Updated strategy models from Loyalty Academy Brazil

Most Loyalty programs still rely on generic models — often failing to guide how to execute Loyalty strategies in practice.

As loyalty professionals, we’ve all faced this challenge:

We segment customers, we define tiers, we talk about engagement — but when it’s time to decide:

• What should we actually do for each type of customer?
• Which Loyalty levers should we prioritize — and how?

Too often, the answers are unclear — or generic.

That’s why I developed the Value and Needs Matrix: a practical framework designed to help Loyalty programs move beyond segmentation — into strategic and tactical execution.

In this article, I’ll share how the matrix works, why it matters, and most importantly — how you can apply it to drive real results.

The Concept: Mapping Behavior to Drive Strategy

At its core, the Value and Needs Matrix maps customers and business models across two fundamental dimensions:

• Purchase Frequency: how often customers buy from the brand.
• Spend per Purchase: how much value each transaction generates.

These dimensions were chosen because they reflect real patterns of behavior and engagement — and they align directly with key drivers of Loyalty value: frequency, spend, retention, and lifetime value.

The Four Behavioral Quadrants

By combining these dimensions, we identify four behavioral quadrants:

Quadrant	Frequency	Spend
Core Loyalists	High	High
Convenience Repeaters	High	Low
Big Ticket Occasionals	Low	High
Acquisition Focus / Light Users	Low	Low

Each quadrant reflects a different relationship dynamic between the customer and the brand — and therefore requires a distinct Loyalty strategy.

Let’s briefly clarify what each quadrant represents — to frame the customer behaviors we’ll explore in the next visual:

• Core Loyalists: These are the brand’s most valuable customers. They buy frequently and spend heavily. They have a strong relationship with the brand and are often the target of competitive offers.
• Convenience Repeaters: Customers who buy frequently but spread their spending across brands. Their behavior is driven by convenience, price, and ease — not deep brand loyalty.
• Big Ticket Occasionals: Customers who make infrequent but high-value purchases. They may go months or years between transactions, and brand recall is critical at the right moments.
• Light Users: The most volatile segment — low frequency, low spend, often acquired recently or only seasonally active. The business challenge is to activate and build habit.

With this in mind, let’s visualize typical customer behaviors in each quadrant.

Exhibit 1 — Typical Customer Behaviors by Quadrant

Exhibit 2 — Business Needs by Quadrant

These two visual layers — customer behaviors and business needs — are what make the matrix actionable.

By connecting how customers behave with what the business needs to achieve, Loyalty professionals can move beyond generic segmentation — and into strategies that drive measurable outcomes.

Let’s now explore this connection in more detail.

Why This Matters: Connecting Business Needs and Customer Needs

The real power of the matrix comes from connecting:

• The Business Need: What the business must achieve with each customer segment (growth, retention, share of wallet, activation).
• The Customer Need: What the customer expects and values in their relationship with the brand.

This connection allows Loyalty teams to move from “one-size-fits-all” programs to behavior-driven strategies — and from theory to execution.

How to Use the Matrix in Practice

The matrix can be used to:

• Design or redesign Loyalty programs
• Diagnose and evolve existing programs
• Align Loyalty with business strategy
• Improve cross-functional communication

But the key — and what makes this framework different — is that it helps Loyalty teams define:

• What to do for each type of customer
• How to prioritize Loyalty levers accordingly

To make this actionable, the matrix provides clear guidance for how Loyalty teams should approach each behavioral quadrant — from primary focus to tactical execution.

How to Apply Loyalty Strategy by Quadrant

Here is the practical guidance — the execution playbook the matrix enables.

For each behavioral quadrant, Loyalty teams should define:

1. Primary Loyalty focus: What is the main goal for this segment?
2. Base Offer: What is the primary earning mechanic?
3. Bonus and Tactical Actions: How to influence behavior?
4. Key Operational Levers: What Loyalty levers to prioritize?

Here is where the matrix moves from strategy to execution — providing clear tactical guidance by quadrant.

Quadrant	Primary Focus	Base Offer	Bonus & Tactical Actions	Key Levers
Core Loyalists	Retention and value growth	Spend-based	Personalized offers, VIP benefits, recognition	Segmented campaigns, employee role as promoters, POS as experience channel
Big Ticket Occasionals	Activation at key moments	Transaction-based	Time-based offers, post-purchase engagement, cross-sell	Mass actions around purchase cycles, experience rewards, emotional engagement
Convenience Repeaters	Frequency and spend growth	Spend-based	Category incentives, add-on purchases, frequency bonuses	Segmented + mass actions, employee as facilitators, POS for cross-sell
Acquisition Focus / Light Users	Activation and habit creation	Frequency-based	Activation bonuses, onboarding incentives, gamification	Mass actions, onboarding journeys, POS for first experience

Example of Loyalty Levers

Base Offer: how the customer earns day-to-day (spend, frequency, transaction).

Bonus Actions: campaign mechanics layered over the base.

Segmented Actions: targeted campaigns for key segments within the quadrant.

Mass Actions: broad campaigns to shift behaviors.

Employee Role: how staff support the program (promoter, facilitator, educator).

POS Role: role of the point of sale (experience, activation, reinforcement).

Why It Works

The matrix works because it connects:

• Behavior → to Business Needs → to Loyalty Execution

It moves Loyalty from:

Generic tiers and points → Behavior-driven, needs-based strategy

One-size-fits-all campaigns → Quadrant-specific execution

Siloed Loyalty thinking → Integrated with business strategy

It’s also:

• Simple: easy to explain and apply.
• Flexible: works across industries and Loyalty models.
• Complementary: can be integrated with RFV, LTV models, churn predictors.

Final Thought

In today’s Loyalty environment — where customers expect personalized value, and programs must deliver business impact — frameworks that connect strategy to execution are essential.

The Value and Needs Matrix helps Loyalty professionals do exactly that:

• Move beyond segmentation.
• Build behavior-driven Loyalty strategies.
• Execute smarter and more effectively.

If you’d like to explore this framework further — or discuss how it can be applied to your business — feel free to reach out.

About the Author

Leandro Torres (leandrot@labrasil.org) is an experienced Loyalty and Customer Engagement strategist, with over 15 years of leadership in building, launching, and evolving Loyalty programs across diverse industries.

He has led major Loyalty initiatives in Retail, Financial Services, Fuel, Telecom, Travel, and Coalition programs — including serving as Chief Commercial Officer at Dotz, one of the largest coalition Loyalty programs in Latin America.

Leandro is one of the leaders at Loyalty Academy Brazil and acts as a strategic advisor to brands and Loyalty programs in multiple markets — including Points Africa, a pioneering coalition Loyalty initiative on the African continent. He is recognized for helping Loyalty programs evolve from transactional models to behavior-driven, business-aligned ecosystems.