Loyalty 3.0: working creatively with customer data

Loyalty programmes solely focussed on transaction habits are a thing of the past. A new generation is striving to improve the brand experience throughout the customer journey. A flexible digital platform is an indispensable part of this. Plus a large dose of creativity. 

Good news for anyone who regularly visits one of the 40 amusement parks owned by Six Flags. Last month the corporation, which receives tens of millions of visitors each year, revealed detailed plans for a comprehensive new loyalty programme. A striking element of the new programme: members can now save points by checking in to as many rides and attractions as possible, with an extra bonus if they then share their experiences via social media.  “We didn't want to create a programme purely focussed on spending money”, explains Mark Kupferman, VP insights & interactive marketing at Six Flags Entertainment. "Our brand experience doesn't revolve around selling products. Of course we do sell a product, but our experience is actually about riding rollercoasters and enjoying incredible experiences; that's why we wanted to develop our loyalty programme around those kinds of experiences.” 

Better brand experience

Loyalty programmes exclusively aimed at boosting sales are a thing of the past. According to research by Capgemini, 77% of all loyalty programmes which focus purely on 'transaction habits’ die a quiet death within two years of their launch. Similarly, recent research by consultancy firm McKinsey highlights the importance of shifting the focus of these programmes to the improvement of the brand experience throughout the customer journey.  If this is done in an inspiring way, a loyalty programme can still make an important contribution to increasing customer retention and sales. This is certainly the case in mature and saturated markets, where the differences between competitors are small. An essential condition is that the content of the programme closely matches the needs of the customer, say the McKinsey researchers, who observe that in this area, too, consumers are becoming increasingly demanding. 

360 degree customer profile

Anyone wanting to communicate with their customer in a relevant way, must first get to know that customer well. That requires a platform which allows for the accurate mapping of customer behaviour. Not only their purchasing behaviour, but also, for example, their click behaviour on the website, newsletters or banner, and their interaction on social media. By combining data from all these channels, a 360 degree customer profile is created, with which you truly can become relevant. 

This data allows you, among others, to distinguish different customer groups and their needs. What behaviour are you are keen to encourage, and with which reward can you best achieve this? For instance, more and more customers no longer want to spend months saving for a gift. These customers will therefore respond better to a fun game, exclusive content, a handy extra service or an inspiring experience. 

Creative transition

For the marketeer who wants to make a creative transition, there's an almost unlimited number of (technological) options available. Consider, for instance, geo-targeting. For example, McDonald's sends users of its loyalty app an offer for an ice cream while they're walking past one of the restaurants on a hot day. And Rituals sometimes invites loyalty members in the vicinity for a free advice session with a personal stylist.  However, for marketeers who don't necessarily want to immediately use the latest technologies, there are also a wealth of options available. Take Hunkemöller, for instance, which sends its customer a text message the day after they've made a purchase: Are you pleased with your new purchase? If not, you can use the link in this message to make an appointment to exchange the item. If so, then share your lovely new product on social media via this link. By doing so, you can immediately earn extra loyalty points. 

Inspiring ideas

Naturally, all this communication yields extra data for the customer profile. Provided your platform is able to receive and process the data, that is. And that you can translate the resulting insights into the needs of the customers, in a relevant and inspiring way.  rb2 has extensive knowledge in the area of loyalty platforms and, together with marketing agency Doornvogel, we have packaged all this knowledge into the platform Loyalty Tools. This is a joint initiative that has successfully been used since 2004 to provide an optimum service to customers. The platform is suitable for millions of users and is now used by RET, T Mobile, Nederlandse Loterij and Nuon. Are you, too, curious about our ideas for combining data and customer communication in an inspiring way? Then make an appointment. We will be happy to help you!