Frequent Buyer Program

a hands-on blended learning experience

The pet supply company I worked for planned to revamp their frequent buyer program from a paper-based system to digital. To ensure a smooth transition, retail employees need to be prepared to explain and support customers with the new digital process.

The Audience

Retail-level employees

Responsibilities

Instructional Design, e-Learning Development

Tools Used

Articulate Rise, Photoshop, Word, Canva

What is the goal of this learning experience?

Employees need to be able to communicate the company's frequent buyer program to customers and assist them with converting their paper cards to digital.

The Solution

I developed a primarily hands-on learning experience, preparing learners for the new changes that will impact their customer transactions. The entire experience includes:

a brief microlearning, introducing frequent buyer program concepts
a practical operations activity, giving employees hands-on practice with the new features
an in-person conversation practice, supported by a brief video and facilitator guide

A Unique Challenge

In addition to updating the frequent buyer tracking process, the company launching a mobile app. The vision was to eventually integrate frequent buyer tracking, the app, and future planned rewards into a cohesive "Mud Bay Rewards" program.

As a result, this learning experience is built to work as a stand-alone module but can also fit into a future curriculum.

Design

This learning experience has scaffolding terminal objectives which build upon themselves to reach the goal of employees being able to inform and onboard customers into the company's new frequent buyer program. Breaking down these main objectives helped me understand what was involved in each topic, and how I might structure the experience.

Customer Conversation & Action Flows

Two key aspects of the new digital frequent buyer program needed to be addressed:

The types of conversations employees have with customers.
The operational tasks employees would need to perform.

I worked closely with an SME to analyze new actions and customer conversation topics that might occur. I then mapped out about a dozen common potential customer interactions and outlined the actions employees might take in each scenario. This helped me assess the complexity of each task and identify which actions would be most critical for delivering a seamless customer experience.

Below are a few examples:

The Learning Experience

This blended learning program is designed to be completed in separate sessions rather than all at once. Spacing out the activities gives learners time to absorb what they’ve learned before throwing them into the next step.

Scheduled Rollout

Given the scale of this learning program and the large audience involved, a staggered rollout was needed to provide adequate support at each stage. This approach was supported by other departments to ensure a smooth experience for all participants. The whole process took about 2 months leading up to launch.

1. Introductory Microlearning

I designed the learning experience so each topic feels distinct but contributed to a full understanding of the new frequent buyer program. The first module is a brief microlearning introducing the basics of the program and the app, presented in a simplified way since the app was in its MVP phase.

After the app's official launch, employees could download it to explore its functions firsthand.

Long-Term Usability

This learning experience was designed not only for employees at the new program's launch but also as a strong starting point for future hires. By covering foundational frequent buyer concepts alongside new features, it ensures all learners, regardless of prior knowledge, can effectively navigate the training.

Formative Assessment

Learners match common customer questions with appropriate responses to reinforce understanding from the microlearning and introduce key customer inquiries, setting the stage for future activities.

2. Operations Practice

After analyzing the procedures and potential customer conversations, I deduced it would make the most sense for employees to first learn how to perform the operations involved before the customer conversation topics. Employees can better speak to the subject if they have had practice with it already.

This experiential activity follows a social learning theory approach of observation, then imitation; with elements of social interaction included. This helps keep learners engaged and active in the learning process.

Learners start by watching a two min screen recording demonstrating how to convert a paper frequent buyer card to digital. It includes narration and visually engaging elements to highlight key steps and improve accessibility.

Finally, learners watch another two minute video, demonstrating the new frequent buyer features in the point-of-sale system. Next, they explore these features hands-on using the register's demo mode, allowing them to practice without risking sales discrepancies. Written guides are also available if learners need it, seen below.

The practice ends with a summative evaluation by a leader to assess if the learner can perform the main operational tasks required on the point-of-sale.

Click the image to expand.

MBRPOE 1

MBRPOE 2

MBRPOE 5

MBRPOE 1

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3. Customer Conversation Practice

To wrap up, learners practice customer conversations in-person, usually with a store leader or experienced staff member. I created a facilitator guide with prompts and key points to help facilitators assess and guide responses effectively.

This exercise can be done one-on-one or in groups, with the main goal of preparing employees to discuss key topics with customers.

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Results and Takeaways

This was one of the largest learning experiences I’ve built, spanning six months from start to launch. I collaborated closely with two subject matter experts and various departments to ensure alignment with company goals and timelines. This large-scale project brought challenges, requiring adaptability and effective collaboration, especially with unexpected changes. It also gave me the chance to practice facilitation, which was outside my usual responsibilities.

After multiple iterations, testing phases, and feedback rounds, the final product equipped employees to excel with the new digital frequent buyer system.

Reaction
The post-launch feedback survey for store employees resulted in Learning & Development being the only department to receive a perfect 5-star rating, with store employees expressing confidence and readiness for the program rollout.
Learning
I got to see how learners experienced the training first-hand for this project. Participant conversations were led with curiosity, and I took notes of the kinds of questions they were asking. I used this as a guide for future iterations of the training. By the end of this process, learners were ready and excited for the upcoming frequent buyer changes.
Behavior
Seeing the kind of changes frequent buyer programs were getting was welcomed by employees at the company. Due to this, they were more engaged with the learning experience, were excited to tell customers about what was coming, and even went out of their way to create handmade signage to advertise what they learned.
Results
Over 2,000 digital frequent buyer cards were created in the first week, with customer participation in frequent buyer increasing by 30% in the first month. The 'upset customer' coupon code, designed to address negative reactions to the changes, was never used, indicating a smooth transition and positive customer reception.