time leveraging multiple touchpoints, a variety of products and services, coalitions or partnerships, best-in-class-analytics, and superior customer experience. These programs understand and recognize the value of each and every customer relationship and are designed to maximize share of wallet across products and services.

Amazon Prime, Costco, Tesco, AirMiles, TapTap

Regardless of the loyalty program strategy you decide on it’s of utmost importance that the customer experience you deliver is unique and differentiated. The ultimate goal of all customer loyalty programs is to unlock greater value for companies by driving higher sales and creating a stronger connection with the brand.

 
McKinsey Top Performing Loyalty Programs.png

As represented above, results can vary between top-quartile and botom-quartile loyalty programs across key dimensions of assessing the effectiveness of a given loyalty program to drive changes in customer behavior.

 
 
 

Loyalty Cycle of Customer Progress

From First Thought to Continuous Use


The Loyalty Cycle of Customer Progress is used to map out the timeline from First Thought to Continuous Use of your loyalty program. Jobs-to-be-done based interviews with actual loyalty program members help uncover deep insights into how different loyalty program members make progress (or not) towards achieving their functional, emotional, and/or aspirational jobs-to-be-done.

 
 
The Wheel of Progress Cycle of Progress.png
 
Leveraging jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) interviews we gain insights into every aspect and stage of their loyalty loyalty journey. In addition, we gain an improved understanding of the degree to which individual loyalty program members have established new habits and behaviors or whether they continue to seek alternative solutions to their original jobs-to-be-done.

First Thought

An initial recognition, sometimes sub-consciously, that their current situation needs to change, that things could be better. That participating in a loyalty program might benefit them.

Passively Looking

Starting to observe, discover or learn about different ways in which their unmet wants or needs could be met thru a loyalty program. Observing but not actively investigating.

Triggering Event

Something that occurs, a critical moment in time, an event that takes place, causing someone to transition from passively to actively looking or from actively looking to deciding.

Actively Looking

Beginning to expend greater time and effort to find a solution to their unmet wants and needs. Seeking to address or solve a problem sooner rather than later. Actively investigating participation in a loyalty program.

Deciding

Having done their research regarding solution alternatives, now evaluating different ways to solve their problem, making trade-off decisions. Deciding whether to join your loyalty program.

HIRING/Joining

Making the actual decision to 'hire' (or join) your loyalty program after evaluating the pros/cons of different alternatives. The hiring decision and its associated trade-offs establishes the expectations regarding the loyalty program.

Consuming/Participating

Starting to make use of the loyalty program and its associated benefits, sometimes simply as a trial, assessing whether it meets their expectations, wants and needs.

Continuous Use

Building a new habit through participation in your loyalty program. Participation levels likely vary across different members, purchasing behaviors may have changed or not. Confirmation that the orginal unmet wants or needs have been addressed.

Each individual passes through each of these stages of the loyalty cycle of progress. Insights gained at each stage of this journey can be leveraged to rethink and/or redesign your existing customer loyalty program.

The Four Motivational Forces

Understanding Switching Behavior

During the timeframe in which someone is deciding whether to 'hire' (join) your loyalty program, several motivation forces are at play. Two of these motivational forces can be considered promoting forces (push and pull) and two of them can be considered blocking forces (habit and anxiety). Having an improved understanding of switching behavior can drive both improved aquisition and retention.

 
Eckhart Cycle and Four Forces.png
 

Push

The push of the current situation, pain point, unmet want or need motivating an individual to seek out or search for new solutions to their problem (or status quo).

+Loyalty Program Examples

Fear of missing out on something special, friends and family share about rewards received

Avoid waiting in line, slow response times, etc. as a standard customer

Reduce hassles of poor customer service

Unable to participate in special deals or rewards

Don't feel valued as an existing customer despite their spend or brand advocacy

Pull

The pull of the new idea/solution, representing a desired future state or resolution to a known pain point or problem, representing progress.

+Loyalty Program Examples

Be able to buy more or save money on future purchases

Get amenities not offered to other customers (e.g., free shipping, free tailoring, special discounts, etc.)

Receive exclusive rewards or early access to products and services

Get cash back on purchases reducing credit card bills and payments

Recieve premium VIP service (no lines, faster check-in/out, etc.)

Belong to something unique or differentiated; feel part of something special

Habits

Habits are considered a blocking force in that they prevent an individual from deciding to 'hire' (or join) a loyalty program. They represent an allegiance to the status quo (or good enough).

+Loyalty Program Examples

Loyalty to an existing brand, product or service

Loyalty to existing credit card or bank

Avoid waiting in line, slow response times, etc.

Reduce hassles in customer service, getting the attention they deserve

Unable to participate in special deals, discounts, or rewards

Unable to budget or save money for travel or other rewards

Anxieties

Anxieties are considered a blocking force in that they prevent an individual from deciding to 'hire' (or join) a loyalty program due to anxieties (or concerns) about it.

+Loyalty Program Examples

Privacy or security concerns related to providing personal information or using card

It takes too long to earn rewards, or too much spend to earn something meaningful

Points will expire before they are able to make use of them

Rewards not valuable enougth given their spend over time

Changes in the program over time more likely to benefit the company over them

A given decision to "hire" (or join) a loyalty program represents switching behavior. This is the point in time where promoting forces are greater than blocking forces. Studying the switching behavior of your existing loyalty program members can help identify ways in which to target other prospective loyalty program members, helping them overcome the same blocking forces.

The Four Quadrants

Capturing different aspects of the Loyalty Journey


As customer interviews are conducted different aspects of the customer experience are captured related to their loyalty journey: awareness, expectations, trade-offs decisions, and pains/gains of the experience.


Wheel of Progress Awareness.png
Wheel of Progress Expectations.png
Wheel of Progress Experience.png
Wheel of Progress Tradeoffs.png

All insights gained related to The Wheel of Progress are mapped to the different quadrants of the wheel for each customer interview conducted. In addition, insghts are synthesized across all interivews identifying key themes (or patterns) within each quadrant related to opportunities to improve the overall loyalty journey. Both tactical and strategic opportunities are identified so that insights can be actionable.

I want to learn more about leveraging The Wheel of Progress and jobs-to-be-done interview methods to evaluate my Loyalty Program.

 

Loyalty Program Research Sprint

Assessing your loyalty program using the wheel of progress

Capturing key insights about the customer cycle of progress related to your loyalty program leveraging jobs-to-be-done interview methods and techniques. The following is a breakdown of the key activities performed during the five to six week CX Research Sprint:

 

Pre-research

→ Define hypothesis regarding what's working, not working with existing customer loyalty program

→ Assemble core project team, outline activities, define roles and responsibilities

→ Educate on The Wheel of Progress and how it will be utilized

→ Define scope of customer interviews to be performed (geographies, customer segments, number of interviews)

→ Determine participant recruitment strategy (including participation incentives)

→ Design screener to segment customers and select desired participants

CX Research

→ Invite and select participants across each targeted customer segment

→ Conduct customer interviews leveraging The Wheel of Progress

→ Listen for first thought, struggling moment, events, triggers, constraints, and four motivational forces

→ Listen for insights across each quadrant of The Wheel of Progress (awareness, expectations, trade-offs, and experience)

→ Close customer interviews, thank participants, and payout incentives

→ Create transcripts of customer interviews for further analysis

Post-research

→ Publish transcripts from interviews for core project team review

→ Analyze customer conversations in greater detail (as necessary) related to The Wheel of Progress

→ Translate conversations and map to the Wheel of Progress, capture key quotes related to each quadrant (awareness, expectations, trade-offs, experience)

→ Review and refine initial Wheel of Progress notes/insights from interviews

→ Summarize core themes and learnings from research

→ Present findings and make recommendations

SPRINT DURATION: Five to six weeks

Professional Fees: $20,000 - $25,000


Based upon scope/number of interviews conducted (pricing based upon 8 to 12 customer interviews); additional expenses estimated from $1,275 to $2,000 for participant recruitment and interview transcripts.
 

Ready to conduct your assessment of your customer loyalty program leveraging The Wheel of Progress?

Benefits To Be Realized

Loyalty Program Asessment


Leveraging The Wheel of Progress to evaluate your customer loyalty program, capturing the voice of the customer through jobs-to-be-done interviews, will provide the following benefits:
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Boost your Customer IQ by uncovering previously hidden insights regarding how your loyalty program helps your valued members make progress in their lives (or doesn't).

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Gain a better understanding of the entire loyalty journey from First Thought to Continuous Use and the underlying customer-jobs-to-be-done at each stage of the journey.

 
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Identify both tactical and strategic opportunities to improve and/or restructure your customer loyalty program to drive improved acquisition, engagement, and retention.

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Refine your loyalty program value proposition; helping further differentiate it in a increasingly crowded customer loyalty program marketplace.

Wheel of Progress Case Studies

A couple of recent engagements

 

Canada Goose

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Canada Goose

Canada Goose makes performance luxury apparel, especially warm winter parkas. Founded in 1957, practicing uncompromised crasftmanship, it sells through its own retail stores, its website and luxury department stores around the globe.

Approach:

Conducted Ideal State Journey Mapping workshop to co-create new and engaging customer experiences pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase. Focal areas informed by previously conducted qualitative and quantitative research around the customer journey.

Result:

Created an inventory of both tactical and strategic ways to improve customer experience from new marketing campaigns, to new lifestyle/activity based shopping, to size/fit guides, to finding product in stores, to caring for it, to stream-lining the repair/replacement process. 

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G Adventures

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G Adventures

G Adventures is a small-group adventure travel company offering more than 700 different tours in more than 100 countries. It strong brand is built around 5 core values, one of which is “We LOVE change people’s lives”.

Approach:

Immediately upon completing a data-driven customer journey mapping study, pulled together a cross-functional team from brand, marketing, product, and customer support to create G-branded experiences for its travelers at each stage of the journey.

Result:

Created a CX Roadmap outlining ways to improve the traveler experience from dreaming about their first trip, to planning their second trip, to improving the booking experience, to preparing for travel, to engaging with their tour guide and fellow G adventurers during their trip.

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