Why your loyalty programme needs an upgrade
At Tranxactor, we are great advocates of harnessing the power of a great loyalty programme. As sponsors of The Loyalty Awards and experience in this space for many years, we've worked with a number of brands to help them create impactful loyalty programmes that tie in with POS and CRM systems so that loyalty is not only connected to financing and marketing, but also reflects the consumer's own individual needs. So, when we saw that new research from Sodexo has shown that 71% of consumers respond positively to brands that offer loyalty reward programmes based on their individual shopping habits, we weren't surprised, but we were concerned that still, big brands and retailers aren't reacting to consumer need to offer a personalised, engaging loyalty experience.
In the study of over 1000 consumers, 27% of respondents to the Sodexo study said they would shop more with a business offering loyalty rewards, 33% would think more positively about the business and a further 11% said they would like the brand more. We also already know that engaging the top 15% of members of a loyalty programme creates 50% of a business's sales.
But are loyalty programmes stacking up? One key area that may need addressing is the tech.
When it comes to the 18-24-year-old market, the demographic strongly prefer an online portal or app to access their offers (42%), compared to the 55-64-year-old age group. If you created a loyalty programme just 5 - 10 years ago and have been 'patching it', your youth demographic have now shifted. Let us not forget that beyond the many articles on millennials, it is next generations who are soon putting money into tills and shopping carts or bitcoins across the globe who will be our next consumers, and they are not looking for rewards, benefits and perks that feel 'standard'.
If we can fly a car into space, it seems maddening that our favourite retailer can't connect our loyalty or gift card purchase to our other buying habits, recognise us as an advocate or reward us for loyalty across multiple platforms.
Redemption times are also a standout area for us. In any given day, you'll refresh your mobile device as you wait for an update, check your social networks in excess of 40 times a day and impatiently wait for a 'forgotten password' email. To offer loyalty rewards in anything slower than real time seems archaic, but many retailers are still falling behind.
Is yours?
If it's time for an upgrade, talk to us. Through our offices in three countries, we service clients across UK, Europe, SE Asia, Australia and New Zealand and we would love to discuss how the right changes to your loyalty programme could offer vast returns for your business. Reach out today. https://www.tranxactor.com/get-in-touch/