Unlike businesses that can change up their products to attract and retain customers, gas stations really have to stretch their creativity. The product (gas) is more or less the same wherever you get it, but it’s also considered a necessity for people who drive and rely on driving to support their livelihoods. That’s why loyalty programs are such an important tool for gas stations—it’s the key to differentiating themselves from their competitors.
But having a rewards program isn’t enough—you need to actively promote it and make it a no-brainer for customers to join, use, and stay loyal. Whether you’re launching a new loyalty program or trying to boost an existing one, here are practical strategies to promote it effectively and maximize customer engagement.
1. Start With a Clear Value Proposition
This is especially important when your products aren’t easily distinguishable from your competitors, so you need to stand out with a clear value proposition. Make sure your loyalty program is easy to understand—and genuinely rewarding.
- Clear rewards: You want customers to redeem these rewards, so make them easy to understand as well. Making rewards easy to calculate and quantify helps customers identify if the loyalty program is worth using. “Save $10 for every 100 points earned. Earn 3 points for every litre” is clearer than “Earn fuel rewards”.
- Weekly savings: Offer always-on savings like “Members enjoy 3¢ off per litre every Thursday!” or surprise weekly promotions like “Fuel up this week and get 50% off a car wash” to appeal to price-conscious consumers looking for a good deal.
- Use real-life examples: Promoting your gas loyalty program doesn’t have to just be about putting the perks front and centre. Tap into testimonials and reviews to illustrate the savings in everyday life (e.g. “I’ve saved at least $12/month just by scanning the app every time I stopped by to fill up my tank!”).
Editor's note: Not me going to get gas this afternoon from my favourite gas station because it's 3¢ off per litre and I'll get 50 airmiles for my second fill of the month.
2. Promote Your Loyalty Program Everywhere
Take advantage of the customer’s attention when they’re already at the gas station and let them know how much they could be saving right now if they joined your loyalty program. Clear signage and posters promoting your loyalty program are even more important at the gas station because there might not be a personal touchpoint. Most transactions happen directly at the pump.
Consider these areas:
- At the pump: Place messaging on pump toppers and digital screens to advertise how to join and earn
- In-store checkouts: Put stickers and tent cards at in-store checkouts, inviting customers to sign up on the spot. Or even train your staff to mention the program when customers pay. Using a POS loyalty program is a seamless way to enrol new customers into your loyalty program.
- Receipts: Add a printed reminder or incentive at the bottom of every fuel or convenience store receipt.
Pro tip: Alternate your promotional messaging and design frequently to prevent ad fatigue. If a frequent customer keeps seeing the same poster or digital banner on the screen, they’re probably desensitized to it and won’t sign up.
3. Run Limited-Time Promotions
With regular consumption patterns, a gas promotion might not warrant more frequent visits to the gas station—but it might encourage people to use their car more for travels or influence those who use their cars less regularly to fill a full tank just to benefit from it. That’s a long-winded way of saying people respond to urgency and FOMO (fear of missing out).
Run campaigns like:
- Double points week: “Earn 2x points for every transaction made at the fueling station or in-store this week”
- Boosted monthly savings: “Earn 2x points when you fuel up 3 times this month!"
- Seasonal promotions and holiday weekends: Leverage the summer season and long weekends to run savings promotions and encourage high mileage travels within the country (e.g. “Packing up for a long weekend road trip? We’ve got you covered—earn double points on Victoria Day!”).
Example
Petro-Canada ran a campaign encouraging travels to villages and towns within the country that coincidentally share the same name as some more familiar U.S. locations (e.g. Boston, Ontario vs. Boston, Massachusetts) amidst political tensions. The campaign not only highlighted its vast network across the country but also reminded Canadians to explore Canada when planning travels to support the local economy.
4. Broadcast Through Digital Channels
Just because your product requires physically visiting on-site locations doesn’t mean you can’t utilize digital communications. Once users are in your program, remind them to engage and redeem. Think about how you can utilize each digital channel (i.e. social media, website, SMS, push notification, and email) and how frequently you should nudge them.
- Send reminders when they’re near point redemption thresholds: “You’re 200 points away from redeeming a $20 cash coupon!”
- Align your promotions with up-to-date events: “Heat wave? Fill up and have a soda on us!”
- Notify them of expiring rewards or new bonus events: “Don’t let it go to waste! 600 points expiring end of the month”
- Use personalization: “Hey Sarah, you’re 10 points from 5¢/litre savings!”
And not all communications to customers have to be loyalty related. With customer data collected from the loyalty program, you can identify trends in visit frequency and average spend on gas per visit. Leverage these data points to personalize and time your messaging so that you reach your customers just before they’re due for their next tank refill.
Watch your loyalty program grow as DataCandy reaches the right customers at the right moments.
5. Make the App Experience Seamless
Have an app for your gas loyalty program? Make sure it offers a seamless user experience. A straightforward loyalty program and user-friendly app can be your key to securing loyal customers—even if your competitors might be offering a better deal.
Most gas loyalty programs rely on mobile apps. To boost adoption:
- Promote app downloads with signage and onboarding help at the counter
- Offer mobile-exclusive perks like games, scratch cards, or digital punch cards
- Let customers track rewards and pay directly from the app for convenience
When you make your app easy to understand and simple to navigate, it makes accumulating points and rewards easier too. And if your customers are invested in racking up points, they would be more likely to stay with your business in the long run. Make the opportunity cost of switching to a competitor high by keeping your customers engaged while offering worthwhile rewards.
Final Thoughts
A great loyalty program is one thing—but getting people to actually use it requires smart promotion, ongoing engagement, and a clear sense of value, especially when car ownership is becoming more of a luxury under the current economic environment.
Whether your customers are daily commuters or weekend warriors, a well-promoted gas loyalty program can keep them coming back, even when prices fluctuate.
Get an estimate for how much profit your loyalty program could generate with our loyalty ROI calculator.
