Manage Benefits
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Explain the process of assigning member benefits.
- Describe the steps to process member benefits.
- Explain the sequence of tier and benefits processing.
Reap the Benefits
Tiers are also associated with benefits. The higher a member moves in the tier ladder, the more exclusive the benefits are likely to be. For example, a Silver-tier member in the Cloud Kicks Inner Circle program enjoys a 30-day free return period. As a Gold-tier member, they’re eligible for a 45-day return period. Benefits motivate customers to engage with the program.
In addition to defining the benefits and associating them with tiers, you can associate benefits with benefit actions that automatically trigger downstream actions or processes. For example, members receive a complimentary $20 voucher when they become a Gold-tier member. A benefit action issues the voucher.
The benefit action is called at different stages of the benefits’ lifecycle.
- When the benefit is first assigned: For example, when a member gets to the Gold tier, they’re eligible for a new benefit.
- When the benefit is updated: For example, when a member retains the Gold tier, the period for a benefit must be extended.
- When the benefit no longer applies: For example, when a member moves from Gold to Silver tier, the benefit no longer applies.
Process Member Benefits
To process member benefits, Linda must take the following steps.
- Create Benefit Actions
- Map Benefit Actions to Benefits
- Execute Benefit Actions
Let’s follow along with each step.
Step 1: Create Benefit Actions
Benefits can be associated with benefit actions that drive various downstream processes. For example, Linda can configure a benefit action to issue a voucher, enable free shipping, or assign the priority support entitlement.
There are two ways to create a benefit action.
- Use the out-of-the-box benefit action that comes with an associated flow template.
- Configure a process in a flow, and then create the benefit action from scratch.
Loyalty Management offers the following prebuilt templates to create benefit actions for common scenarios. You will find them in Setup.
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
|
Assign Support Entitlement |
This template creates or updates support entitlement in Service Cloud for a member based on the benefit’s eligibility criteria. |
|
Issue a Voucher |
This template issues a voucher and updates the member benefit record with the voucher details, including the issued voucher’s ID and the name of the voucher definition. |
|
Issue a Free Sample |
This template creates an order record associated with the member’s account when a new member benefit is created. |
|
Allocate Market Development Fund |
This template allocates a market development fund to members to drive demand and provide incentives to channel partners. It’s used for B2B loyalty programs. |
Linda uses the Issue a Voucher benefit action template to issue a voucher when a benefit is assigned to a member. This action makes use of the Issue Voucher flow template to execute the benefit action.
Step 2: Map Benefit Actions to Benefits
To execute benefit actions when a benefit is introduced, Linda maps the actions to the benefits in the program setup.
Step 3: Execute Benefit Actions
Linda defines the sequence to process benefit actions on tier change. She creates a flow to assign and process member benefits. The flow assigns member benefits based on the tier the member belongs to. It then executes the benefit actions associated with a specific member benefit.
Linda creates a batch job to use in the tier processing flow to trigger benefits based on tier change. She can schedule it to run more frequently to handle manual tier changes.
Manage Tier and Benefits Processing
Linda wants to bring together some of the processes she set up. She uses batch jobs and DPE jobs to automate the processes and uses flow to schedule these processes to run at regular intervals. Here’s the sequence for tier and benefits processing.
- Upgrade or Expire the Tier: The tier assessment process evaluates the records and either upgrades the member to the next tier or expires the tier if it’s due for expiration.
- Process Member Benefits: If the member is upgraded, benefits associated with that tier are assigned.
- Reset Qualifying Points: The qualifying points for members are reset based on the reset date.
Linda reviews the progress of the batch jobs on the Monitor Workflow Services page.
In Conclusion
Customers today seek personalization and an overall positive experience in doing business with a brand. By automating the loyalty processes for accrual, redemption, tier assessment, and benefits management, Linda ensures a hassle-free experience for Cloud Kicks customers. Mary is excited to see the processes in action because they not only result in happy customers but also help Cloud Kicks to gain a competitive advantage.
