Well, that didn't go quite how we planned!
I was stoked to finally announce the launch of our new Outpost Tribe loyalty system the other day, However, the transition from the old system to the new has been full of technical challenges.
Long story short, when we switched over from the old loyalty system to the new system, two things went wrong;
- The new system automatically rounded down the points.
- When calculating a conversion ratio to convert from the old loyalty dollars to the new loyalty points, my calculations were slightly off.
These two factors combined meant that most people's points (and therefore the rewards they could access with their loyalty points) were significantly less than they should have been. Which meant they had lesser rewards available to them in the new system compared to the old. We had a few customers understandably upset about this and we have been working around the clock to correct every customers loyalty points.
For the past month, I have literally had my head buried in and brain befuddled by multiple spreadsheets each containing 15,000 or so customers.
But, I think I have just about finally resolved this issue! I have updated the loyalty points of every customer with an email address so hopefully now their available rewards are in line with the rewards you had access to in our old (in-store only) loyalty program.
Note; due to the limitations of the system, I cannot bulk edit the loyalty points of customers with no email address entered. And as there are literally thousands and thousands of customers with no email address, it is too mammoth a task to update them all manually in one go. If you haven't shared your email address with us, please do so now via the email address below. I will add your email address to the system, set your preferences to "does not subscribe to/subscribes to marketing" (based on your instructions) and make sure your loyalty points are where they should be.
I will continue to update this blog post with more info as and when we make updates/learn more so do stay tuned.
A couple of notes re the new loyalty system.
- If you haven't shared your email address with us please do so next time you use our Tribe loyalty program. An email address is vital because (a) it makes it easier for me to adjust your points if they are out of whack, (b) it allows us to make sure we have the right customer when assigning Tribe loyalty points and (c) it means we can contact you to sort out any loyalty points issues. Note: You don't have to opt into marketing emails if you share your email address with us!
- The new Outpost Tribe loyalty system allows you to earn points, not dollars. Once you hit certain levels of points you can claim certain vouchers with a dollar value. You earn 1 loyalty point for every dollar you spend. The rewards and points needed to earn them currently are; 200 points = $10 voucher, 500 points =. $25 voucher, 1000 points = $50 voucher. (We will probably add new rewards over time).
- With the old loyalty system, you could only use your loyalty dollars when you hit $15 of loyalty. With the new system, you can spend loyalty rewards as soon as you have enough points for a $10 voucher. This means that with the new system more customers will have access to a loyalty reward sooner.
- The old loyalty system did not work on our website, only in-store. The new loyalty system syncs with both so regardless of whether you shop with us in-store or online you can always earn/redeem loyalty rewards and your loyalty points always stay in sync.
- You can only use one reward/discount voucher per purchase.
- If you have more points than required for a certain voucher, you can claim it and keep the balance of your points to start saving for your next reward or you can keep spending and earning points and save up for a bigger reward.
- Because the new loyalty system works off points not dollars and there are set rewards available at set points levels, the new loyalty system may show that you have a lesser reward available to you than you saw with the old loyalty program but the points should be equivalent to your old Vend loyalty dollars. Eg if you had $15 loyalty dollars available to you in the old system, this will translate to 300 points in the new system which will enable you to redeem a $10 voucher and have 100 points left, OR wait until you earn another 200 points and then access a $25 voucher.
- Because the new Tribe loyalty program syncs our online store with our 2 brick-and-mortar stores, it takes a few minutes after you make a purchase before your loyalty points show up in the system. But you will receive a notification email (if you have shared your email address with us) anytime you earn or spend points. So, best bet is to give it 15 minutes and then check your emails for confirmation rather than check in-store immediately after you have made a purchase.
USING THE NEW TRIBE LOYALTY PROGRAM WHILE SHOPPING ON OUR WEBSITE
Even if you have already signed up to our loyalty program and have a bunch of points, the first time you want to earn or spend loyalty points on our Outpostnz.com ecommerce store you will need to follow these step-by-step instructions;
- Go to www.outpostnz.com
- Wait up to 30 seconds for the "Join the outpost tribe" button to show up bottom centre of browser window
- Click on Join the Outpost Tribe button.
- Click on Create Account
- Enter first name, last name, email address and password (remember your password so you can log in again in the future)
- The system will then email you an activation link.
- Open the email and click on the activation link and it will log you in in a new browser window.
- You are now ready to earn loyalty points while shopping online!
If you have any questions or suggestions re the new loyalty system, please email me at hello@outpostnz.com.
Cheers, Patrick
