Siebel Loyalty Administration Guide > Setting Up Siebel Loyalty Programs > Process of Setting Up Loyalty Programs >

Defining Tier Classes and Tiers

While creating a new program, the loyalty administrator defines tier classes and tiers for the program:

• Tier Classes. Multiple tier classes can be specified in order to divide members based on different criteria. For example, an airline frequent flyer program can define two tier classes, one to divide members based on the number of miles flown during a qualifying period or another tier could be based on program-to-date activity.
• Tiers. In most loyalty programs, members earn the right to be in certain tiers, such as Gold Member or Platinum Member, based on how much they purchase. Members get rewards for being in higher tiers, so tiers are an important incentive in loyalty programs.

You must define at least one tier for each tier class. If the tier class is not one that applies to all members, then make the default tier a tier with the Show Flag left unchecked.

CAUTION:  Do not change the names of tier classes after you have activated them.

When there are multiple tier classes in a program, the program decides which is the dominant tier for a member by querying for all tiers for the member that have the Show Flag set to Y and that were active at the time of the transaction date. Of these tiers, the one whose tier class has the lowest sequence number is the dominant tier for the member. If multiple tiers are found for the same tier class, then the one that was approved the last is considered, as it is deemed to be the most recent valid tier. If there were no tiers active at the time of the transaction date, then the current active tiers are used. You can change the behavior to always use the current active tiers if desired, by defining a System Preference with the name LOYUseTransactionDateTier and the value N.

This task is a step in Process of Setting Up Loyalty Programs.

To become a member of a tier, members must earn a specified number of qualifying points within a specified time. This time is called the qualifying period. When you define tiers, you specify the number of qualifying points needed to qualify for the each tier and the qualifying period that members have to earn those points.

A tier also defines if and when points expire if the point expiry basis is defined as Tier Level. Tier expiration rules are the default. If a promotion's action is to assign points, then the promotion expiration rules override tier expiration rules. For the promotion expiration rules to override the tier expiration rules, you must enter the Expiration Snap To, Expiration Length and UoM fields for the promotion; these fields are described in the following procedure.

Because many loyalty programs send statements more frequently to members in higher tiers, you also use tier definitions to specify when statements are sent.

To define tier classes and tiers

1. Navigate to the Loyalty Program Administration screen.
2. In the Loyalty Programs list, select the program that the tiers are used by and click its Program Id hyperlink.
3. Click the Tier Classes view tab.
4. Add a new record to the Tier Classes list, and complete the necessary fields. Some fields are described in the following table.

   Field	Description
   Sequence	Enter a number indicating how high the status of this tier class is compared with other tier classes. For example, a frequent flyer program might include standard set to 1, business class set to 2, first class set to 3.
   Primary Tier Name	Select the lowest tier in this tier class, which is the tier that members are in when they first enroll. This value can only be specified after the tiers have been created for this class, and it must be specified before activating the tier class.
   Start Qual Period	Select when the qualifying period starts. This option determines the tier assessment model. The options are: Enrollment Date/Anniversary Date. The qualifying period starts on the day the member enrolls and continues for the length of time specified in the Tiers list. First Day of Month. The qualifying period starts on the day the member enrolls and continues for the specified time after the first day of the following month. For example, if the member enrolls on March 17 and the specified length of time is one year, then the qualifying period lasts from March 17 until April 1 of the next year. Fixed Date. The qualifying period starts on a specified date and continues for the length of time specified in the Tiers list. Rolling. The qualifying period starts on the day the member enrolls and continues for a specified period. NOTE:  If you want a tier class to be based on the lifetime points a member has earned, then leave the fields Start Qualifying Period and Restart Qualifying Period blank for that tier class, which essentially creates one qualifying period for the member's entire time as a member.
   Restart Qual Period	Select when the length of time for the new qualifying period starts after a tier status change. The options are: Qualifying Period Expiration. The length of time for the new qualifying period starts at the expiration of the current qualifying period. For example, the qualifying period for a member to qualify for the Gold tier ended on December 31, 2003, the member actually qualified for the Gold tier on August 17, 2003, and the length of time to qualify for Platinum tier is one year. Then the member has from August 17, 2003 until December 31, 2004 to qualify for the Platinum tier. Tier Status Change. The length of time for the new qualifying period starts immediately when the tier changes. For example, if a member changes from Silver tier to Gold tier on August 17, 2003, and if the length of time to qualify for the Platinum tier is one year, then the member has from August 17, 2003 until August 17, 2004 to qualify for the Platinum tier. NOTE:  Do not choose Tier Status Change if you choose Jan. 1 or First Day of Month in the Start Qualifying Period field. These two combinations do not make sense logically. Choose Tier Status Change only if you choose Enrollment Date in the Start Qualifying Period field.
   Qual Period Length and Qual Period UoM	Enter the length and unit of measurement for the initial qualifying period for this tier. For example, if the qualifying period is one year, then the length is 1 and UoM is Year. If the qualifying period is six months, then length is 6 and UoM is Month. These fields are also available at the tier level. However, even if these values are specified at the tier level, Siebel Loyalty uses values specified at the tier class level. NOTE:  These fields are mandatory if Start Qual Period is set to Rolling.
   Start Tier Date	This field is enabled only if Start Tier Period is Fixed Date. Enter the day and month that the tier starts.
   End Tier Date	This field is enabled only if Start Tier Period is Fixed Date. Enter the day and month that the tier ends.
   Min Tier Length and Min Tier Length Period	Enter the minimum period of time that a member is guaranteed membership in any tier within this tier class. For example, if the minimum period is six months, length is 6 and Period is Month. The Tier End date is calculated based on the value of these fields.
   Approver	Select the user who approves tier downgrades.
   Assessment Schedule Date	Enter the day and month to schedule a tier assessment for a tier class.
   Recurring Period	Select how frequently the assessment schedule is repeated. Options are: Monthly Yearly
   Requal Period Length and Requal Period UoM	Enter the length and unit of measurement for the requalifying period for this tier. For example, if the requalifying period is one year, then the length is 1 and UoM is Year. If the qualifying period is six months, then length is 6 and UoM is Month. NOTE:  These fields are enabled only when the requalifying period is same for all the tiers in the tier class.

5. Add a new record to the Tiers list, and complete the necessary fields. Some fields are described in the following table.

   Field	Description
   Sequence	Enter a number indicating how high the status of this tier is compared with other tiers. For example, a program might include standard set to 1, Silver set to2, Gold set to 3, Platinum set to 4.
   Qual Period Length and Qual Period UoM	Enter the length and unit of measurement for the initial qualifying period for this tier. For example, if the qualifying period is one year, then the length is 1 and UoM is Year. If the qualifying period is six months, then length is 6 and UoM is Month. It is recommended that you define Qual Period Length at the tier class level. Values specified for Qual Period Length at the tier class level take precedence over Qual Period Length values specified at the tier level.
   Requal Period Length and Requal Period UoM	Enter the length and unit of measurement for the qualifying period for existing members to remain in this tier. Usually, this period is the same as the initial qualifying period. NOTE:  The Expiry Basis must be defined as Tier Level at the program level in order for the tier level point expiry set up to be applicable.
   Expire Extension in Days	Enter the extension in days before points expire. Typical extensions are 30, 60, 365. NOTE:  The Expiry Basis must be defined as Tier Level at the program level in order for the tier level point expiry set up to be applicable. For example, if you enter 365, then points do not expire if you earn or redeem any amount of points at least once every 365 days. If you have not earned or redeemed any points for over 365 days, then the Loyalty Engine expires all accrued points. If you do not want to use this feature, then enter a value of 0 for each tier. Do not leave the field blank (null). Entering 0 makes the members points expire according to the tier and promotion point expiration rules regardless of whether the member has had any activity.
   Qual Point Expiration Length and Qual Points Expiration UoM	Enter the length and unit of measurement when qualifying points expire for members of this tier. For example, if qualifying points expire two years after they are earned, then the length is 2 and UoM is Year. After points expire, the member can no longer exchange them for rewards. If points never expire, then clear the Expire Points check box.
   Non-Qual Point Expiration Length and Non-Qual Point Expiration UoM	Enter the length and unit of measurement when nonqualifying points expire for members of this tier. If points never expire, then clear the Expire Points check box.
   Expiration Snap To	Select when the period starts that is used to determine whether points expire. Select Calculated date to start on the date when the points are earned. Select 1st Day of Next Month, Quarter, or Year to start on the specified date after the points are earned.
   Statement Frequency	Select how frequently statements are sent to members of this tier. Many loyalty programs send statements more frequently to members of higher tiers. For more information about statements, see Generating, Viewing, and Printing Loyalty Members' Statements. NOTE:  You can generate loyalty statements manually from the Statement Administration view. To generate statements automatically based on frequency, you must build a workflow rule that takes the Statement Frequency field value into account, along with any other tier-specific parameters that are necessary. For information about building workflow rules, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
   Only If Activity	If this check box is selected, then a statement can only be sent if an accrual or redemption activity has occurred since the last one was sent.
   Show Flag	Select this check box to display the tier on the Web site. NOTE:  To display this field, right click on the list and use the Columns Displayed feature.
   Expire Points	Clear this check box if points never expire for members of this tier. This field overrides the specifications in the fields that indicate when points expire. NOTE:  To display this field, right click on the list and use the Columns Displayed feature.
   Lounge	Select the lounge that members of this tier are allowed to use. This field is used by airlines that give members of their frequent flyer plans the right to use special lounges. NOTE:  To display this field, right click on the list and use the Columns Displayed feature.
   Card Type	Select the membership card type for this tier. NOTE:  To display this field, right click on the list and use the Columns Displayed feature.
   Demotion Tier	Select the tier that members are demoted to if they fail to earn enough points to requalify for this tier during the requalifying period. If no value is selected here, then members are demoted to the tier that they qualify for based on the number of points they earned during the requalifying period. NOTE:  To display this field, right click on the list and use the Columns Displayed feature.
   Lowest Demotion Tier	Select the lowest tier that members of this tier can ever be demoted to, if applicable. For example, you might have a rule saying that if members have reached the Platinum tier, then they can never be demoted to lower than the Silver tier. NOTE:  To display this field, right click on the list and use the Columns Displayed feature.
   Grace Period Length and Grace Period UoM	These fields apply only if points never expire for this tier. Enter values to specify the period that members have to use their points after they are demoted to a tier where points do expire. NOTE:  To display this field, right click on the list and use the Columns Displayed feature.
   Downgrade Approval Required	Select this check box to flag members for batch downgrade tier processing. If enabled, then the member's tier downgrade is subject to approval from the approver specified at the Tier Class level.

6. To enter notes about the tiers in this tier class, click the Tier Notes view tab, add a new record to the Tier Notes list, and complete the necessary fields.
7. If your loyalty program has different sets of tiers for different customers, then repeat Step 4, Step 5, and Step 6 until you have defined all of the sets of tiers in the program.