Vans Loyalty Program: From Scratch to 12 Million Members in Two Short Years

Frank Neumann, Vans senior director of Consumer Lifecycle Management, recently sat down with us to talk about how he built a loyalty program that grew to a whopping 12 million members in just two years.

“As we’ve grown, obviously, it’s much more difficult to have a one-to-one relationship with the consumer,” Neumann explains. For Vans, he said, that’s where the loyalty program first began — from a desire to retain that direct personal touch with consumers.

The Vans loyalty program is similar to other brand loyalty programs, allowing brand enthusiasts to collect points and get exclusives to new products. However, it’s unique in that store associates have the ability to be members. And the ultimate key to the Vans loyalty program success? The program provides added value to customers while using data to tailor personalized communications and unique experiences.

“We monitor our satisfaction score. We have a very high satisfaction rate compared to the industry.”

Neumann also talks about how the program has shifted due to COVID-19. “Everything is becoming more digital and I do think that loyalty is a unique place where we can really leverage that… We are building more loyalty programs to serve as unique access points to brands for their most loyal fans for unique and exclusive experiences. I think that will continue evolving as we go into the next 1-2 years.”

Today, the Vans loyalty program is responsible for half of the company’s DTC revenue. That’s one way to use your loyalty program for good.

Watch the full interview here to learn more about how Vans creates emotional loyalty.