# How to choose a reward people actually want

Give away the thing they already buy. It is easy to explain, its cost to you is known exactly, and it needs no persuasion. Clever rewards fail because they ask a customer to want something they have never chosen, on top of asking them to join a programme.

Source: https://fidella.app/guides/choosing-a-reward-people-want
Last reviewed: 2026-08-31

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The reward is the destination of the whole programme, and the most common
mistake is trying to be interesting.

## Give them the usual

The free version of what they already order wins on every axis that matters.

It needs no explanation. Its cost to you is known precisely. And it requires no
persuasion, because they have already demonstrated they want it, repeatedly,
with their own money.

## Why clever rewards fail

A merchandise item, a discount on something unrelated, an entry into a draw. All
of these ask the customer to want a new thing at the same time as asking them to
join a programme. Two asks instead of one.

They also make the value hard to judge, and a reward whose value is unclear does
not motivate anybody to count towards it.

## Where a slow-moving product belongs

Not as the reward. Use a promotion instead: a rule that fires at scan time for a
bounded period. That lets you push something specific without making it the
permanent destination of your programme.

## Consistency matters more than generosity

A modest reward that never changes beats a generous one that moves. People are
counting. Moving the destination while they count is the fastest way to lose
them, and the goodwill you spend doing it exceeds what the change was worth.

## One thing worth testing

Whether the reward can be redeemed alongside a normal purchase. A customer
collecting a free coffee often buys something with it. A reward structured so
they come in, take the free item and leave earns you less than one that fits a
normal visit.