Partner Article

Long live loyalty!

A recent report by Capgemini Consulting who studied 160 loyalty programmes of companies all over the world in seven different sectors found that “Nearly 90% of consumers have a negative sentiment toward Customer loyalty programmes, often citing that they do not take the digital developments of 2015 into account.”*

Why…when loyalty programmes clearly bring rewards to customers, are they being viewed so negatively by the very people who should be championing them? As a loyalty programme provider this is clearly a controversial topic for us to be covering, but let’s look a little more closely at the reasons behind this, and what brands can do to turn these stats around:

44% say that they lack of reward relevance, flexibility and value

Consumers want personalisation. Not only this, they expect it. Brands need to ensure that a one-size-fits-all approach is no more. People don’t shop in the same way, so why expect that they want to receive the same rewards or communications? The future is about offering consumers a choice - would they prefer to exchange their points for discount vouchers, free gifts, or experiences etc…?

At the heart of personalisation is data capture, but to do this successfully you need to communicate the benefits to your customers. Make sure they know why you’re asking for that information, but most importantly (in their eyes) what great perks they will get as a result? How will their consumer journey with you improve? Ultimately make sure they know it’s all for their benefit, not yours, and be open and honest as to how it will be used.

To find out more about developing a personalised customer engagement strategy, read our personalisation white paper.

33% say that there is a lack of a seamless multi-channel experience

We regularly talk about the omni - channel experience; the seamless approach to the consumer experience, using all available customer - facing channels to provide consistency whether in - store, online or on a mobile device.

As new technologies constantly emerge and evolve, it’s easy to get swept up in their appeal to find new ways to connect with consumers. But, poorly used technology could simply result in disengagement not only from communications, but from the brand altogether. Your technology should serve to complement your programme and make life easier for the consumer. Currently, only 9% of companies offer reward redemption across channels. Making rewards and redemptions available across channels is vital - consumers shouldn’t just have to go into store to benefit.

Take a look at our white paper for our top ten tips on using technology to boost consumer loyalty and ROI.

Whilst 97% of companies reward for purchases, only 25% reward for engagement

Consumers no longer just interact with your brand when they make a purchase and loyalty programmes should reflect this. Social media interactions, gamification, app downloads and check - ins are all areas which can and should be rewarded. With the right tools and know - how, you can link these channels to your CRM to reward engagement. This can be specialist work, and we help our partners by joining them up to track these interactions through their CRM. Engagement is what builds loyalty, and really, who wouldn’t want to be rewarded for simply sharing something on social media?

We’re working on a new guide for using social media to increase customer loyalty and engagement, look out for it soon.

As we often say, loyalty is not dead. It’s very much alive and kicking! Programmes need to adapt and move with the times in order to stay relevant and engaging to consumers. Done right across the industry, 90% of negative sentiment should eventually turn to a positive!

*Source: Consultancy.UK

All statistics taken from Capgemini Consulting: Fixing the Cracks: Reinventing Loyalty Programs for the Digital Age

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ikano Insights .