Vitamin Shoppe’s Health Awards loyalty program has been available for several years, but four months ago company officials revamped their platform to drive a better and more seamless customer experience.
Loyalty360 caught up with Rose Hamilton, Chief Digital Officer, Vitamin Shoppe to learn more about the refreshed loyalty program.
When did the revamped loyalty program launch?
Hamilton: The Vitamin Shoppe’s Healthy Awards loyalty program has been available for many years. This April, the company refreshed the program and rolled out additional benefits for our Healthy Awards members. As part of enhancing our customer experience, we made an impactful upgrade to our loyalty program, switching to a quarterly redemption program from our annual redemption program offered previously.
The Vitamin Shoppe Healthy Awards Club is six million members strong and represents approximately 90% of the company’s sales.
Customers earn 1 point for every dollar spent with the Vitamin Shoppe. The Vitamin Shoppe automatically tracks points and adds them up at the end of every quarter. If members have earned enough points, they’ll receive a Healthy Awards Certificate, which may be redeemed for free merchandise once a quarter.
What factors prompted the launch and what are your goals for the program from a customer engagement/customer experience perspective?
Hamilton: We’re always looking to enhance the value proposition for our customers and look to make the program more valuable. It’s a continuous evolution to create a more meaningful program for our valued members. We plan to add more features and benefits over the coming years.
What makes this program unique?
Hamilton: The new quarterly structure provides more flexibility to deliver incentives to customers throughout the year. It’s a seamless experience to use online and in stores. It is also important to point out that there is no fee to become a member.
How sophisticated would you say your customer experience and customer loyalty initiatives are?
Hamilton: Delivering the best customer experience is at the core of what we do at the Vitamin Shoppe. Our knowledgeable store Health Enthusiasts set the Vitamin Shoppe apart from other retailers. The Vitamin Shoppe’s loyalty program is highly personalized. Utilizing our CRM database and in-house analytics, we’re able to deliver dedicated, personalized communications to members due to the high level of engagement and the amount of shopping data that we capture.
We continue to hear about brands that are looking to create alignment between their customer loyalty efforts and the brand promise. Should all brands try to become the next “Apple” or “Amazon?” Or is it more realistic and/or beneficial for brands to understand their own unique brand identity, and then define objectives, process, and programs that align with that unique identity?
Hamilton: It’s important to understand your customers and what is most important to them to create value.
There is a lot of talk about customers changing. How do you feel customers are changing and how are you adapting to that change? Is this just the case for your brand or vertical? Or is this affecting everyone?
Hamilton: Customers are changing with technology at their fingertips. Brands need to understand customers’ unmet needs and find ways to leverage technology and data to meet those needs and create value. Our research with today’s wellness consumer made it very clear that having a seamless experience across online, mobile and in-store is vital for our customer experience. We are continuing to leverage our loyalty program to be more personalized, as well as interact with our best customers more often and increase shopping frequency. Customers want the omnichannel experience and the Vitamin Shoppe is working to deliver that effectively.
How does employee loyalty and/or employee engagement fit into the customer loyalty discussion?
Hamilton: The majority of our Health Enthusiasts, Vitamin Shoppe employees, are members of the Healthy Awards program. Our Health Enthusiasts are passionate about health and wellness and are some of our most loyal customers. They are true advocates for our brand.
How do you measure customer experience loyalty?
Hamilton: It’s measured by our ability to attract and maintain customers.
How do you keep up with these metrics?
Hamilton: We have a dedicated loyalty team at the Vitamin Shoppe that is consistently working to enhance our program and provide the best possible experience for our valued customers.
Customer Loyalty – can you define that for us? What does Customer Loyalty Mean to you/your organization?
Hamilton: Health and wellness is a very personal experience. Our Healthy Awards customers are part of a community focused on health and wellness and customer loyalty builds upon that engagement.
How is customer loyalty being prioritized in your organization?
Hamilton: Customer loyalty is a top priority for the Vitamin Shoppe. Our Healthy Awards Club is six million members strong and represents approximately 90% of the company’s sales. This revamped program is a new platform for us to build better experiences for our customers, and continue to roll out new benefits as time goes on.