Why do we need an points system

With the development of the Internet, especially after the platform of big factories, member service has gradually become a very important part of each platform. The operation for members, whether it is the refined operation for existing members or the directional operation for potential members, needs to be designed very pertinently. This also means that the business of the operating system facing members will be extremely complex, and under this, the operating system supporting it has put forward very high requirements. However, through careful analysis, it is not difficult to find that the core of member operation is actually carried out around points: By using points, members’ activities and consumption behaviors on the platform can be encouraged and guided, which can bring the following effects:

  1. Improve the conversion rate of potential members and repeat order rate of existing members;
  2. Cultivate members’ usage habits and dependence;
  3. Increase the activity of members;
  4. Increase the enthusiasm of members to participate in the platform activities;

In general, the points system achieves the following functions:

  1. Strengthen the behavior of members. That includes
    1. The introduction of potential members, such as registering and sending points, can quickly increase the page view of the platform;
    2. Motivating specific behaviors of existing members, such as sending points for post-consumption evaluation, will strengthen members’ review behavior; Or consumption share discount, can improve the conversion rate of members;
    3. Increase membership engagement, such as bonus points for completing daily tasks, to increase members’ dependence on the platform.
  2. Weaken the behavior of members. For example, deducting points for Posting illegal information can prevent members from Posting illegal information.

It is not difficult to see from the above examples that there are three types of integral behaviors for members: integral acquisition, integral consumption and integral deduction.

Integral gain

After members carry out activities on the platform, especially consumption activities, the system will automatically issue points to their points accounts according to the rules for obtaining points. However, it is important to note that the consumption activity needs to complete the payment and there is no return or exchange in order to receive points. There are generally the following types of integral acquisition:

  1. Behavior integral acquisition. This includes registering, rating, logging in, and using specific payment channels to pay.
  2. Grade integral acquisition. By differentiating members according to their levels, members of different levels have different permissions. When they get points, higher-level members get more points, so as to motivate members to improve their levels.
  3. Consumption points are acquired. Members’ consumption behavior on the platform will be the main way for them to obtain points, which are generally divided into three categories
    1. Ordinary consumption points are obtained. According to the amount of consumption, a certain proportion of reward points will be obtained to stimulate members to spend.
    2. Full integral acquisition. When the consumption reaches a certain amount or quantity, certain reward points will be obtained to stimulate the member’s single consumption amount.
    3. Promotion points earned. Bonus points are awarded for spending on different dates or items, giving members an incentive to spend on certain dates or items.

These integrals can occur not only individually, but can also be combined to design very complex rules. For example, double points for designated goods in designated time, double points for VIP members who spend more than ten thousand yuan, double points for new members who place an order for the first time, and so on.

Integral consumption

After obtaining points, members need to obtain various rights and interests by consuming points, which not only guides their behaviors, but also increases their stickiness. Enjoying the benefits of points can also stimulate members to get more points. There are several common forms of integral consumption

  1. Points and cash consumption. In the specified time to buy the specified goods, according to the rules of the system design, the points in accordance with a certain proportion of a certain limit to deduct part of the cash use.
  2. Exchange goods for consumption. Set up a Commodity Exchange area and set the points required for goods exchange. Members can directly exchange their points for goods without paying extra cash.
  3. Redeem coupons for consumption. Members will redeem the points into coupons according to the rules, which can be used in later consumption. This includes deduction coupon and discount coupon again among them.
  4. Bonus points are given away. Members can choose to give away their points to other members.

Points deduction

By deducting points, members’ behaviors are punished and influenced. The common behaviors of penalty points are not logged in for a long time, providing false registration data, releasing illegal information, releasing malicious evaluation, brushing and so on.

The characteristics of the integral system

Through the classification of the points system, we can find that the points system has the following characteristics

  1. It doesn’t need to be too complicated. Integration rules and business can be described very simply, and even complex rules can be obtained through the combination of several simple rules, so there is no need for too complex structure.
  2. Business problems cannot be solved by simple algorithms. Although a single rule, even a very complex one, can in reality be quite simple, it can be satisfied with a combination of if else’s. But with all the business that needs to be supported, this is going to be incredibly complicated.
  3. Business logic changes frequently. With the exception of some common rules, a large number of rules are constantly changing in response to operational requirements, so the frequency of software releases, even with agile development, is completely impossible to keep up with the frequency of changing requirements.
  4. Domain experts can provide support but have no technical background. Domain experts familiar with business logic and processes often have no technical background and are likely unable to describe business requirements in technical language.

Based on these characteristics, the integration rules should be decoupled and injected into the system at run time according to a certain data structure. Then design a runtime interpreter to make it effective in the system. This interpreter is often referred to as the rules engine, and the rules engine is the core of the points system.

Features of the rules engine

  1. The statement type. The rules engine should let us state what to do, not how to do it. Through declarations, complex business logic is reduced to logical representations and validated. Logical statements are much more readable than coding.
  2. Separation of business logic from data. Put the data in the business objects and the business logic in the rules. This decouples nearly constant business data structures from business logic that can change at any time for easy maintenance.
  3. Understandable rules. Rules are modeled and documented to approximate natural language. This enables domain experts with no technical background to describe business problems through rule models.
  4. Business knowledge centralization. By centralized management of existing rules and relying on their high understandability, a business knowledge base can be created, which can play the role of business documents.
  5. Explanatory ability. The engine should be able to explain what decisions are made based on the rules.
  6. Fast. The rules engine should be able to match the rules efficiently through algorithms.

As the core of the points system, it is very expensive to implement a rules engine that meets the above characteristics. However, a large number of open source and commercial rules engines already exist in the market. When the ability to implement a rules engine is insufficient and a points system needs to be launched quickly, it may be a better choice to choose an open source rules engine or buy a commercial rules engine.