Adding a decisive edge to corporate loyalty programmes

However, it will not be found in more discountfoucussed offers

Loyalty programmes have gained a reputation for driving returns and increasing market share. However, for such initiatives to truly drive brand recognition and customer engagement, they need to go beyond discountdriven rewards.

Consumers — particularly millennials — are actively seeking personalisation and imaginative engagement, and are quite prepared to pay a premium for such services. Seventynine per cent of millennials and Gen Xers want a strong loyalty programme, according to the big-data analytics company IRI, while the numbers register at 74 per cent for baby boomers and 66 per cent among seniors.

According to marketing firm HelloWorld’s 2017 Loyalty Barometer Report, 81 per cent of millennials favour loyalty programmes that go beyond offering rewards — indicating opportunities for more innovative approaches in future programmes. In order for business to deliver relevant and effective loyalty programmes, this fresh outlook will be key.

Digital customer engagement, AI and machine learning provide enterprises with a powerful methodology to facilitate the delivery of specific and personalised services. These solutions allow tailored offerings that address the needs of specific individual customers over the entire retail experience.

Given its high millennial population and penetration of digital technologies, the UAE is a particularly fertile market for this approach. Truly futureready loyalty programmes are beginning to find their feet.

Existing programmes- such as Shukran, MyClub and Privilege cards — have been implemented with considerable success. Digital tech-enhanced loyalty programmes that deliver true multi-platform personalisation stand to disrupt markets and achieve transformative results in customer acquisition.

The standout loyalty programmes have focused on deepening the quality of engagement between businesses and customers. Creating communities around products and services is an excellent way to do this.

Real-time feedback

Not only do such initiatives reinforce loyalty through participative engagement, they also allow enterprises a means to gain real-time feedback that is a lot more forthcoming than that solicited through surveys, which are often perceived to be intrusive and limited in the data gathered.

The French cosmetics multinational Sephora’s Beauty Insider loyalty programme is a case in point. Currently with more than 10 million members, the extremely active social media engagement of the multitiered programme has contributed significantly to its success.

The advent of social media actually reflects a deepening in the engagement. In order to remain relevant and to maximise impact, loyalty programmes — and customer engagement in general — need to reflect this reality. Evolution in customer behaviour means that personalised, interactive and value-added programmes are here to stay.

Emerging technologies will only accentuate this trend even further. Loyalty programmes, those that set businesses apart from their competitors, will have far greater opportunity to introduce redefined standards of service.

With a little attention to detail and through the creation of innovative engagement, enterprises will be able reap significant rewards, even as they ostensibly appear to offer them to their customers.