So, we hear you’re unhappy with your loyalty program’s current platform. Don’t worry, there’s no witchcraft involved and my name isn’t Cassandra either, it’s just that you’re reading an article about loyalty program migration. So you are looking for pointers on how to carry out this seemingly simple task. But don’t be fooled: switching from one technology to another can be full of hidden traps. Luckily for you, I’m here to tell you all about them.
In this article, we’ll guide you through the most important steps of switching to a more capable tech provider – from preparation to launch – and help you avoid seemingly small, yet costly issues that could prevent you from wrapping up the replatforming project on time.
In case you’re looking for a more in-depth look at the data migration process specifically, you should check out our new ebook, The 7 Deadly Sins of Data Migration in Loyalty Programs.
Step 1: Gather Your Existing Program Documentation
Migrating your loyalty program to a new platform is a complex task that could be time-consuming without a proper system. Your first step is already a make-or-break one: retrieving the original program concept documents.
This is absolutely crucial for the new provider since they must rebuild the entire program structure from its foundation. By providing them with the blueprints you essentially turbocharge the project early on. On the other hand, it’s also important to properly review this concept document, and see which areas might need improvement.
Remember: you need to have a detailed concept even if you want to recreate your existing loyalty program 1-to-1. Still, when reviewing the concept files you should concentrate more on highlighting potentially unnecessary elements, by weeding these out you streamline both the migration process and the program itself.
Resources to support migration are the biggest impediment to technology migration. Most enterprises have many initiatives to choose from and each one has demand on people, processes and likewise have an associated risk when change is involved. Many companies are adverse to change and thus the challenge for the Marketing, Loyalty and IT organization as well as Project Management Organization is to build the business case, align resources and prove out that this effort is or should be one of the top 3 initiatives for the coming fiscal year.
Involve Key Departments Across the Company
Since the loyalty program migration process is just as considerable an undertaking as a new implementation or a revamp (when you tweak the program structure too), make sure to assemble a cross-functional team representing key departments. Not only will you need their help in the future (smart and capable CRM specialists and developers will come in handy with the data migration for example), but they can also provide necessary insights regarding the project (Marketing, Finance, CX, etc).
Step 2: Select your new loyalty technology provider
Now it is time to identify and choose your ideal loyalty program vendor, which consists of three major steps:
- Do your homework: Meaning, complete a thorough research of the loyalty industry, determine key players, and compare loyalty providers based on your specific needs.
- Next, you should conduct an RFP process: By sending out a comprehensive, Q&A-style request for proposal to a select number of vendors, you’ll be able to adequately compare providers and narrow down the list to the most capable candidates.
- Then it’s time to conduct the one-on-one discovery calls: It’s highly important to involve only the 2-3 most capable vendors, discuss the timeline with them, request a live demo, and perform a feasibility check.
Need a little help kickstarting your RFP process? Make sure to check out our Loyalty Program RFP Worksheet, featuring 30+ essential questions about functional, non-functional, and pricing-related requirements for your loyalty program.
Step 3: Translate the Concept Into a Defined Project Scope
Having successfully selected your new vendor, your next priority should be to turn the agreed-upon concept into a thoroughly defined, realistic scope. This way all stakeholders involved will clearly see the list of actionable tasks, requirements, costs, and deadlines regarding the project.
In terms of loyalty program migration specifically, these actionable steps need to involve scoping out functional and non-functional requirements as well. For the functional category, you should think of specific use cases: What happens to rewarded benefits after the customer returns the products, or which actions a newly invited friend needs to take for both members to gain a “friend referral bonus”?
In terms of non-functional requirements, think of third-party necessities, such as what types of loyalty data will be required by your email provider to send out fully personalized communications. All of these finer details will need to be examined early on, so your provider can supply a truly realistic plan.
Don’t Forget the Project Kickoff
After completing the scoping phase and selecting a capable project manager to truly handle and monitor the progress, it’s also important to carry out an official kickoff. During this meeting, set up and finalize the chronological list of tasks and deliverables, delegate each one to a suitable team/team member, and assign realistic deadlines (acceptable to your internal team, tech provider, and involved third-party vendors as well).
Step 4: Putting It All Together: Platform Setup and System Connections
After weeks of vendor selection and careful scoping, now it’s finally time to integrate your chosen loyalty vendor’s platform into your own system (and any necessary third-party platforms as well). Your utmost priority here: creating a seamless and secure data flow.
What does it mean to connect a loyalty platform to your system? In reality, this equals building a two-way road between you and your vendor. First of all, a platform like Antavo will receive the customer insights, such as purchase data from your system, and then Antavo will run the loyalty logic (for example, calculate how many points this action was worth), and forward this information to your user interface, so loyalty members will be able to see the updated points balance on their membership pages.
Once the integration is finished, the data flow is truly seamless. The next phase is to build the loyalty logic back up again on its stronger and more capable new foundation. This entails setting up different features, uploading images, and defining your currency conversion logic, as well as many of the other fine details.
Two major challenges in migrating MarTech technology are data management and transformation management. Ensuring accurate and secure data transfer can be complex. Data integrity and compatibility issues can arise, leading to potential data loss or corruption. Migrations driven by end-of-life tools or cost-saving measures often lack a future vision, hindering innovation and affecting customer engagement. Change management is crucial in this process. Ensuring all stakeholders are on board and trained to use new systems is essential, as resistance to change can slow down the transformation
Antavo’s Well-Developed Integration Ecosystem
Adding a new technology vendor to your existing tech stack always has its own set of challenges. When choosing Antavo, you’ll be able to access a wide range of available integrations, from engagement and data platforms to AI-powered document processing solutions, and sports activity trackers. Take a look at a few highlights from our integrations portfolio:
1. Shopify app
- Enables companies using Shopify to channel data to the Antavo Loyalty Engine more easily than ever before
- It’s publicly available with an easy-to-use, point-and-click interface
- Setting up and using the app requires no programming knowledge
- Comes with regular updates and exciting new additions
2. Klippa integration
- AI-driven receipt scanning easily expands your loyalty program’s reach
- Helps you capture useful customer purchase data from third-party channels, like outlets, retailers, and franchisees
- Especially useful for the FMCG sector and fashion brands
3. Garmin integration
- A truly innovative solution to take your loyalty program to the next level
- Any sporting activity can be rewarded and used as part of a loyalty program challenge
- Excellent way of activating and engaging customers outside of the buying cycle
Step 5: Data Migration and UAT (User Acceptance Testing)
The next significant step of the migration process is data migration. This means bringing over all the invaluable loyalty program data from the previous platform (whether it was another provider or an in-house arrangement) to the new one. It has several undeniable benefits, such as standardizing the data sets, achieving increased data security, and a more elaborate access control system.
In order to successfully complete this project, and achieve said benefits you seek you need to pay attention to two key elements: One, create a detailed timeline and a realistic plan. Two, avoid unnecessary mistakes like forgetting about data hygiene or underestimating the time requirements for this part of the project.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) means testing the configuration, a.k.a double-checking that your newly migrated loyalty program works just the way you planned. It is a month-long process that helps catch any problems or anomalies before your members do. It is important to note: UAT must be done in-house or by a system integrator, not the tech vendor.
Regarding UAT, make sure to test all possibilities, both good and bad, to avoid any hiccups down the line. For example, what happens if a customer earns a higher tier but then returns their purchase? Do they stay in the new tier or go back down to their old one, even if it might be disappointing?
Looking for more details on how to properly execute data migration, and how you can avoid committing common mistakes? Download our Data Migration Ebook for a more in-depth explanation.
Step 6: (Re)Launch the Right Way
You’ve completed the whole process, gone through all the necessary steps, double-checked, and tested your work. All that’s left to do now is to relaunch your loyalty program, powered by a much more flexible and powerful engine that truly fits your goals.
This is where you involve your loyal customers as well. First of all, it’s highly advised to let your customers know in advance that the program will be relaunched, and as with every go-live, there could be smaller glitches. It’s also important to ask them to report any errors, lost points, or other kinds of mishaps they might be experiencing, so A: you can solve them, and B: ensure proper compensation.
Finally, all that’s left is to enjoy the new system, monitor the effects of the changes made, and come up with better-than-ever campaigns for your loyal audience.
Ready for the Big Move?
Migrating your loyalty program to a new technology provider is definitely not a small undertaking. It involves moving a tremendous amount of data, from customer information, through transaction history to rebuilding the program logic on a new, more robust ground.
Whether you’ve started because it was time to upgrade to a pure-play vendor from in-house or simply swap out your current outdated technology for a newer, more innovative platform, we hope this article helps you navigate this new phase of your loyalty journey.
For even more information on loyalty program replatforming and re-design, make sure to check out our brand new Migration Hub, where we’ve collected all essential downloadables and articles regarding these topics.
In case you already feel good about taking the next step don’t hesitate to reach out to our experts, book a demo, or send us an RFP.
Also make sure to take a look at our new ebook, The 7 Deadly Sins of Data Migration in Loyalty Programs, and find out more about the undeniable benefits of data migration.
Zsuzsanna is a Loyalty Specialist with years of experience in digital marketing and e-commerce. Zsuzsanna is known for having an analytic approach and high-level communication skills, helping her deliver engaging content. In her free time, she enjoys watching Formula 1 and listening to endless Taylor Swift playlists.
