Introduction

Creating a VIP program is a proven strategy to increase customer loyalty and drive repeat purchases. With Ako Marketing, you can motivate your loyal customers to make more purchases by offering flexible upgrade methods, tier-based rewards, and cashback incentives. This empowers you to tailor a VIP program that effectively drives revenue growth. In this article, we will guide you through the process of building a VIP program that works.

Before You Start

✅ VIP Tiers are available in our Platinum plan (US$49/month) and above. Please navigate to Service Plans from the Ako Marketing panel to ensure your current plan is on Platinum or above.

Step 1: Activate Your Rewards Program

1. From Ako Marketing admin, go to Loyalty Program > VIP

2. Check if "Points" and/or “Store Credits” feature is on an active status

3. If you haven't set up your point or store credits, see: 

1. [How to set up a Points Program and enable One-click Redemption]

2. How to enable Shopify Store Credit in your customer loyalty program?

Step 2: Determine Membership Expiration

1. In the Expiration section, click "Edit" to set the expiration type as Lifetime or Custom Year (valid for 1-5 years), then click "Update" to save

🚨Note: Once saved, membership expiration settings cannot be changed. If you need to modify your expiration settings after it’s been set, please contact us at service@akohub.com.

Difference between Lifetime & Custom Year

Lifetime ⮕ Once a customer reaches a tier, their membership will last for their lifetime.

• Example: If Amy reaches the highest level and does not request any refunds or exchanges that would decrease her accumulated spending or points, she will retain that level for her lifetime.

Custom Year ⮕ The system will recheck the member's eligibility and automatically upgrade, downgrade, and dynamically extend the membership duration after each valid purchase.

• Example: If the membership duration is set to 1 year, and Amy reaches the Silver level on January 31st, 2023, her membership will be valid until January 31st, 2024. If she continues to make purchases and reaches the next level of Gold on March 31st, 2023, her membership duration will be updated to March 31st, 2024 until she makes another valid purchase to unlock the new tier.
  
  Renewal Example: As Amy's Platinum membership approaches expiration on October 15, 2024, the system sends her an automatic reminder email on October 1, 2024. On October 10, 2024, Amy makes a $200 purchase, which is enough to qualify for Silver tier but below the threshold for her current Platinum tier. Since this purchase occurs before her expiration date, the system recognizes it as a renewal. Her membership tier is downgraded to Silver based on this single purchase (not her historical spending), and her new membership validity period is set to October 10, 2024 to October 10, 2025. If Amy had instead spent $1,000 on October 10, 2024, she would have renewed at the Platinum tier with the same new expiration date. This renewal process ensures members maintain their appropriate tier based on their current purchasing behavior

Step 3: Determine How Members Enter VIP Tiers

1. In the Entry Method section, click Edit

2. Determine the VIP tier's entry method from the "Select method for customers to unlock" list. There are four options to choose from, click Update to save:

• Amount Spent: This method calculates the total amount from orders marked as paid. (If an order has been cancelled or refunded, it will be excluded from calculation.)

• Or Points Earned: This method calculates the total amount of points that customers have earned from their orders marked as paid. Points are excluded from calculations when they're manually adjusted or refunded.

• (Optional) Orders Count: If you want to check the customer's orders count in a given period as well, check the "Orders count" option.

Combined Entry Methods

You can enhance qualification requirements by combining primary methods with order count:

Amount Spent + Order Count

This method requires customers to meet both a spending threshold AND complete a minimum number of orders.

Example: For Platinum tier, you might require customers to spend $500 AND place at least 5 orders. A customer who spends $600 but has only placed 4 orders would not qualify until they place their 5th order.

Points Earned + Order Count

This method requires customers to earn a minimum number of points AND complete a minimum number of orders.

Example: For Diamond tier, you might require customers to earn 5,000 points AND place at least 10 orders. A customer with 6,000 points b

3. (Optional) Extension Condition: Extension conditions allow you to set lower thresholds for existing members to maintain, renew, or extend their VIP tier status compared to the initial qualification requirements. This feature helps reward customer loyalty by making it easier for members to keep their benefits once they've initially qualified.

How Extension Conditions Work

When you enable extension conditions:

1. New customers must meet the full entry requirements to initially qualify for a VIP tier

2. Existing members can maintain or renew their tier by meeting the lower extension requirements

3. The system will check these extension goals during the membership period to determine if a member qualifies for renewal

Step 4: Specify the Entry Goals and Benefits For Each Tier

In the VIP Tier section, you'll find that there are 4 default tier templates available for editing. If you want to add more tiers to your VIP program, click "+Add new" to create a new tier. (You have unlimited VIP tier but it is recommended to have tiers under 5 for running an effective VIP program.)

Click Edit on the level you want to customize, and follow the instructions below to customize your VIP program:

4.1. Tier Name

Provide a name for your tier. This name will be displayed in the VIP Tiers section within the loyalty widget.

4.2. Entry Goal

Define the entry requirements for each tier. For example, if you have chosen the entry method as "Amount spent + Orders count," you can specify the entry goal as 5 purchases and a total amount spent of $5,000 to unlock the Silver level.

Configuring Entry and Renewal Goals

When setting up your VIP program tiers, you'll need to define both the initial requirements for customers to enter a tier and the requirements for existing members to renew their tier status.

4.2. Entry Goal

The Entry Goal defines the requirements new customers must meet to initially qualify for a VIP tier. These requirements track customer activity from their account creation date.

Configuration Options:

• Amount spent: The total dollar amount a customer must spend to qualify for this tier

• Times of order: The minimum number of orders a customer must place to qualify for this tier

Example Settings:

• $5,000 spent since start date

• AND 5 times of order since start date

Note: The "since start date" means the system tracks all eligible customer activity from when they created their account, not just within a specific timeframe.

4.3. Renewal Goal

The Renewal Goal defines the lower requirements existing members must meet to maintain their tier status during their membership period. These requirements only track activity during the current tier membership period.

Configuration Options:

• Amount spent: The total dollar amount a member must spend during their tier period to renew

• Times of order: The minimum number of orders a member must place during their tier period to renew

Example Settings:

• $3,000 spent during tier period

• AND 3 times of order during tier period

Note: "During tier period" means the system only counts activity that occurs while the customer is an active member of this tier, not their entire purchase history.

Understanding the Difference

• Entry Goal: Tracks all eligible customer activity since account creation

• Renewal Goal: Tracks only activity during the current tier membership period

• Renewal Goals are typically set lower than Entry Goals to reward loyalty and make it easier for existing members to maintain their status

4.3. Rewards to Members when They Unlock a New Tier

There are four types of rewards that can be sent to customers when they unlock a new tier. Rewards rules can be configured to include an expiration date, ranging from 1 to 120 months or a minimum requirement for redemption. This allows for greater flexibility and control over the redemption period for the rewards.

• Points

• Store credit

• Discount codes (including percentage off and fixed amount off)

• Free shipping discount

📝 How upgrade rewards operate at Starter level: When a visitor registers through email or social login and hasn't made any purchases, they will be assigned to the Starter level by default. If you provide a welcome offer to encourage new customers to place their first order, it will be given to Starter level members.

4.4. Set Regular Checkout Discounts for Each Tier

The regular checkout discount will be applied to the customer's entire order. For example, Silver members can enjoy a 10% discount on each order. The checkout reward serves as a powerful incentive for members to make more orders, as they can enjoy greater savings with higher membership levels.

The Difference Between Regular Checkout Discounts and Entry Goal Rewards

How Different Rewards Can Be Combined

Your VIP program can offer multiple reward types that work together to create a comprehensive benefits package:

1. Entry Goal Rewards: One-time rewards customers receive when first qualifying for a tier (e.g., 500 bonus points, special gift, or exclusive discount code)

2. Regular Checkout Discounts: Ongoing percentage or fixed amount discounts that apply to every purchase during membership

3. Tier-Specific Perks: Additional benefits like free shipping, early access to sales, or VIP customer service

4. Birthday/Anniversary Rewards: Special offers sent on significant dates

5. Exclusive Event Access: Invitations to VIP-only events or sales

Example of Combined Rewards for a Gold Tier Member:

• Entry Goal Reward: 1,000 bonus points upon reaching Gold status

• Regular Checkout Discount: 15% off every purchase

• Additional Perks: Free shipping on all orders

• Special Occasions: Double points during birthday month

• Exclusive Access: Early access to seasonal sales

By strategically combining these reward types, you create a multi-faceted loyalty program that both attracts new customers with immediate rewards and encourages long-term loyalty through ongoing benefits.

4.5. Set Tag Key for VIP Tiers

Tag key works similarly to customer tags in Shopify. Each tier level should have a unique tag to represent the tier itself. Ako Marketing will use the tag key to manage VIP levels and store the tag name in customer metafields.

⚠️ Tag key can't be changed or removed once saved. If you need to modify it, please contact us at service@akohub.com.

4.6. Upload Icon

You can either use the default icon provided or upload a custom icon for each tier. If you choose to upload a custom icon, please ensure that it is in either PNG or JPG format, has a 1:1 aspect ratio, and a file size smaller than 50KB.

4.7. (Optional) Perks

Perks are not issued through Ako Marketing. They are additional benefits provided to members upon tier upgrade, such as early access to sales or special products.

Step 5: Activate Your VIP Program

Once you have finished setting up the rules from Step 1 to Step 4, click "Activate" to release your VIP program.

Step 6: Configure Ways to Earn Rewards

From Ako Marketing, go to Loyalty Program > Ways to Earn Reward to configure rewards-earning rules to encourage your members to join your loyalty program, and attract potential customers to engage with your brand.

For example, you can create order-based rewards (which can vary by tier level), birthday rewards, welcome offers and special events such as a members' day to boost repeat purchases, and so on. For a detailed guide to configuring all the ways to earn, see: [Exploring ways to earn rewards: overview]

Best Practices for Successful VIP Programs

Align with Your Business Goals

• Define clear objectives (retention, AOV increase, etc.)

• Set measurable KPIs to track program success

• Review performance regularly and make adjustments

Optimize Tier Structure

• Keep tier levels simple and easy to understand (3-5 tiers recommended)

• Ensure tier entry goals are achievable but challenging

• Create meaningful distinctions between tier benefits

Communicate Value Clearly

• Highlight tier benefits prominently on your website

• Send regular email updates about member status and benefits

• Remind customers about expiring points or tier status changes

Personalize the Experience

• Use tier-specific marketing campaigns

• Surprise VIP members with exclusive offers

• Acknowledge significant milestones (spending landmarks, anniversaries)

For additional support, contact us at service@akohub.com or via the chat in the bottom-right corner of the Ako Marketing admin panel.