The question that I get most often from heads of loyalty is not how to launch another programme, but how to turn loyalty into something that drives growth.

The complexity comes from the fact that loyalty now sits at the intersection of behaviour, data, payments and partnerships. Treat it as a standalone initiative, and it becomes expensive noise. Treat it as a system, and it starts to compound value.

A Practical Change

The shift begins with behaviour. Sustainable growth does not come from rewarding transactions alone. It comes from reinforcing the actions that matter over time. These include repeat visits, cross-category engagement, referrals, advocacy, and consistent use. When loyalty is designed around these behaviours, it stops being a cost centre and starts influencing how customers move through the business.

That design choice has implications for data. Loyalty generates some of the richest signals a business can access, but only if those signals are connected. Fragmented systems produce fragmented insight. A modern loyalty approach pulls behavioural data, payment activity, and engagement into a single view, properly governed and used with intent. This is where many programmes stall. The tools exist, but the operating model does not. Without clear governance, shared standards, and a single view of the customer, insight stays trapped, and value leaks out.

Growth also depends on relevance, and relevance rarely comes from a single brand acting alone. Customers do not live in verticals. They move across retail, fuel, dining, travel, wellness, and services every week. When loyalty mirrors that reality, it becomes more useful. Multi-brand ecosystems enable customers to earn faster and redeem more often, thereby increasing perceived value. For the business, ecosystems extend reach into adjacent audiences and reduce the marginal cost of engagement. Each partner contributes a portion of value, but the combined proposition is stronger than anything delivered in isolation.

Driving Value

This is where urgency matters. Coalition loyalty is not simply about adding partners. It requires curation. Complementary brands with overlapping customer bases create momentum. Competitive pairings dilute it. Too many partners without alignment create confusion. The head of loyalty has to think like an ecosystem architect, balancing breadth with coherence, and growth with trust.

Payments are the quiet backbone of all of this. If earning and redemption are not validated in real time, the experience breaks. Customers notice immediately. Missed points or failed redemptions erode confidence faster than any campaign can rebuild it. Payment integration is what turns promise into proof. When transactions, loyalty accrual, and reporting are connected, the system becomes auditable, reliable and scalable. Without that integration, growth is fragile.

Data protection and privacy add another layer of complexity, especially in South Africa. POPIA compliance is the minimum standard. Customers need to know who the partners are, how their data is used, and who is accountable. In a multi-brand environment, that accountability has to sit with a central programme owner who acts as a neutral steward. This structure protects customers, reassures partners, and enables collaboration without overreach. Trust is not a by-product of loyalty. It is the precondition.

Making Change Happen

Change management is the final test. Ecosystems evolve. Partners will join and exit. If that change is handled poorly, customers feel it immediately. Clear communication, consistent rules, and thoughtful transitions preserve confidence. When managed well, the programme remains stable even as the roster shifts. Growth continues because the value proposition stays intact.

Loyalty leaders are being asked to do more with less. They are expected to deliver on retention, insight, and growth while navigating tighter budgets and greater scrutiny. The way through that pressure is not more features, but clarity. This clarity comes in the form of which behaviours drive value, how data flows and who governs it, and where partnerships add leverage and where they dilute it.

At LoyaltyPlus, our work starts with that clarity. We focus on building loyalty systems that connect behaviour, data, payments and partnerships into a single growth engine. Not because it is fashionable, but because it is necessary. Loyalty that is not designed to scale will always struggle to justify itself. Loyalty built into the growth strategy earns its place.

The urgency is real. Customers are already deciding which brands feel useful and which feel forgettable. Loyalty can tip that decision, but only if it is treated as the strategic discipline it has become.

For more information, visit www.loyaltyplus.cloud. You can also follow LoyaltyPlus on Facebook, LinkedIn, or on X.

*Image courtesy of contributor