Rewards Ecosystem Design: Supporting Enterprise-Wide Loyalty Initiatives
A Case Study in Design Leadership and Strategic Impact
Building a Resilient Design Strategy
The Context
In the fast-paced world of business, priorities can shift quickly. This makes a strong design strategy essential for ensuring initiatives remain effective even amidst change.
The Challenge
Best Buy Membership, a tiered program launched in 2021, sought to enhance member offerings and create high-value experiences that differentiate the program from competitors.
Aligning Design with Enterprise Growth
Team Structure
Early in 2024, I led three design teams: Member Offerings, Customer, and Subscriptions. My role was to foster a collaborative and high-performing team culture.
Strategic Alignment
The team's mission was directly aligned with the enterprise growth priority of "Fueling Customer Relationships through Membership".
Building a Rewards and Offerings Ecosystem
Vision & Strategy
The goal was to create a rewards-based offering program that would significantly elevate operating income while deepening customer engagement and loyalty.
Initial Steps
My team facilitated working sessions to understand the current customer journey, identify touch points, and map out opportunities for improvement.
Deep Dive: Research and Insights
Usability Study
We conducted a usability study to benchmark the existing offering experience and identify areas for improvement.
Stakeholder Interviews
We interviewed stakeholders to understand their top concerns and upcoming initiatives, informing our strategic direction.
Data Analysis
We collaborated with data scientists to identify trends and patterns in customer behavior, further informing our design decisions.
Designing for Member Engagement
Enhanced member offers is one of the “big bets” of the business strategy. As a program, we will go beyond member pricing to create tangible, high-value offer types for members that competitors can’t match.
Journey Mapping Initiative
I led the creation of comprehensive rewards journey map spanning all touch points from email to in-store interactions.
Insight Development
My team identified three critical success factors: personalized offers, optimized redemption windows, and proactive engagement.
Omnichannel Strategy
Our experience guiding principles bridge omnichannel experience with customer values, strengthening member relationships across channels.
Building Alignment and Driving Impact
I was able to transform organizational complexity into cohesive experiences that accelerate business results through thoughtful communication, collaboration, and documentation.
Strategic Communication
Led roadshows presenting guiding principles and key moments, establishing clarity and consistency for the offerings experience.
Cross-Team Collaboration
Orchestrated collaboration between teams, aligning short and long-term plans for a cohesive experience.
Design System Governance
Directed development of a comprehensive component library and documentation, ensuring consistent implementation across all teams and projects.
Empowering the Design Team
I strengthened the design team's strategic impact by developing critical skills beyond craft—from decision influence to research leadership—while creating psychological safety for risk-taking and elevating design from execution to true strategic partnership.
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Skill Development
I coached team members to grow their skills in areas such as influencing decision-making, storytelling, and design-led research.
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Psychological Safety
I fostered an environment where team members felt comfortable sharing ideas, asking questions, and taking risks, leading to greater innovation.
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Strategic Partnership
I ensured design was seen as a strategic partner, actively contributing to the success of business initiatives.
Measuring Success and Scaling for Growth
My leadership delivered dual impact: operationally, by building design systems that balanced speed with quality across competing priorities; and for the business, by creating end-to-end experiences that directly supported FY25 goals. Our strategic approach continues to drive incremental spending, scaled to reach customers beyond the initial program's intended customer segmentation, and measurably increased app downloads, purchases, and paid member acquisitions.
$64M
Revenue Growth
The rewards and offerings program generated $64 million in incremental revenue
2.5M
Offers Redeemed
The program's success drove app downloads, purchases, credit card sign up, and paid member acquisitions.