git:20260516.4225f52 to git:20260522.2e90392

13 added, 13 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: loyalty-lifecycle

- description: 'Customer loyalty and lifecycle orchestration — tiered loyalty design, lifecycle journey programs, milestone triggers, and retention economics for B2B and B2C. Use when: loyalty program, customer lifecycle program, tiered loyalty, milestone marketing, retention program design, lifecycle journey, loyalty economics, member tiers, retention motion.'

+ description: 'Customer loyalty and lifecycle orchestration - tiered loyalty design, lifecycle journey programs, milestone triggers, and retention economics for B2B and B2C. Use when: loyalty program, customer lifecycle program, tiered loyalty, milestone marketing, retention program design, lifecycle journey, loyalty economics, member tiers, retention motion.'

---

# Loyalty & Lifecycle (BOND Framework)

- Design a loyalty and lifecycle program that produces measurable retention lift — not a tier ladder for its own sake. BOND forces clarity on what behaviors loyalty is supposed to reinforce, what evidence the customer sees, and how the program economics actually pay back.

+ Design a loyalty and lifecycle program that produces measurable retention lift - not a tier ladder for its own sake. BOND forces clarity on what behaviors loyalty is supposed to reinforce, what evidence the customer sees, and how the program economics actually pay back.

## Core Principle

**A loyalty program is a *behavior contract*, not a points system.** Most loyalty programs fail because they reward existing behavior (free margin loss) instead of net-new behavior (retention lift). BOND structures the program around behaviors that change the unit economics.

## The BOND Framework

| Letter | Stage | The Question |

|--------|-------|--------------|

- | **B** | Behavior Targeting | Which 3–5 customer behaviors, if reinforced, would shift retention and LTV? |

+ | **B** | Behavior Targeting | Which 3-5 customer behaviors, if reinforced, would shift retention and LTV? |

| **O** | Offer Architecture | What earn / burn mechanics + tier benefits reinforce those behaviors? |

| **N** | Notification & Lifecycle | What lifecycle triggers and moments deliver the program in-context? |

| **D** | Defend the Economics | How does the program pay back, and what's the cannibalization guardrail? |

## Behavior Targeting

A useful program changes behavior in measurable ways. Start with:

| Behavior Lift | Example Metric | Loyalty Lever |

|---------------|----------------|---------------|

| **Frequency** | Purchases per quarter | Visit-based earn, accelerator tiers |

| **Basket / Expansion** | Average order value, modules per account | Bonus earn on add-ons |

| **Retention** | Renewal rate, churn rate | Time-in-program rewards, tier downgrade protection |

| **Advocacy** | Referrals, reviews | Referral bonus, badge / status |

| **Engagement Depth** | Workflow coverage, feature adoption | Achievement-based rewards |

## Tier Design

| Element | Best Practice |

|---------|---------------|

- | **Number of tiers** | 3–4; more dilutes status |

+ | **Number of tiers** | 3-4; more dilutes status |

| **Tier criteria** | Mix of spend + behavior; behavior-only tiers possible |

| **Tier benefits** | At least one *experiential* benefit per tier (not just discounts) |

| **Tier durability** | Annual review or rolling 12-month; never punitive |

| **Recognition** | Visible status (badges, color, named cohort) at every tier |

## Lifecycle Moments

Loyalty earns its keep when it shows up at moments that matter:

| Moment | Program Action |

|--------|----------------|

| **Onboarding** | Welcome bonus + first-value reward |

| **First repeat** | Bonus earn + tier preview |

| **Tier promotion** | Status reveal + new-benefit walkthrough |

| **Milestone (anniversary, usage)** | Recognition + curated benefit |

| **Risk signal (engagement drop)** | Re-engagement reward, not generic discount |

| **Tier downgrade risk** | "Keep your tier" path with achievable bar |

| **Win-back** | Personalized re-entry offer with social proof |

## Defend the Economics

A loyalty program is a long-lived liability. The economics must be defensible:

| Lens | Question |

|------|----------|

| **Incremental Retention** | What's the retention uplift of program members vs matched non-members? |

| **Incremental ARPU** | Do members spend more *because of* the program, or were they pre-selected? |

| **Cost of Liability** | What's the unredeemed-points exposure on the balance sheet? |

| **Cannibalization** | What % of rewards subsidize behavior that would have happened anyway? |

| **Payback Window** | How long until program cost is recovered by incremental margin? |

## Output

Save to `outputs/loyalty-lifecycle-[program]-[YYYY-MM-DD].md`

| Artifact | Description |

|----------|-------------|

| **Behavior Spec** | Targeted behaviors and metrics they should move |

| **Earn / Burn Mechanics** | Point or status system, redemption catalog |

| **Tier Architecture** | Tiers, criteria, benefits, recognition |

| **Lifecycle Trigger Map** | Moments, triggers, program actions, owners |

| **Economic Model** | Incremental retention / ARPU, liability projection, payback |

| **Member Communication Plan** | Welcome, tier reveal, anniversary, risk, win-back |

| **Governance** | Tier review cadence, benefit refresh schedule, sunset criteria |

## Process

- 1. **Pick 3–5 target behaviors** with quantified retention / LTV thesis

+ 1. **Pick 3-5 target behaviors** with quantified retention / LTV thesis

2. **Design the earn / burn** mechanics to reinforce those behaviors (not all behaviors)

3. **Architect tiers** with experiential benefits and visible status

4. **Map lifecycle moments** to specific program actions

5. **Build the economic model** with incrementality controls

- 6. **Stand up governance** — programs decay without quarterly refresh

+ 6. **Stand up governance** - programs decay without quarterly refresh

## Tips

- 1. **Status > discount** — experiential benefits are stickier and cheaper

- 2. **Always test against a holdout** — incrementality is the only honest metric

- 3. **Cap tier downgrade pain** — punitive downgrades nuke trust

+ 1. **Status > discount** - experiential benefits are stickier and cheaper

+ 2. **Always test against a holdout** - incrementality is the only honest metric

+ 3. **Cap tier downgrade pain** - punitive downgrades nuke trust

4. **Refresh the redemption catalog** quarterly; staleness kills engagement

5. **Track liability** like a finance line item, not a marketing footnote

## Pairs With

- - **customer-success** — Health signal informs risk-moment triggers

- - **growth-loop** — Loyalty is a retention loop input

- - **customer-analytics** — Incrementality and segment behavior analysis

- - **referral-program** — Pairs naturally with advocacy and referral tiers

+ - **customer-success** - Health signal informs risk-moment triggers

+ - **growth-loop** - Loyalty is a retention loop input

+ - **customer-analytics** - Incrementality and segment behavior analysis

+ - **referral-program** - Pairs naturally with advocacy and referral tiers