• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
LOYALTYEXPO2009
July 2009
 | Loyalty Management 
59
 
FROM THE EXPO
Expo Takeaways:“Keep it Real”
by Al McClain – RetailWire.com
Sme markeers are mre n lve wh punggeher prgrams and seng rules han heyare n really cnnecng wh her cusmers.
60
 
July 2009
 | Loyalty Management
 
“The LoyaltyExpo was a wellrun conerencewith many greatpresentationsand signifcantnetworkingopportunitieswith clients,partners andprospects.”
—Bob Fetter, Pluris
LOYALTY EXPO 2009
S
 here’s he hng abu lyaly—’s whaeverhe ndvdual shpper/cnsumer wans   be,n a markeer’s prgram. one persn s lyaldue  persnalzed servce, anher lkes he ne reeaer en purchases deal, whle smene else wans accumulae pns, ec. the prblem seems  be haa leas sme markeers are mre n lve wh punggeher prgrams and seng rules han hey are nreally cnnecng wh her cusmers.
Citibank and American Airlines have a program, orexample, where one can earn 20,000 Aadvantage® milesor doing the ollowing: Open a checking account with atleast $1,000 by 6-30-09. Make one direct deposit or paytwo electronic bills or make ve qualiying non PIN-basedpurchase transactions with their debit card per month ortwelve consecutive months. Oh, and you have to rememberto register or the program using a special code and once it’sall over it takes up to 120 days rom completing all the activityto receive the miles.Meanwhile, speaker ater speaker at this week’s LoyaltyExpo advised marketers to “simpliy”, “connect with consumers” and “keep it real”. With the above example, we can see whythat advice is necessary. BrandMIND noted that householdshave an average o 14 loyalty cards yet a Colloquy presentersaid that only 6.2 o those 14 memberships are active. Inother words, consumers have a lot o loyalty cards andcan’t keep up with them all. Yet, here’s the program thatstarted it all in 1981 making consumers jump through nearlyimpossible hoops to claim their award.For the 80 million 12 to 31 year olds classied as Millenials,programs like the above example make even less sense.Panelists at a session on “Building Engagement withMillenials” said that this group is very connected with riendsand amily, relying heavily on word-o-mouth or everything.Millennials want instant gratication—they preer instantcash back (who doesn’t) versus mileage rewards that take along time to accumulate. Traditional media with this groupis less eective, and they have the ability to opt-out o everything, so marketers need to nd reasons to keep themengaged with their brands. I a brand doesn’t deliver, theycan tarnish it pretty quickly, via social networks and W-O-M.Panelists elt that marketers should take away complexitybecause, although this group can scan inormation morerapidly than previous generations, they are better at“scanning” than really reading in-depth.My overall impression is that consumers, i let to their owndevices, would really preer to just have better prices thanwade through piles o special oers and loyalty program rules.(Can anyone say Wal-Mart or Southwest Airlines?) But, sincethere can be only one low price leader or any given type o business, everybody else needs to think about what else willwork best and perhaps try the ollowing tips:
• Keep loyalty programs
and special oers simple enoughthat harried consumers can gure them out easily andquickly.
• Don’t try to
trick consumers with onerous rules andregulations—you’ll get trashed via social media.
• Personalize ofers enough
so that shoppers will know youare on the same page with them, but not so much thatthey think you are snooping on them or trying to be their“riend”.
• Think about what
you oer rom the perspective o consumers who are going through tough times moreoten than not, and are continuously bombarded by“deals” rom marketers o all sizes and stripes.
 
L
July 2009
 | Loyalty Management 
61
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...