Omni Core · Loyalty Programs · Module
Winding down
How a programme ends or changes without the change being experienced as a betrayal.
The idea
How it works
A reduction in earning or redemption value is felt far more sharply than an equivalent increase was appreciated. The asymmetry is well established and is consistently underestimated by whoever proposes the change.
Members experience an ending as a withdrawal of something they earned, regardless of the terms. How it is handled is remembered longer than the programme itself was valued.
Working with it
In practice
- 01
Give real notice
Long enough to redeem what was earned. Anything shorter is experienced as confiscation whatever the terms say.
- 02
Honour what was earned
Even where the terms allow otherwise. The saving is small and the damage is not.
- 03
Explain the change plainly
A reduction presented as an improvement is recognised immediately and adds insult to the change.
- 04
Expect a reaction disproportionate to the value
Loss aversion means a small devaluation produces a large response. Plan the communication for that.
One level in
The components of winding down
A component is something that exists afterwards which did not exist before — a deliverable or a mechanism, not an intention.
A reduction presented as an improvement is recognised immediately, and it adds insult to the change.
The other modules in loyalty programs
The mechanism
What the programme actually does — what earns, what is earned, and what it can be exchanged for.
LearnThe economics
What the programme costs, including the liability that accumulates, and what it returns.
LearnBehaviour change
Whether members actually behave differently because of the programme, established by comparison rather than by assumption.
Learn