How customer loyalty strategy proves business value to executives

Customer loyalty strategy earns stronger executive support when teams can show how it influences retention, revenue and customer behavior. 

That requires a clearer view of what motivates customers to engage, what brings them back and which program actions create measurable business value. For loyalty leaders, the opportunity is to connect customer engagement to outcomes the business can see and support. 

Krispy Kreme UK offers a strong example. The brand had a well-established rewards program with more than 2 million members and meaningful customer engagement across stores, grocery partnerships and digital channels. The brand had awareness, affection and a strong member base. But strong brand affinity doesn’t always lead to frequent purchases. 

That was the challenge Krispy Kreme UK set out to address with support from ITA Group. In a recent interview with The Wise Marketer, Melissa Wood, Customer Engagement & Loyalty Specialist at Krispy Kreme UK, and Chris Jones, Sr. Vice President of Customer Engagement Solutions at ITA Group, discussed how deeper analytics, sharper segmentation and a stronger test-and-learn mindset helped turn loyalty data into measurable growth. 

That meant looking beyond broad engagement tactics and building a more personalized customer loyalty strategy. One that would increase visit frequency, reengage lapsed members and connect loyalty activity to clear business outcomes. 

Related: Krispy Kreme UK client story: Record-breaking revenue with customer loyalty

Low-frequency categories need sharper customer insight 

Krispy Kreme UK recognized customers may love the brand but purchase less often. That creates a specific loyalty challenge. Engagement depends on understanding the right occasion, timing and motivation behind each visit. 

The program also served several customer groups, including individual buyers, office customers, grocery shoppers and digital customers. Each group had different behaviors and reasons to engage. 

A stronger analytics approach helped the team better understand those differences. It gave Krispy Kreme UK a clearer view of what customers purchased, when they engaged and where there were opportunities to improve retention. 

"The challenge is that donuts aren't a weekly habit. So, we're working with quite a low frequency category and a very diverse member base ... we've got to meet them at completely different occasions, completely different motivations,” Wood said.

Loyalty data can challenge what teams think they know 

ITA Group supported Krispy Kreme UK’s shift toward a more data-driven loyalty approach through a focus on customer behavior, purchase occasions, engagement patterns and the motivations behind each action. That data revealed where assumption didn't fully match behavior. It also helped the team identify which offers, messages and moments had the greatest potential to influence action.  

“Honestly, I think we knew them less well than we thought we did,” Wood shared. “You kind of build a story internally about who you think the members are. And then the great thing about the data is that it quietly kind of tells you a different one or it might challenge you to think completely differently.” 

With stronger insight, Krispy Kreme UK moved away from broad loyalty messaging and created more relevant engagement across segments. Offers and communications became more connected to customer context, helping the team reach members with messages that better reflected how they actually interacted with the brand. 

For loyalty program platforms to create measurable value, they need to support this level of visibility. Teams need to see which customers need attention, which actions matter and which strategies are most likely to influence behavior. 

Related: What are customer data management solutions and why they matter

Testing turned customer loyalty program insight into action 

Insight only creates value when teams use it to make better decisions. 

To increase visit frequency and reactivate lapsed members, Krispy Kreme UK identified key purchase occasions and aligned targeted offers to those moments. Campaigns were shaped around past behaviors, locations and customer segments. 

“It was the mindset that said, ‘We're not sure about this, but customers can tell us. Let's expose them to it in a managed, sensible way,’” Jones said of the test-and-learn strategy. 

The team evaluated offer types, timing and communication strategies to understand what created traction. Performance data helped show which approaches worked, which needed to change and where the team could move faster. 

“There were times when we thought this discount is going to be better than that discount and we were actually wrong and the less deep discount worked better because of the way it was positioned to the consumer,” Jones said. 

Execution also required alignment across retail, grocery and digital channels. Frontline workers and store teams played an important role in supporting the experience, with each channel delivering consistent and relevant customer experiences. 

Performance was tracked through metrics such as incremental revenue, visit frequency and redemption. That gave the team a clearer way to connect loyalty engagement to business value. 

Customer retention strategy needs a business case 

The initiative delivered strong business impact.

"Member spend is up 20% year on year,” Wood said. “... The incremental program revenue itself is up 122% year on year, CRM revenue up to 52% and our return lapse rate is 110%. So, you can't really argue with that.”

Those results helped loyalty gain stronger executive support. The program became a clearer business growth lever because the team could show how loyalty influenced retention, revenue and customer behavior.

That connection is critical. A customer retention strategy is strongest when teams can prove how engagement supports measurable business outcomes. Clear performance data helps justify investment, strengthen internal alignment and keep the program moving forward.

3 ways to build executive support for loyalty programs 

Krispy Kreme UK’s experience points to three practical lessons for organizations looking to strengthen their loyalty program approach. 

1. Position loyalty programs as a strategic growth initiative 

Executive teams need to see how the program supports revenue, retention and margin. Clear business alignment makes the case for investment stronger. 

2. Use data to challenge assumptions 

Strong brand affinity doesn’t always predict behavior. Loyalty data can show what customers actually do, where engagement drops and which opportunities may be hidden within under-engaged audiences. 

3. Build a culture of testing 

Loyalty programs need consistent learning, measurement and optimization. Teams should test ideas, scale what performs and move quickly when a tactic doesn’t produce results.

“You're earning the right to keep going every time you report back to the senior leadership team,” Wood said. 

Krispy Kreme UK’s journey shows how customer loyalty strategy can become a stronger driver of growth when it is grounded in data, shaped by customer behavior and aligned to business outcomes. Watch the full interview with The Wise Marketer now to explore more ways ITA Group partnered with Krispy Kreme UK to identify audience segments and refine offers.