It takes 21 customised messages over 60 days to effectively onboard a new loyalty program member.
At Zeta Global, we call this the 21/60 Principle: Make 21 touchpoints (by email, SMS and/or push) in 60 days. Note that 21 is a guide rather than a rule – program managers need to adapt the number of messages and time period to suit their customers’ purchase patterns.
A custom, crafted onboarding message journey is the key to success. Encourage meaningful engagement; don’t hand out discounts like confetti that only erodes margins and conditions new members to expect discounts. Remember, at this stage, they are no longer anonymous – they’re an opted-in loyalty program member who deserves to be treated that way.
Why does onboarding matter to a loyalty program’s success? And how long does the onboarding stage last?
Firstly, it’s a crowded loyalty landscape. The average Australian consumer belongs to 10 programs but is only active in half of them (per Adam Posner’s For Love or Money 2025 study). A strategically planned onboarding campaign lays the foundation for new members to remain loyal over the long term.
Secondly, membership does not equal engagement, as reported in Honeycomb Strategy’s The Science of Loyalty 2025 study, which found that a large proportion of members are not actively using the program they signed up for. In many programs, new members are enticed to join with a ‘Welcome’ discount offer, which they gleefully redeem, never to buy again – diluting margins for no material gain.
Thirdly, and most importantly, program onboarding is the honeymoon period between retailers and members. It’s the time to demonstrate genuine appreciation and value, setting the expectation for lasting engagement and loyalty in return.
An effective onboarding strategy aims to establish loyalty habits early (purchase frequency, location and AOV), nudge members to a second purchase (without discounting), and stimulate velocity to the first redemption. Reaching the redemption milestone signals the end of the onboarding stage and the start of a continuous messaging journey that influences future purchases, gathers insights for future personalisation, and delights the customer.
What does a strategic onboarding campaign look like? Zeta has a five-step process to guide a new member program induction.
- Enroll wisely to avoid attracting opportunists* chasing instant savings.
- Ask (at scale) for preferences, lifestyle, interests tastes, etc via contextual surveys.
- Segment the audience based on zero-party data captured in surveys.
- Aspire with offers to visualise “what’s in it for me” in near and distant future.
- Wow them with a reward or other mechanic like badges.
(* People who join programs to get immediate savings but are unlikely to continue to buy, as defined in For Love or Money.)
Planning an onboarding journey avoids the pitfall of too quickly moving new members to the BAU messaging journey. This is especially critical if BAU is batch-and-blast campaigns that do not resonate with new members’ needs or expectations, after the promises that got them joining in the first place.
Every business will have an optimal messaging cadence that starts with “Welcome to the program” and ideally ends with ‘Congratulations, you’ve earned a reward’. To reach the first reward sooner, collect zero-party data so members start to experience more personalised messages and offers. At the same time, establish points-earning habits that keep new members engaged that pay dividends beyond the onboarding phase.
A crafted onboarding strategy generates multiple customer touchpoints and data feeds, from purchases and preferences to engagement and entertainment. This data informs messaging strategies over the customer lifecycle, directly contributing to stronger financial performance, including CLV and AOV. The effectiveness of this approach is supported by Zeta clients, where scalable onboarding has led to long-term success.
Some final tips for an effective onboarding campaign.
- Offer bonus or accelerated points earning options instead of discounts.
- Map the onboarding journey from joining through earning to redeeming, paying careful attention to the customer experience so friction points and opportunities to delight are identified and leveraged.
- Test small, targeted rewards tied to non-spend actions (e.g. referrals, content engagement) and measure their impact; test and learn to improve long term outcomes.
- Encourage action and ask for purchase intent, like “Keep going, you’re XX points from a reward” or “What’s next on your wish list?”
- Time the “ask” when customers are most receptive, such as post-purchase/redemption.
- Mix traditional product rewards with experiential ones (e.g. VIP access, event invite) to reinforce emotional values.
When a customer joins a loyalty program, they’re signalling a desire for recognition that goes beyond being an anonymous buyer. Not all of them will stay for the long haul, but if a brand doesn’t start building a relationship from day one, and shepherd new members to their first reward in that first critical two-month window, it’s missing out on a rich source of opted-in, consent-based data, which in turn is the virtual ‘fuel’ supporting long-term business growth.
