Learn to design, measure and operate loyalty as an engine of the business
6 Weeks, self-paced
Delivered on Udemy’s trusted platform
Taught by loyalty program strategist at brands like Starbucks and Calgary Co-op.
The problem: you “own” loyalty, but no one ever taught you loyalty
Many people who end up responsible for a loyalty program never got a real education in loyalty marketing. You’re handed points, tiers, offers and dashboards… and expected to somehow make them drive visits, spend and brand love.
You might recognize yourself if:
You’ve “inherited” a loyalty program and feel pressure to prove it’s doing more than handing out discounts.
You’re strong at campaigns and CRM, but feel there’s a missing layer of strategy, psychology and economicstying it all together.
Leadership wants loyalty to be an engine of the business, but conversations keep getting stuck on “how many members?” and “what was the last promo?”
Vendors talk about segmentation, personalization and AI, but it’s hard to connect those buzzwords to clear decisions in your day-to-day work.
You know your customers deserve better than a generic points card, you’re just missing a structured way to think about it.
The promise: a clear, practical foundation you can actually use
Loyalty Program Foundations gives you a structured way to understand, design and talk about loyalty — from first principles to day-to-day operations. By the end, you’ll be able to:
Explain what loyalty really is (as a relationship, not just a discount mechanic).
Connect loyalty strategy directly to business goals, not just campaign metrics.
Design offers and program elements that intentionally shape member behaviour.
Use data, personalization and segmentation in a way that feels both effective and ethical.
Talk to leadership, CRM, data and IT with a shared language and a clear point of view.
What you’ll learn
By the end of Loyalty Program Foundations, you’ll be able to:
Define what loyalty really is – explain loyalty as a relationship and an engine of the business, not just a points or discounts scheme.
Apply the psychology of loyalty to real programs – use concepts like habit loops, FOMO, social proof and emotional vs rational loyalty to design better member experiences.
Design smarter rewards and offers – connect business objectives to behaviours, choose the right mechanics (points, tiers, challenges, S&D) and think through basic reward economics.
Use personalization and segmentation with intention – move from generic campaigns to more targeted, relevant experiences while respecting privacy, consent and member trust.
Map and manage the member lifecycle – identify key moments (onboarding, growth, at-risk, win-back) and plan loyalty communications and offers across the journey.
Collaborate effectively across teams – speak the same language as leadership, CRM, data, IT and ops so you can actually get loyalty ideas designed, approved and launched.
Build a practical Loyalty Playbook – leave with a structured document that captures your program’s strategy, behaviours, offers, measurement and next steps for your role or organization.
Who this course is for
Loyalty Program Foundations is designed for people who are responsible for loyalty, CRM or customer retention, but never got a proper, end-to-end education in how loyalty actually works.
It’s a strong fit if you see yourself in one of these groups:
Brand & Marketing Managers
You “own” a loyalty program or subscription/membership offer and need a clear framework for how it should work, how to improve it, and how to talk about it with leadership in business terms.
CRM & Lifecycle Marketers
You’re great at building campaigns, journeys and automations, and now you want to move up the value chain into loyalty and retention strategy—offers, behaviours, segmentation and measurement.
Agencies & Consultants
You advise clients on growth, retention or CRM and want reusable loyalty frameworks, models and case studies you can bring into workshops, strategy decks and roadmaps.
If you’ve ever thought, “I’m responsible for loyalty, but I’ve mostly been figuring it out as I go,” this course is for you.
Course structure & curriculum overview
Loyalty Program Foundations is organized into six modules that build on each other—from core concepts to strategy, design, personalization and operations. Each module is broken into short, focused lessons with examples and practical prompts you can apply to your own context.
Module 1 – Loyalty Foundations
What loyalty really is (loyalty as relationship)
Types of loyalty programs and currencies
The loyalty flywheel and how loyalty becomes an engine of the business
Module 2 – Psychology of Loyalty
Habit loops: cue–routine–reward in a loyalty context
Emotional vs rational loyalty, FOMO and social proof
How brands use these concepts to influence and induce behaviour
Module 3 – Loyalty Strategy & Reward Economics
Linking loyalty to corporate and marketing strategy
Where-to-play / how-to-win choices for loyalty programs
Basic reward economics: value exchange, margins, breakage and sustainability
Module 4 – Behaviour & Offer Design
Mapping desired member behaviours (visits, spend, cross-shop, data capture)
Offer types and mechanics (points, bonuses, challenges, surprise & delight)
Avoiding offer fatigue and training customers to wait for deals
Module 5 – Personalization, Segmentation & Ethics
From generic to targeted, predictive and individualized experiences
Segmentation, personas, RFM and using data with intent
Privacy, transparency, trust and ethical use of member data
Module 6 – Operationalizing Loyalty
Member lifecycle and always-on communications
Working with CRM, data, IT and operations to get things done
Governance, measurement and building your Loyalty Playbook
You’ll see the full lesson list and estimated time for each module on the Udemy course page.