Extole outlined a reward strategy covering five stages of the customer relationship in April 2025: awareness, consideration, purchase, retention and advocacy. The referral platform provider argued that incentives should reflect the next action a brand wanted a customer to take.

At the awareness stage, the guide discussed branded merchandise, gift card promotions and creator-shared discounts. During consideration, possible incentives included a reward for exploring a product, taking a demo or completing a trial.

Purchase-stage examples included welcome offers, spending thresholds and limited-time benefits. Extole then separated those acquisition incentives from ongoing loyalty rewards, such as points, tiered benefits, anniversary recognition and early product access.

For advocacy, the company highlighted referral programs that reward an existing customer and introduce a friend to the brand. Its examples included Lulus offering store credit after a qualifying referred purchase, illustrating a reward tied to completed referral activity rather than simply sharing a link.

The guide named retail and financial-services programs to illustrate the different stages. Those examples reflected the article’s April 2025 context, rather than a listing of current offers. Extole connected the overall approach with its own platform functions for personalized referrals, automated rewards and performance reporting.