How to design a loyalty program your CFO and customers will support both

The best loyalty programs aim to come off as a really knowledgeable friend. Marketers have a thousand ideas and don’t have time to evaluate them. AI won’t give you perfect answers, but it will help you go from holding to launching faster.

I used this technique with ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Results vary, but the framework works. Effectively using AI to set up loyalty programs is less about being a quick wizard or replacing a specialized agency or consultant than it is about finding frameworks that you can test with your team and refine with real customers.

We will use a coffee roaster as an example. Coffee preferences are personal, so if these caveats apply here, they will apply anywhere. Here’s how to get started.

Step 1: Understand why you’re in this conversation

Before you can design a program that matters to your customers, you need to be clear about what your product offers and what your customers want.

The best relationships work because both parties know what they are delivering. Configuration structures enforce that clarity.

Notify:

I need help creating a clear positioning statement for [BRAND NAME].

Our product/service: [DESCRIPTION]
Target audience: [WHO YOU SERVE]
Main competitors: [2-3 COMPETITORS]
What we do differently: [KEY DIFFERENTIATOR]

Goal: First, synthesize well-established consumer patterns and frustrations in [product category] the way a CPG insights lead would analyze them. 

Then, using those insights, create a positioning statement for my brand's new loyalty program:
For [target customer niche]
Who [statement of need or opportunity]
[Product/brand name] is a [product category]
That [key benefit(s), emotional reason to buy and frustration summary]
Unlike [competitive alternative] and [key differentiators]
Our loyalty program serves this purpose [statement of primary differentiation]

Then summarize it in a single hero sentence that fits on a single slide on a BCG presentation.

Example input for a coffee roaster

• Product: Special small batch coffee subscription.
• The target: Coffee lovers aged 30-50 who have gone beyond Starbucks but are not coffee lovers.
• Competitors: Trade Coffee, Blue Bottle, Local Coffee Shops.
• The divider: Low prices + Online and in-person events in select cities + Limited selection of the freshest roasts.

You know what you are offering. Now find out who you really want and why.

Step 2: Check who’s on the other side

You need to know what is really important to them. Don’t rely on demographics alone without understanding motivation.

Notify:

Help me build a comprehensive customer research profile.

Company/Product: [YOUR BRAND]
Industry: [YOUR INDUSTRY]
What we know about our customers:
- Demographics: [AGE, LOCATION, INCOME, ETC.]
- Purchase behavior: [FREQUENCY, AOV, CHANNEL PREFERENCE]
- Current pain points: [WHAT THEY COMPLAIN ABOUT]

Based on this, tell me:
1. What are their unstated needs? What are the things they want but haven't articulated?
2. What jobs are they "hiring" our product to do in their lives?
3. What would make them talk about us to a friend?
4. What friction points exist in our current relationship with them?

Use real human language, not marketing speak.

An example of a coffee roaster

• Demographics: 30-55, city/town, $75,000+ household income, college educated
• Shopping behavior: Sign up for 2-4 bags/month, $11-18/bag, 60% one time vs. 40% subscription
• Pain points: “I want variety but I don’t know what to try,” “I want to try something new,” “I don’t like shopping at the grocery store.”

Run this. Read what comes back, and ask: “What am I missing?” AI will often bring up angles you didn’t consider.

Step 3: Add what you’ve already tried

You need to remember what worked and what didn’t. Don’t keep making the same mistakes.

Here’s something and it’s important – you’ll need financial support, so put their concerns in advance in this information.

Notify:

I need to audit our current loyalty initiatives:

What we're currently doing:
- [LIST EVERYTHING: email programs, rewards, VIP tiers, referral programs, etc.]

I need to convince the [CFO]. Here's what they say:
- [LIST QUOTES. The goal is to add the point of view of a critical stakeholder with a strong interest in financial health]:

For each initiative, here's what we know:
- Engagement rate: [PERCENTAGE OR "UNKNOWN"]
- Customer feedback: [QUOTES OR THEMES]
- Business impact: [REVENUE, RETENTION DATA or "WE DON'T TRACK THIS"]

Analyze this and tell me:
1. What's working and why?
2. What's failing and why?
3. What patterns do you see across successful vs. unsuccessful initiatives?
4. What are we not doing that we should be?

Be brutally honest. I can take it.

Be careful: If you don’t have any plans in place, say “We’re starting from scratch,” and the AI ​​will focus on what’s missing and where to start. You wrote what didn’t work. Now show who you are really talking to.

Step 4: Let us know who you are designing for

You don’t treat all your customers the same way because they are not the same. Your segments deserve to be unique.

Notify:

Here's what we know about our customer segments:

Segment 1: [NAME]
- Size: [% OF BASE]
- Characteristics: [BEHAVIORS, PREFERENCES]
- Value to business: [LTV, FREQUENCY, MARGIN]

Segment 2: [NAME]
[SAME STRUCTURE]

Segment 3: [NAME]
[SAME STRUCTURE]

The segment I believe has the most untapped opportunity is [DESCRIBE WHO] because [SAY WHY YOU THINK THAT]

For each segment:
1. What would make them feel valued by our brand?
2. What loyalty tactics would resonate most?
3. What would cause them to leave us?
4. How should we communicate with them differently?
5. Which segment gives me either the fastest revenue impact OR the strongest long-term loyalty foundation? Explain the tradeoff.

Then tell me: which segment should we focus on first and why?

Example of a coffee roaster:

• Part 1 – Daily practicers (10% of base): Sign up and never miss out, you want consistent, high LTV
• Part 2 – First and done (60%): Buy different beans regularly, you want to be found, no LTV
• Section 3 – Gifts and Occasions (20%): Seasonal spikes, buy others, low LTV but high referral potential

Categories tell you who they are. But honesty is about why the relationship is important in the first place. This is where the outline ends.

Step 5: Create your brand’s motivation map

This is where friendship theory becomes your North Star. Think about why your close friendship works. It’s not about transactions — it’s about shared values, understanding and showing up when it matters.

Notify:

I'm creating a brand motivator map based on friendship principles:

Our brand: [NAME]
Our brand personality: [3-5 ADJECTIVES]
What we stand for: [VALUES, MISSION]

In friendships, people connect through:
- Shared interests and values (we care about the same things)
- Mutual benefit and reciprocity (we both get something meaningful)
- Consistent, reliable presence (we show up for each other)
- Emotional resonance and understanding (we "get" each other)
- Status and belonging (we're part of something together)

Map these friendship motivators to our brand:
1. What shared interests/values do we have with our customers?
2. How do we create mutual benefit beyond the transaction?
3. How do we show up consistently in their lives?
4. What emotional needs do we fulfill?
5. How do we help them feel they belong to something?

Then identify: which of these motivators are we strongest at? Which are we neglecting?

This brings back the credibility of “How do we get them to buy more?” in “How do we become friends who can’t imagine their morning without them?”

Step 6: Get inspiration from your favorite brands

Look outside your category. The best ideas can come from companies that are not your competitors.

Notify:

I want to learn from brands that do loyalty exceptionally well.

Brands I admire for loyalty: [LIST 3-5 BRANDS FROM ANY INDUSTRY]

For each brand, research and explain:
1. What specifically makes their loyalty program or strategy effective?
2. What friendship principle are they activating (shared values, reciprocity, belonging, etc.)?
3. What emotional or functional need are they fulfilling?
4. What can I adapt from their approach for my brand?
5. What would this look like applied to [YOUR BRAND]?

Focus on principles and psychology, not just tactics. I don't want to copy. I want to learn why it works.

An example of a coffee roaster

• Patagonia.
• Kate Ok.
• REI.
• Aldi.
• Tecova.

You have read the best. Now combine everything into something you can actually build.

Step 7: Mix everything together

This is where it all comes together. He created a framework suitable for coming together.

Notify:

Using everything we've discussed, create a complete loyalty playbook for [BRAND NAME]:
- Our positioning and program value proposition
- Our customer research and segments  
- Our current loyalty audit
- Our brand motivator map
- Lessons from brands we admire

Please create the following deliverables:

DELIVERABLE 1: A LOYALTY MANIFESTO FOR 2026
Write a one-page manifesto that captures:
- Our loyalty philosophy (what we believe about customer relationships)
- How we think about loyalty differently than our competitors
- The promise we're making to customers who choose to stay with us
- The friendship principles that will guide every decision we make

Make it inspiring but grounded. This should be something our cross-functional team can rally around.

DELIVERABLE 2: THE INTERSECTION ANALYSIS
Create a clear summary document with three sections:
- WHO THEY ARE: Customer needs, motivations, pain points and what they value in relationships with brands
- WHO WE ARE: Brand strengths, values, unique capabilities and what we stand for
- WHERE WE MEET: The specific intersection points where our brand can deliver meaningful value that deepens the friendship

This should reveal the natural opportunities for loyalty building.

DELIVERABLE 3: THE PROJECT PRIORITIZATION GRID
Generate 5-15 specific loyalty initiative ideas that create value for both the customer and my brand. For each project, provide:
- Project name and one-sentence description
- Which friendship principle it activates (shared values, reciprocity, belonging, etc.)
- Which customer segment(s) it serves
- Estimated Level of Effort for the Business (Low/Medium/High)
- Perceived Consumer Value (Low/Medium/High)
- Business Revenue Impact (Low/Medium/High)

Present this as a table so I can take it into a meeting and make decisions with my team.

DELIVERABLE 4: THE 6-MONTH QUICK WIN PLAN
From the project grid, identify and rank the top 5 initiatives to start with based on:
- Highest consumer value
- Reasonable effort to implement
- Clear business impact
- Strategic fit with our brand

For each of the five, provide:
- What it is and why it matters to the brand and the consumer
- One KPI for success (numeric or singular)
- First steps to take this week

Be concise here. Lead with the business impact so my CFO is open to supporting this. Don't forget the consumer impact and benefit. Find that intersection. No fluff. If I can't implement something in the next 6 months with my current team and budget, don't include it.

DELIVERABLE 5: CATEGORY-LEADING IDEATION
The best loyalty programs aren't built on bigger budgets—they're built on a better brand  and consumer relationship. If an award-winning customer experience agency (IDEO, R/GA, Prophet) were consulting on this program, they'd apply proven strategic frameworks that most brands miss.
Using established frameworks from customer experience design, behavioral economics, video gaming and loyalty psychology, recommend:
- Two strategic upgrades that reframe how we think about the program (not what we offer, but how we build a stronger friendship)
- One experiential moment customers would talk about, something tangible they'd experience that signals "this brand gets me"
- One structural shift that moves this from transactional to relational
These recommendations must:
- Apply recognized frameworks (e.g., Jobs to Be Done, Peak-End Rule, Social Identity Theory, reciprocity bias, etc.) and explain which framework you're using and why
- Work within our current operational reality (cite specifically what makes each feasible given [describe your team size, budget range or distribution model])
- Strengthen the friendship principles of belonging and reciprocity
- Avoid generic tactics (points multipliers, birthday discounts, tier upgrades)
- Feel like a strategic choice, not just a feature add
For each recommendation, explain:
- What framework or principle it's based on
- Why it works psychologically
- How it fits our specific constraints
- What makes it feel differentiated in our category
The goal: A one-page summary that gives me the kind of strategic thinking agencies charge $500K+ for, grounded in frameworks I can defend to my CFO and actually execute with my team.

What will you take with you?

Start this last guide and you’ll have five things to bring to your next meeting:

• An honest manifesto for 2026: Your philosophical North Star
  • Why you built this program, what you believe about customer relations and the principles of friendship that guide all decisions.
• Road analysis: A three-part document
  • Who they are, who we are and where we meet. This is your key strategic opportunity.
• Project prioritization grid
  • 5-15 specific steps in table format, each rated by level of effort, customer value and business impact.
  • Bring this to the meeting, so your team can debate which projects to light.
• 6 month plan for quick wins
  • Your top five steps are measured and ready to be implemented, complete with why each one is important, one KPI to track and the first steps you should take this week.
  • This is the “here’s what we really do” section that your CFO needs to see.
• Best-in-class thinking: IDEO-level thinking
  • Two tactical improvements, one memorable moment and one structural change that can move your show from solid to exceptional.
  • Consider these your stretch goals.

You will never be perfect. But you’ll have a working draft that took hours, not months, built without an RFP or a six-person consulting budget. That’s enough to start exploring, learning and building something real.

Real talk

Will AI miss out and oversimplify things? Of course. Will you need to validate assumptions with real data? Definitely. But if you’re stuck at zero because “we need to do this right,” you’re already behind.

The best loyalty programs come from repeated considerations and real customers. AI just helps you write one quickly to start learning.

And here’s the thing about friendship theory: Real friends don’t wait for the perfect moment to show they care. They show up, try, learn and adjust. Your customers are waiting for you to do the same. Now go build something.