Differentiation is key for brands looking to stand out in a crowded market and connect with consumers who are often overwhelmed by the demands of an always-on world. More than ever, consumers want to feel their purchases align with their personal values and beliefs, and even make things better...Read More

Acquiring new customers requires a lot of time and money. It costs five to six times more to get a new customer than to reactivate an old one. That’s why businesses focus so much on what drives customer loyalty and how to enhance it.  Learn how gamification can bring a fresh...Read More

Laying the GroundworkDevelopments in artificial intelligence (AI) dominate the zeitgeist. AI’s implications for marketers—particularly in customer relationship management (CRM), loyalty, and engagement—loom large for client collaborations today and moving forward. That’s...Read More

Advancements in technology, the rise of social media, and the empowerment that comes with more open global communication structures have greatly influenced how young consumers participate with brands. This means brands need to completely redefine how they look at the people buying their products...Read More

Modern marketing is not just about advertising the superiority of products. While the features of a product are undoubtedly important, delivering quality products and services is just the starting point for any business. However, this foundation needs a crowning...Read More

In today's healthcare industry, it's crucial for providers to keep patients happy to keep them coming back and attract new ones. As healthcare services continue to evolve, providers are turning to innovative solutions such as healthcare loyalty programs to foster repeat business and...Read More

In today’s data-driven landscape, companies increasingly recognize the importance of customer data to drive personalized experiences and build lasting relationships. One emerging strategy gaining traction is the collection of zero-party data, which refers to information that customers...Read More

Creating an engaging customer experience is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity, especially in the retail industry. As businesses strive to stand out in a crowded market, understanding and implementing effective strategies is key. So let's look at some vital components and...Read More

For grocery stores, driving revenue from their client base, isn't just about stocking shelves with the freshest produce or offering the crispiest deals. It's about cultivating a loyal following that keeps coming back, by transforming routine shopping trips into cherished experiences. The...Read More

Capturing what triggers immediate emotions in consumer brand relationships and leads to the act of buying, is one thing. Knowing how to create lasting emotions that will enable a strong and sustainable relationship with a brand, is another. Much more...Read More

Many retail loyalty programs fall into the trap of monotony, relying on mundane earn-and-burn structures that fail to truly influence consumer behavior. According to the USA’s National Retail Federation, 84 out of the US’ top 100 retailers boast a loyalty program, yet 77% of these...Read More

In today's competitive business landscape, understanding the customer journey mapping process is crucial for marketing success. By knowing how customers interact with your brand, you can tailor your marketing strategies to meet your target audience in every interaction and channel touchpoint....Read More

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, personalization has become more than a buzzword – it's a necessity. Brands are constantly seeking ways to deepen connections with their customers, and consumers, in turn, are looking for a more tailored shopping experience. One potent...Read More

In retail and e-commerce, customer loyalty is more critical than ever. With an array of choices at their fingertips, customer loyalty can be fleeting.Retail and e-commerce brands often deploy loyalty programs to retain customers, but several common missteps can undermine these efforts. ...Read More

Are you looking to elevate your direct mail marketing results and take your campaign to new heights? Perhaps you're launching a direct mail initiative and seeking ways to ensure its success, or maybe you've encountered less-than-desired outcomes from your current campaign. Fear not - we...Read More

July 15th, 2023It was an ordinary summer day for Bryan, a 40-year-old avid hiker, until he stumbled upon the brand new Blue Ridge Camping Goods store during his lunch break. The shelves were adorned with gear that spoke directly to his outdoor-loving soul. Bryan couldn't resist and ended up...Read More

Omnichannel loyalty marketing has become a cornerstone in the evolving landscape of retail and customer service. It represents a strategic shift towards a more holistic, integrated customer experience (CX). By embracing this method, businesses redefine how they interact with and...Read More

We’re nearing the mid-way point of the 2020s. Wild, right? First with a pandemic, then with inflation and rising interest rates, the challenge of retaining customers has been considerable, to say the least. But the savviest of brands have found ways to resonate through it all. Below are...Read More

Navigating Customer Data Privacy in Loyalty MarketingIn the digital era, managing data with integrity is key to nurturing customer trust and enhancing brand reputation. For those in loyalty marketing, skillfully using data to improve customer experiences, while rigorously upholding privacy...Read More

With the growing offering of new applications, it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to forge connections with their users and encourage interactions in such a saturated environment. This is where gamification can come in handy, offering a tried-and-true approach to improve...Read More

A personalized gift from a friend is a perfect way to show that they care and pay attention. A generic one may suggest they don’t know you as much as you’d hoped. And why should your brand treat customers any differently? The term &ldquo...Read More

Retention is defined as being the art of creating and managing a lasting and personalized relationship with each of your customers in order to maximize your wallet share and your customer lifetime value. It helps maintain a strong relationship, a “loyalty effect” to reinforce the...Read More

Every CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) brand should invest in a loyalty solution. D2C programs and other loyalty solutions are critical for CPG brands to gain and retain customers. Understanding and leveraging insights from loyalty data allows brands to adapt and thrive in the dynamic CPG and...Read More

Gift Cards serve as powerful tools that can significantly impact customer acquisition and retention strategies. This article explores the multifaceted benefits of leveraging gift cards, highlighting how they can attract new customers and foster loyalty among existing ones.Attract New...Read More

As consumers increasingly welcome personalized offers and rewards, their privacy concerns are also on the rise. Notably, 85% of consumers say that knowing a company’s data protection policies is important before deciding on a purchase.   With the implementation of new privacy laws in...Read More

From the end of the third-party cookies to further AI advancements, 2024 is definitely shaping up to be an exciting and challenging year. Prepare yourself for the upcoming changes with our list of the most important trends to emerge in ...Read More

Customer loyalty management is evolving rapidly in the age of AI, we take a look at some key trends shaping the industry in 2024.This is list is curated by- Anjali Pillai, Trevor Antley, Megan Fiorendino and Jubin Mehta. Graphics credit to Muhammed Shafi. The landscape of customer loyalty is...Read More

In today's business world, competition is even tougher than ever before. Building customer loyalty is certainly one of the most important ways to gain a competitive edge. This can be achieved through a wide range of methods. One you should really focus...Read More

The holiday season is a crucial time for brands to maximize customer loyalty and drive repeat purchases. With the right strategies in place, brands can capitalize on the shopping frenzy and create lasting connections with their customers beyond the holiday season.Holiday spending has jumped past...Read More

Loyalty programs that reward customers for repeated and incremental spending are popular with consumers and brands—and for good reason. Consumers benefit financially and emotionally from belonging to programs that reward them for engagement, and brands secure higher spending, incremental...Read More

Lately I’ve been thinking about Gen Z’s relationship with the attention economy—i.e., the theory that views consumer attention as a scarce commodity that companies must compete to attract. Gen Z has an overload of choices, which means brands really have to work for the...Read More

You caught your target customer’s attention and convinced them to buy your product.  Now what? One purchase is not enough to build a long-lasting relationship that could lead to a significant boost in profits. It’s what comes next that...Read More

Previously, in our series on tiered recognition, we explored why brands personalize perks and benefits for their highest-value customers and how to effectively execute a tiered approach. In this final installment, we discuss the foundations of a successful tiered strategy and how to determine if...Read More

With talks of inflation at the forefront of many marketing discussions, Marigold fielded a recession-themed survey aimed at a small group of highly-engaged marketers. Budget concerns dominate the findings and – paired with uneasiness regarding customer retention – reinforce the...Read More

As technology continues to advance, businesses have a growing number of channels to choose from when developing a marketing strategy. Direct mail is a powerful and highly effective marketing approach, with the ability to reach a targeted audience, evoke a sensory experience, create...Read More

Introduction:The retail landscape is continuously evolving, and one of the most significant advancements in recent years is the adoption of advanced digital receipt solutions. Seamlessly integrating with point-of-sale (POS) and e-commerce platforms, this technology transforms retail operations...Read More

In today’s world, it sometimes takes more than a perfect dining experience to bring a customer back in the door. With a plethora of dining options at their fingertips, restaurant-goers are becoming increasingly discerning. Tasty entrees and delightful drinks are no longer the sole recipe...Read More

Inflation has caused a massive rift in consumer behavior, prompting grocers and supermarkets worldwide to consider the implications of rising prices on grocery store loyalty. With the Consumer Price Index (CPI) experiencing a staggering 20.4% increase, the...Read More

Loyalty marketing and loyalty programs are critical during the holiday season, especially for retailers but also for businesses across verticals. Christmas and the winter holidays are also crucial for many businesses, especially retailers and e-commerce businesses. To maximize...Read More

Direct mail continues to prove itself as a powerful tool to cut through the digital noise and establish a more personal connection with customers. Direct Mail marketing can play a pivotal role in building customer loyalty, focusing on key aspects such as CRM & customer...Read More

Cookies are an important part of marketing. They are used to collect information on possible online customer behaviors, from searches, purchase history, the chosen payment methods and other preferences, to even every single click. However, a change has come. While...Read More

Effectively implementing gamification as a strategy for your brand is like putting a giant flywheel in motion.  Imagine a big wheel that starts off slowly, but with every push, it gains momentum and becomes unstoppable. This is similar to how a brand can utilize gamification to create...Read More

Comarch, in collaboration with The Loyalty People – has developed a 6-Step Checklist for building fashion loyalty. These are proven methods for understanding, engaging, and retaining customers as your brand connects with them through personalized and data-driven strategies...Read More

Introduction In today's digital age, where every interaction matters, retail marketers are under constant pressure to deliver content that resonates, engages, and converts. One of the significant challenges they face is creating compelling email copy that stands out in a crowded inbox. But...Read More

Games are fun – and gamification has become a serious loyalty strategy that achieves results beyond fun and games. A key component in many successful customer engagement strategies today, gamification is becoming a bigger focus of loyalty programs thanks to its broad appeal and relevance...Read More

Generative AI chatbots are helping change the business landscape. But they also have a problem: They frequently present inaccurate information as if it’s correct. Known as “AI hallucinations,” these mistakes occur up to 20% of the time.“We know [current generative AI]...Read More

Did you know that the average American spends 4-6 hours a day on their phone? That's an astounding 2-3 months per year! What does this mean for fashion retailers? Well, it's just another way to maximize advertising methods and utilize geofencing marketing to...Read More

The holiday season is upon us, and for businesses and brands, it's the perfect time to capitalize on the festive spirit through effective marketing strategies. While digital marketing has become increasingly popular, don't underestimate the power of traditional print marketing during this...Read More

In a time where consumers have as many options as they do today, sifting through the endless research can feel daunting. It’s why many of us turn to reviews and recommendations from friends, relatives, and influencers. Marketers can plug into this by rewarding customers who share...Read More

Part 3: Embrace Me In the third installment of our thought leadership series, Loyalty Iceberg: Creating Human-Centered Experiences, we discuss ways to Embrace your customers and make them feel appreciated. We will also touch on how this is more possible now than ever as AI allows us to...Read More

It is important to understand consumers and how to assess one’s position relative to competitors, both direct and aspirational. Everyone is facing challenges, and to gain insights brands need to understand what those challenges are and ground themselves in the struggles that they, and...Read More

Part 2: Understand Me In our second installment of our thought leadership series, Loyalty Iceberg: Creating Human-Centered Experiences, Clutch turns to the second element of customer expectations: Understanding. It’s one thing to be recognized, but it’s quite another to be understood...Read More

In today’s data-driven retail environment, customer analytics is the linchpin for decision-making, strategy formulation, and customer engagement. By providing insights into purchasing behaviors, preferences, and patterns, analytics empower retailers to make informed decisions. However...Read More

In today’s marketplace, it’s critical for brands to understand the value of leveraging social media influencers in support of their products or services. Social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube/YouTube Shorts, and many more host millions of influencer accounts, from the...Read More

The Web3 space has recently weathered its fair share of turbulence. With headlines highlighting plunges in NFT trading volume—dropping 41% in the second quarter of 2023— the market has become understandably skeptical of this emerging technology. Yet, despite these setbacks, there'...Read More

For a long time, customer loyalty focused on two things: signups and discounts. The commonly accepted thinking was to capture email addresses and send promotions in order to increase transactions. In sum, traditional loyalty = transactional loyalty.But we now know that when it comes to...Read More

The holiday season is not just a time for festive cheer; it's also a prime opportunity for brands to boost their sales and connect with their customers. As brands gear up for a season marked by inflation and evolving consumer preferences, understanding and adapting to current trends is...Read More

Introduction:In the constantly evolving realm of retail, one tool is proving to be a game-changer: Customer Analytics. As the bridge between raw data and actionable insights, customer analytics is shaping the future of retail. This article delves into how retailers can harness its transformative...Read More

Customer engagement is at the heart of successful loyalty programs. In today’s competitive landscape, brands are constantly seeking innovative ways to engage and captivate their customers to build long-lasting relationships. One such strategy that has gained immense popularity is...Read More

AI is having its moment. No longer just a buzzword, AI and generative AI are changing how we all do business. So what should a data leader be doing to succeed with AI in the enterprise?  We spoke to five members of the Data Leadership Collaborative to learn from their experience...Read More

The rebounding of the leisure traveler and the emergence of the blended traveler – those who build a vacation into their business trips – has shifted the balance of demand in the travel industry. Along with the flexible hybrid work model, business travel will continue to evolve...Read More

Customer engagement strategies are an essential part of creating a positive customer experience, increasing brand loyalty, and generating repeat revenue. At Brierley, our customer engagement experts have identified five top strategies chosen to jump-start your company’s growth and...Read More

Today’s consumers expect personalized experiences that cater to their unique preferences and needs. To meet these demands, companies are turning to hyper-personalization, a cutting-edge approach that goes beyond traditional personalization. In this blog post, we’ll explore why you...Read More

Behind the dataMost business leaders say data is critical to decision-making, but a new global survey of 10,000 of them reveals a different story.67% of leaders are not using data for important decisions like pricingFewer than one-third of them use data to inform strategy when entering...Read More

‍The stakes are high in today’s competitive market. Brands not only have to acquire customers but also make heroic efforts to keep them. The dreaded 'churn' not only results in a loss of revenue but also sends marketing teams into a tailspin, diverting resources to win back lost...Read More

IntroductionGeneric, one-size-fits-all loyalty tactics fail to attract consumers and are costly for brands. Retaining loyal consumers is critical to your business, as attracting new ones becomes increasingly difficult.Navigating how to create loyal consumers is tricky. There’s your brand...Read More

Introduction:In the ever-shifting retail landscape, consistent growth and profitability are elusive aspirations. Retailers grapple with multifaceted challenges, from rapidly changing consumer tastes to the continuous drive to show results. With the incorporation of customer analytics and tools...Read More

The one thing that every marketer relies on is data. It is this data that helps them reach the right audience and enhance the overall user experience. However, some significant changes are on its way to make things a little challenging for marketers around the world- the demise of third-party...Read More

Data is more than just a buzzword — it's a crucial asset that drives customer loyalty and helps brands accomplish their long-term goals. Brands can use data to better understand their customers, personalize customer experiences (CXs), and foster lasting relationships.This article...Read More

Here’s our latest roundtable, an occasional series that gathers a group of Lacek experts and invites them to reflect on some of the ideas percolating in our field.OUR PANELISTS  Five members of our Data Intelligence team gathered to talk about their unique challenges and perspectives...Read More

In today's highly competitive market, it's not enough to simply offer a loyalty program; it needs to be integrated seamlessly with other tools and software used by a company. An integrated loyalty program provides brands with several benefits, from acquiring a more complete 360 degree...Read More

Zero-party data is the future of marketing. And believe it or not, data collection benefits both consumers and brands! Data collection has to be balanced by the importance of data security and customers’ value of their privacy.Providing your phone number at checkout. Accepting cookies on...Read More

A brand name alone is no longer a pillar of consumer loyalty. Instead, businesses must actively engage with consumers to grab their attention and keep them loyal. To do so, brands must understand that the craving for instant gratification among consumers is stronger than ever—everyone...Read More

Utilizing data segmentation to boost your marketing campaigns is key to standing out amongst your competitors and targeting your customers accurately. The benefit of joining data segmentation with your marketing campaigns is that it helps you organize your customer's preferences and habits...Read More

September presents a unique opportunity for businesses to revamp their marketing strategies. This fall, consider turning over a new leaf and embracing direct mail as a fresh approach to reaching your target audience. So, you know that direct mail is a great way to reach...Read More

Positive brand perception—how customers and potential customers view a brand and its values—remains a vital component of building long-term loyalty. Consumers crave brands that are in sync with their own personal core values—and expect brands to consistently live up to those...Read More

Today’s consumers are more advertising savvy than ever. They unconsciously ignore ads, click out of popup, and hesitate to give away personal information to brands even for personalized deals. This is where gamification marketing can make a difference.  Gamification is the use of...Read More

Kobie recently weighed in with Loyalty 360  on the topic of data privacy regulations.As governments enact new data privacy laws and set forth regulations to protect consumers, some brands remain unprepared to meet the new requirements — unsure of what they must do to remain...Read More

Do you know how many points you have accumulated in your favorite store's loyalty app? Do you know what you can spend them on?Can you remember the last time a product or service did not meet your expectations and you wanted to share the constructive feedback with the...Read More

In today’s marketplace, which is still coping with post-pandemic societal shifts, customer loyalty remains a critical key to success for brands. The consumer experience often feels fully saturated with a constant stream of advertising and ever-changing social platforms and moves at a...Read More

Every day, businesses receive a steady stream of transactional data, including purchases, product information, and customer details. Receipt validation is the process of analyzing this data so that businesses can develop a better understanding of their customers' purchasing preferences. This...Read More

In a world flooded with digital noise and automated interactions, the value of a personal touch cannot be overstated. Whether it's in marketing, customer service, or everyday communication, personalization techniques have become essential for businesses and individuals alike. In this blog...Read More

Nothing screams “Good Morning” like the first sip of freshly brewed coffee. In the United States alone, the coffee industry is a bustling arena, with approximately 59,000 coffee shops generating a staggering $45 billion in annual revenue. As the demand for that...Read More

Second in a Three-Part Series on Tiered RecognitionIn the first installment of our series on tiered recognition, we explored why brands should consider a tiered recognition strategy—forgoing a one-size-fits-all approach to rewards and benefits in favor of personalized perks and...Read More

Loyalty means profit. It’s a fact that most companies are aware of and try to harness by setting up loyalty programs. In many cases, one customer loyalty program vs. the next are rather similar – after all, they operate on the same mechanism. That...Read More

Is your brand utilizing influencer marketing effectively? In the social media age, it’s crucial to not only drive visibility and customers to your brand, but to create authentic connections and relevancy that resonates with...Read More

While the benefits of a well-executed loyalty program are undeniable, it's equally crucial to measure its effectiveness and, most importantly, its return on investment. Understanding how your loyalty program impacts your bottom line is the key to refining your strategies, optimizing your...Read More

In today's world of business, it's important to know your customer. Gathering data on their spending habits, preferences, and behaviors can help brands create effective marketing campaigns and ultimately increase sales. But is it enough to rely solely on quantitative...Read More

The world of marketing is constantly evolving, with businesses seeking innovative ways to engage customers and drive conversions. In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer in the marketing landscape. One such powerful tool that has revolutionized customer...Read More

Entertainment juggernaut Taylor Swift has earned her reputation as arguably the world’s most successful singer-songwriter and performer. She’s also a brilliant brand leader with enviably devoted fans, known as Swifties, who will pull out their wallets for anything Swift offers...Read More

In the vibrant world of marketing, loyalty programs have emerged as a pivotal tool for businesses to retain and reward their customers. Among the various industries that have harnessed the power of loyalty programs, the grocery and supermarket sector stands out for its...Read More

We’re in a golden Era of marketing, and lucky for us, so is Taylor Swift. Taylor is more than a global music sensation – she’s a marketing powerhouse, The 1 who keeps fans (and marketers) wondering what’s up her sleeve. (Yes, we’ll be...Read More

In part 3 of our series on engagement marketing’s obstacles and opportunities, we talk about dynamic personalization; why it’s essential, and how today’s personalized offers must be built on a solid analytical foundation. For decades, marketers have understood the need for...Read More

Leveraging Chance-to-Win Promotions Few things generate as much excitement as the prospect of winning a big prize. Though consumers face long odds in any chance-to-win game, just the idea of winning a new car or a once-in-a-lifetime vacation generates excitement and gets people dreaming about...Read More

In the fast-paced and competitive landscape of today’s business world, companies are constantly seeking innovative ways to retain customers and foster brand loyalty. One popular approach has been the implementation of loyalty programs, designed to reward and engage customers for their...Read More

In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, customer service plays a pivotal role in building brand loyalty and driving business success. As the digital realm continues to evolve and shape consumer behavior, online retailers must adapt their customer service strategies to ...Read More

In part 4 of our series on engagement marketing’s obstacles and opportunities, we talk about the concept of Immediate Value and that customers today are looking for options beyond under-funded points programs. Brands in financial services, retail, travel, and other sectors have long...Read More

Summer sales events provide an excellent opportunity for businesses to boost revenue and attract new customers with the help of Direct Mail marketing. To make the most of it, it's crucial to track and analyze the performance of your direct mail efforts. By leveraging direct mail...Read More

As a summer intern at The Lacek Group, I’ve spent the past several weeks researching how Gen Z interacts with our favorite brands.Several factors play a role in Gen Z’s unique attitude toward brands. We’re younger and less established in our careers, so we have less money to...Read More

The meaning of customer loyalty is changing in 2023Don't get left behind - learn how to create innovative loyalty programs and customer loyalty management strategies to stay ahead of the curve.Customer loyalty is crucial for businesses as repeat clients contribute significantly to the...Read More

Loyalty programs have long been the cornerstone of customer retention strategies for brands. However, as these programs have proliferated, so have the tactics of bad actors trying to exploit them. With traditional methods falling short in identifying these fraudulent activities, AI emerges as the...Read More

While the transformation from the brick-and-mortar to the digital and omnichannel customer experience has been continuing for the past decade, the 2020 COVID pandemic greatly accelerated the shift. According to the Census Bureau’s most recent 2020 Annual Retail Trade Survey, e-commerce...Read More

In a rapidly changing world, where shopper behaviors and expectations evolve at a lightning pace, loyalty programs have to stay current to remain effective. It's not enough to set and forget your loyalty program – regular reviews and updates are essential to ensure it...Read More

Welcome to the dynamic realm of customer loyalty programs, where businesses and customers embark on a buyer’s journey filled with rewards, perks, and engaging experiences. Loyalty programs have become the secret ingredient to creating unforgettable connections...Read More

Customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives and loyalty programs, by their nature, include customer and member recognition—typically a combination of communication, offers, rewards and benefits—as a primary tool.When done right, recognition leads to stronger relationships with...Read More

You’re walking down the store aisle, and your eyes are suddenly drawn to a colorful display singing the praises of a product that’s right there on the shelf. You’re intrigued, and with just a moment of thought, you decide to give the product a try.Engaging customers at the point...Read More

In the vast ocean of digital communication, the importance of timing cannot be understated. The difference between a clicked email and one that sinks to the murky depths of the trash folder can often be attributed to when it was sent. For marketers, optimizing send times has always been a...Read More

In an era where consumers are inundated with choices and their attention spans are fleeting at best, businesses face an uphill battle in cultivating customer loyalty. Traditional loyalty programs, while effective to some extent, often fall short in capturing the hearts and minds of today’s...Read More

Digital promotions such as sweepstakes, instant wins, contests, and more have become a crucial marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. Thanks to the internet and social media, brand can easily reach their target audience, promote their products, generate more leads, and boost sales through...Read More

Direct mail is back!Direct mail has made a comeback as an impactful marketing medium—as long as it’s personalized for each recipient. In this article, we cover the three main considerations for your direct mail campaigns so you can connect with your consumers. In order to...Read More

CPG brands have long aspired to generate customer loyalty and brand affinity. While there’s no doubt that retaining customers is great for business, loyalty is becoming increasingly elusive as consumers seek value-driven alternatives (such as store brands) to stretch their dollars further. ...Read More

Today, almost all businesses (90%) have some form of loyalty program. With that level of saturation, customers understand the basic exchange of a traditional loyalty program: The more money they spend with a brand, the more cash back, points, or miles they’ll earn in return. This...Read More

Loyalty programs are evolving and improving with new features every day. It’s crucial that your program is staying ahead of its competitors to ensure your members are getting the best rewards and benefits from your program and not moving elsewhere. Staying ahead of your competitors doesn...Read More

Retail businesses rely heavily on customer loyalty to drive repeat purchases and long-term success. Here are some key customer retail loyalty strategies:1. Customer Loyalty Programs:Implement a well-structured and rewarding loyalty program. Offer points, discounts, or exclusive perks for frequent...Read More

Is your credit union looking for ways to keep up and gain an edge in a competitive market? Retaining your members is one of the most foundational ways to do that. Let’s look at some ways credit unions can encourage their members to stick around for the long term through powerful...Read More

One cannot deny that inflation, although cooling, will continue to be a significant concern for consumers in the foreseeable future. However, brands that leverage technological advancements and adopt an omnichannel approach have an opportunity to stand out. By proactively assisting consumers in...Read More

Customer loyalty isn’t something that happens overnight. The companies that have mastered it are those in possession of the right tools. From gamification to built-in marketing automation, there are certain features that turn loyalty programs into a well-oiled...Read More

Across industries, Bounteous continues to expand our ability to help leading companies embrace digital innovation to compete and win digitally. With dedicated talent bringing strategic guidance based on industry expertise, technical ability and world class partnerships, our Restaurant &...Read More

Maximizing Business Growth: A Deep Dive into Customer Loyalty and Retention MarketingIn a fiercely competitive business environment, fostering customer loyalty and executing effective retention marketing strategies are pivotal for sustained growth. These strategies not only reduce the cost of...Read More

Are you tired of your loyalty program failing to engage customers? Have you tried different tactics, but still not achieving the results you hoped for? The secret to success when it comes to loyalty programs is finding ways to make them stand out - and that's where best practices come into...Read More

In today's digital age, it's easy to overlook traditional marketing methods. However, direct mail campaigns remain a powerful tool for businesses to reach their target audience effectively. Direct mail allows you to connect with potential customers in a tangible, personal, and...Read More

Get your popcorn ready. The summer’s most anticipated films, Barbie the Movie and Oppenheimer are officially here – and in the words of The Hollywood Reporter, the “box office just went nuclear”. Hitting the silver screens on the same release day, the...Read More

In the current highly competitive business environment, the value of customer feedback has never been higher. Obtaining direct insights from your customers provides a powerful tool for unlocking business growth and ensuring customer satisfaction. With the right strategies and tools, you can...Read More

Customer loyalty is a crucial factor to achieve long-term success for any business. Loyal customers are more likely to make repeat purchases, refer friends and family, and even defend your brand in the face of criticism. So, how do you build those relationships and sustain them in the long...Read More

Based on the evolving business landscape, staying competitive requires organizations to leverage innovative technologies that enhance customer interactions and streamline operations. A turnkey platform that integrates Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Analytics, and SMS...Read More

“We’ve been living on tribal knowledge for a long time” – Bill Hanifin We recently hosted a webinar on how to implement psychological principles in loyalty campaigns for retail brands. The event boasted some industry standouts such as...Read More

It's your birthday, let's celebrate!When you think of your birthday, some of you will think of your childhood or a lavishly frosted cake with candles on it. The day conjures up images of being surrounded by friends and family and unwrapping a gift (maybe the absolute wrong gift). Or...Read More

For CMOs and marketers, customer retention should be a top priority. Keeping customers coming back helps ensure your business can generate loyalty and trust with them. As businesses become more competitive and the expectation for near-immediate gratification from customers grows, it's...Read More

In today's competitive business landscape, retaining customers and fostering brand loyalty is paramount to sustainable success. This is where loyalty marketing comes into play. It's a strategic approach that focuses on building strong and lasting relationships with customers by providing...Read More

It’s a cycle we all know well. Driven by the misnomer that brand loyalty comes from getting the most impressive reward, the biggest discount, the “best deal,” brand after brand has trained customers to hold off on their purchases until the next big sale or the next blow-out...Read More

In today’s highly competitive market, the pursuit of customer loyalty has taken center stage as a pivotal driver of business success. To quantify the significance of this pursuit, acquiring a new customer can cost up to five times more than retaining an existing one, while increasing...Read More

Some prognosticators say loyalty is dead with younger generations, but the data tells a different story. Results from a recent eMarketer survey demonstrate the opposite with millennials (and higher earners) as the most likely to belong to travel loyalty or rewards programs. And with...Read More

Did you know that 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations? That’s right, personalization is not a nice-to-have feature anymore, it’s a must-have for any business that wants to succeed in the digital age. But how...Read More

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a versatile term used extensively in the business world. However, it doesn’t always mean the same thing from industry to industry.Retail customer relationship management platforms—or retail CRMs—allow businesses to collect, store, and...Read More

Once you’ve decided to start a loyalty program, the next step is usually determining how to go about doing so. One option is to build and run your program in-house, and another is to partner with a loyalty program provider who can offer the platform technology and capabilities needed to...Read More

If you read the first installment of this series, you know that modern privacy regulations now cover the personal data of 65% of the global population, up from just 10% in 2010. Additional U.S. privacy laws are expected to pass in 2023, bringing that number to an estimated 75% by the end of 2024....Read More

Nurturing customer loyalty means working consistently to find a higher share of shoppers’ hearts and minds — conveying value by building deeper emotional connections. According to loyalty expert Philip Shelper of Loyalty & Reward Co, strong connections between a brand and its...Read More

In a world where customer loyalty scores big, businesses recognize that customers aren’t loyal by default. Companies must earn loyalty – and step one is to respect the customer. This forms the basis of customer relationship marketing. It’s about treating the customer as...Read More

Regardless of what technology the future brings, it is clear that Artificial Intelligence is already automating much of our work. In the long term, AI's contribution to many industries will only increase. In this article, you will learn about some of...Read More

If you use social media, you’ve likely encountered influencers sharing advice on how to live, where to go, what to wear, and, most importantly, what to buy. Often perceived as more trustworthy and reliable than other paid spokespeople, influencers have become powerful players in digital...Read More

With summer just around the corner, it's time to dive into the sizzling customer loyalty trends that will dominate the scene in summer of 2023. Get ready to ride the wave of personalized experiences, digital delights, social responsibility, and more! So grab your shades, kick back...Read More

After you go through the whole process of getting approval to launch a loyalty program and then putting in the work to launch one, the last thing you want is to not see an increase in revenue. Loyalty programs offer a number of benefits to not only the customers but also the brands. In this day...Read More

In the digital age, data has become a prized asset for businesses. By collecting and analyzing customer data, companies gain valuable insights that inform their marketing strategies, enhance customer experiences, and drive revenue growth. This comprehensive guide dives into the world of customer...Read More

Loyalty programs are just one element driving overall customer loyalty. Well-executed customer relationship management (CRM) strategies deepen the bond with customers and members through personalized, cross-channel brand experiences.The inherent synergy between loyalty programs and CRM presents...Read More

Let's explore the strategies and insights shared in a recent webinar on leveraging customer loyalty in times of economic uncertainty, by Cassie Preston, Director of Client Services and CRM at Baesman Group. From understanding the current economic environment to focusing on key...Read More

What is customer experience transformation?Customer experience transformation, or CXT, works to align your organization’s values, structures, operations, technology, and culture to obsessively focus on and meet the needs of your customers. This alignment enables an accelerated path to...Read More

Since the mid-90s, cookies have been the defacto way for brands to target and deliver online advertising - allowing marketers to track users across websites, build consumer profiles, and use them across all forms of retargeting and behavioral advertising. But that’s all set to change, with...Read More

In the context of the internet, schema is a structured method of marking up data that makes it easier for machines to understand the information that is being shown. While this post only delves into schema for email, the technology has uses all across the Internet—websites, blogs, social...Read More

When it comes to marketing your brand, the ultimate goal is to create loyal, engaged customers. However, that goal isn’t achieved overnight. To understand the destination you’re working toward, you need to back up and consider the entire customer journey. As you plan a route that...Read More

We’ve been saying this for some time now: consumers crave authenticity and connection with brands. So why do we still feel the need to say it? Because many brands still struggle to get it right. Brands think that authenticity and consumer connection require trying harder to be more in...Read More

LOYALTY & REWARDS for GROCERS & RETAILERSDid you know that over the past three years, the Grocery Retail industry has experienced unprecedented uncertainty? From the rise of e-commerce to the shift towards mobile engagement, grocers have faced a...Read More

As a savvy marketer, you understand the importance of grabbing your audience's attention and delivering your message effectively. In the fast-paced digital world, pop-up messaging has emerged as a powerful tool to engage visitors, boost conversions, and increase customer satisfaction. In...Read More

The past has a persistent magnetism, playing on a sense of comfort that brands often leverage as a shortcut to emotionally resonate with consumers. Nostalgia marketing is everywhere—from Pepsi unveiling a “new” logo that harkens back to the original to Rakuten bringing back...Read More

The last few years have revolutionized our perception of customer relations. With the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the looming threat of recession, we are now re-evaluating what brand loyalty means and how it can be achieved. To assess the...Read More

Drive marketing strategy with a better stored value solutionStored value programs – including gift cards, loyalty points, and merchandise credits – are a critical part of a comprehensive marketing strategy that involves gift card and loyalty programs, as well as merchandise and...Read More

Financial services are in a brave new world, with technology — and a focus on customer engagement and frictionless services — at the forefront. There used to be days when the financial services industry revolved around two primary activities: intermediation and transformation. The...Read More

There’s an ever-growing stack of evidence showing that customer loyalty programs are significantly beneficial for both businesses and their customers. Both parties receive value from a loyalty program: for the business the value comes from growing customer connections, access to useful...Read More

Chatbots are becoming more and more common these days, but that's just the beginning. In the near future, as AI continues to advance, chatbots will become even more widespread. It will be hard to find a customer experience that doesn't involve the benefits of chatbot marketing.Why is this...Read More

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing the way we live: from unlocking your phone, and banking, to our daily commute. No wonder it has also started influencing our professional activities. AI marketing, even in its relative infancy, is quickly changing...Read More

What sets the best loyalty and rewards programs apart from the rest? For retailers, it is not enough to simply have a program in place. According to brand loyalty experts, an average consumer belongs to about 15 different programs, but is active in less than half of them. With...Read More

Brands are collecting more personal customer data than ever before, with almost every transaction requiring customers to share at least an email address. What’s the real purpose of collecting customer data, and how do customers feel about it? We’re answering these questions so you can...Read More

It's nearly impossible to grow a business without one key component: a loyal customer base who keeps coming back for more. Even better than that? A base of customers so devoted they become brand ambassadors. Brand ambassadors aren't just loyal customers; they don't just buy your...Read More

In this article, we walk through the topic of omnichannel loyalty and why it has become a new standard worldwide. Find out how you can use data to understand consumer behavior better, as well as develop smooth customer journeys in physical stores as ...Read More

With every gamification project, the real work begins after it is launched to the public. You’ve followed your roadmap and are ready to put your new shiny toy in front of some customers (this can really be helped if you use a tool that helps to future proof your development!)‍ Player...Read More

Today’s convenience retailers face nearly unlimited opportunities—and challenges—as the consumer mindset continues to shift based on economic concerns and a growing desire for personalization and deal-seeking. At the same time, CPG brands are looking for innovative...Read More

Companies need in-the-moment marketing because it allows them to connect with customers in real-time and deliver personalized experiences that meet their immediate needs. In today’s fast-paced, digital world, customers expect instant gratification and personalized interactions from...Read More

Whether knowingly or not, brands often fail to differentiate between frequent buyer programs and loyalty programs. Modern consumers are certainly familiar with frequent buyer programs, in which they are rewarded for purchasing with the same brand multiple times. But a true...Read More

Grabbing a consumer’s attention has always been a challenge for brands– but now holding that attention for a meaningful amount of time has become a new barrier. The average human attention span is shrinking and this is affecting how consumers engage with brands. Harvard Business...Read More

Running a digital promotion is key to getting your customers involved with your brand and loyalty program while also giving them the chance to earn something in return. You can utilize promotions for a number of different reasons whether it’s just to get them engaged, promote a new product...Read More

Brands can optimize their loyalty solutions by tracking, collecting, and understanding data about how their customers behave online. By harnessing this data and delving into customers’ online behavior, brands can tap into a goldmine of insights.Members of a loyalty program usually...Read More

Have you noticed how retail stores are embracing digital technology to create immersive brand experiences? In the current retail landscape, stores are looking to shed their traditional "shop-like" identity and become modern, interactive brand spaces that fully showcase...Read More

What Is Loyalty Marketing And Why Do Brands Need It? By definition loyalty marketing is a marketing strategy in which a company focuses on growing and retaining existing customers through incentives. In truth it encompasses so much more and when done correctly achieves a great deal. Loyalty...Read More

A customer engagement strategy refers to the planned approach that businesses use to interact with their customers in a meaningful and sustainable way, with the ultimate goal of fostering customer loyalty, improving customer satisfaction, and driving business growth.A well-crafted customer...Read More

When it comes to getting the most out of your loyalty program, personalization is the final piece of the puzzle. ‍On average 71% of consumers express some level of frustration when their shopping experience is impersonal. A loyalty program that doesn’t recognize a customer’s...Read More

The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and spring is in the air! The time has come to dust our bookshelves and tidy up our inboxes, but brands should think of adding data cleansing to that list.Despite not needing a sponge for the task, cleaning dirty data is still quite the undertaking...Read More

While promotions and discounts drive sales, genuine brand loyalty comes from a deeper connection and a sense of shared values. For many consumers, commitment to the environment—that is, embracing sustainable practices—is an ever-growing core value. In fact, 78% of U.S. consumers say...Read More

Differentiation is key for brands looking to stand out in a crowded market and connect with consumers who are often overwhelmed by the demands of an always-on world. More than ever, consumers want to feel their purchases align with their personal values and beliefs, and even make things better...Read More

Moment marketing allows you to communicate with your customers in real-time by leveraging the power of data and technology to deliver personalized messages that are relevant to their current situation and context.One way to communicate with your customers in real-time through moment marketing is...Read More

Unless you are a pioneer in a particular industry, you have many competitors who provide similar products and services in a similar price range to the same group of customers. So, how can you achieve competitive advantage? The answer is to build...Read More

Zero-party data is the future of marketing. And believe it or not, data collection benefits both consumers and brands! Data collection has to be balanced by the importance of data security and customers’ value of their privacy.Providing your phone number at checkout. Accepting...Read More

Is a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy necessary for every retail business? The short answer is yes! Let's look at how and why a CRM strategy can help you leverage customer data to build more profitable customer relationships.  What Is A CRM?A CRM, or customer relationship...Read More

Brands looking to cultivate real emotional connections with their customers to drive customer lifetime value, retention, and revenue need more than a transaction-based loyalty program. With a looming recession and possible budget cuts on the horizon, investing in loyalty has...Read More

Creating a truly immersive buyer experience is crucial for building strong brand engagement in retail. To make this difficult task easier, we’ve created a powerful Loyalty Marketing Platform that helps companies attract, connect and accompany customers on their...Read More

You might be thinking, "What does magic have to do with retail strategy?". But in many cases, it can be the key to unlocking your competitive advantage. Building an experience within retail that is ten times better than a competitor’s is expensive and almost impossible, especially...Read More

Brands looking to consistently engage their audience and build emotional loyalty cannot rely on a “batch and blast” messaging strategy. Whether you reach customers through email, in-app, social media, or via remarketing, marketers need to be creating 1:1, personalized touches that...Read More

Although 2022 was a stable year for retail, UBS is anticipating that 50,000 stores in the US are expected to close by 2026. At the same time, it is projected that ecommerce sales will grow to 25% compared to in-store growth barely...Read More

To run a successful loyalty program, it’s important to nurture a relationship with your customers. Relationship marketing focuses on building meaningful relationships while also cultivating stronger customer engagement to hopefully build customer loyalty and trust. When this marketing...Read More

Credit card loyalty programs are an essential marketing tool for credit card companies. These programs allow customers to earn points for each dollar spent, which can then be redeemed for various rewards such as travel, merchandise, or cash back. However, simply earning points is not enough to...Read More

Innovations like Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be some of the biggest trends right now, but they should not overshadow the importance of data in the customer experience (CX). During every stage of the customer experience, we acquire a plethora of actionable data we can mold into deep...Read More

Loyalty program gamification is one of the newest innovations in customer engagement. Loyalty programs have typically relied on a core value proposition around earning points: the basic “do-get” concept. Members earn based on their spending and receive some sort of reward. But...Read More

Direct mail is known to have an impressive return on investment, but maybe you’re not seeing the results you want with your direct mail campaigns. You want to imagine your customer’s eyes lighting up as they read about your upcoming sale or new product launch. But instead, they might...Read More

There are a number of myths surrounding loyalty programs and a lot of them can quickly turn brands away. Whether you are just beginning your research into loyalty programs or you are a seasoned veteran with an established program, believing some of these myths could be holding your brand back...Read More

Customer analytics can help businesses to stay ahead of the competition. By analyzing data on industry trends and competitor activity, businesses can identify areas where they can differentiate themselves and gain a competitive advantage. This information can be used to inform product development...Read More

Just because an aspiring writer has a new Word document open right in front of them doesn’t mean they will, without any doubts, create a gripping, larger-than-life story within that space. Don’t get us wrong – it is possible, but whether...Read More

Birthday rewards and offers are a common — and effective — element of most loyalty programs. Brands use birthday rewards to enhance their loyalty programs and improve the customer experience (CX).By incorporating birthday rewards as part of a loyalty program strategy...Read More

There are always ups and downs when it comes to running a successful business so don’t let the downs discourage you from continuing your loyalty program. You might not even realize all of the benefits a loyalty program is bringing to your brand. There are companies popping up left and right...Read More

Two brothers named Richard and Maurice opened a barbeque restaurant in San Bernadino, Calif. in 1940. After a few years in business, they swapped the menu for burgers, shakes, chips and pie.When the pair bought a few shake mixers from salesman Ray Kroc, the food world fundamentally changed. Kroc...Read More

If all consumers had the same wants, concerns, motivations, and sticking points, designing a rewards program would likely be a pretty simple task. However, that conformity could also turn the world into a boring, monolithic place—and nobody wants that.In reality, every potential rewards...Read More

Millennials and Gen Zers are important to marketers because they have significant influence and purchasing power. And because these generations are all about technology, you might assume direct mail is too old-fashioned for them, right? Wrong! In fact, direct mail is having a glow-up, and we are...Read More

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can work together to improve your overall business operations and help you achieve greater efficiency, productivity, and profitability.An ERP system is designed to manage and integrate various...Read More

The transit industry has begun to pick up speed over the past couple years and focusing on rider loyalty is more important than ever. Doing that through partnership is a great way to build traction with not only customers but with other businesses in the area. Convenience is key, it is what...Read More

How much are you willing to risk as a retail shareholder? That is a fundamental question for any individual investor and the key to understanding the idea of risk tolerance.Simply put, risk tolerance is the amount of market volatility and loss you’re willing to accept as an investor. It is...Read More

Journey mapping, or creating a customer journey map, is one of the best ways for businesses to understand their customers. With a journey map and better understanding of its customers, a business can reinforce customer loyalty and maximize the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns...Read More

Identify and Measure the Impact of Customer Experience ObstaclesCustomer journey analytics can pinpoint the drivers of customer satisfaction in a way that traditional analytics can not. It can provide quantitative key performance indicators (KPIs) along the paths that your most satisfied...Read More

If you don't already have a loyalty program, or if your program isn't generating the results you want, it's time to start thinking about your loyalty strategy. Loyalty programs are an essential part of keeping customers engaged and happy. In this post, we’ll show how...Read More

We are all familiar with loyalty programs, but what we might not realize is that certain types of businesses are best suited to take advantage of different loyalty program features and rules while other features might not be worth pursuing. Ecommerce companies may...Read More

Building loyalty is a continuous process and it is important to keep the momentum going through the whole year. Running exciting promotions and reward offers keeps your customers engaged and keeps your brand on track with steady content on all platforms. It will benefit your program further to...Read More

Very few companies can make the claim that 80% of U.S. homes have their products in their pantries. But when you are as diverse as the J.M. Smucker Company (Tii:SJM) with brands like Jif peanut butter, Folgers coffee, Milk-Bone dog snacks and Café Bustelo, it’s easy to understand Smucker...Read More

Loyalty inflation has sent programs into a downward spiral—but there is a way out  Loyalty in the post-pandemic worldDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, brands turned to their loyalty programs to extend a lifeline to their customers. They extended elite status to top-tier members, suspended...Read More

With the rise of inflation, it is more important than ever to demonstrate the importance of your loyalty program and offering promotions to your customers. A good loyalty program will show customers their program can power through inflation and offer solutions that will withstand the rising...Read More

Finding true love with your customers takes emotion, anticipation and more. Your customers may not send bouquets to your company, write sonnets about your brand, or sport tattoos of your logo (it happens), but are they devoted to your brand? And if not, why not? Today’s consumers...Read More

If you ask a person about the most cherished memory they had as a loyalty program member, it’s unlikely that they would say “It’s that time I got that $10 coupon”. That’s because financial benefits are incentives that appeal to our rationality, not our heart. If you...Read More

Direct mail is a great way to get people's attention, and you only have about 8 seconds to make that happen. In those few seconds, your prospects need to be able to understand what you’re offering and how it will benefit them. Unfortunately, there are all kinds of mistakes...Read More

Does your customer loyalty program achieve its intended objectives?If you had to think twice about your response, it’s probably time to make improvements.Customer loyalty best practices constantly evolve. So even if your program previously achieved great results, failing to update it...Read More

Every business should have a set list of brand goals that they set to try and achieve. Brand goals not only give your business something tangible and measurable to work towards; they can also be starting points to help identify where your business is thriving and where it can use a little bit of...Read More

With talks of inflation at the forefront of many marketing discussions, Marigold fielded a recession-themed survey aimed at a small group of highly-engaged marketers. Budget concerns dominate the findings and – paired with uneasiness regarding customer retention – reinforce the...Read More

You’ve put extensive thought, research, and dollars into your customer loyalty strategies. Now it’s time to execute your ideas. Ready to waste all that effort by choosing a crummy loyalty platform? Hopefully not! Even with great loyalty strategies in place, the technology you use to...Read More

Secrets to identifying, courting, and achieving success with “the one.” Brands understand the value of a great partnership, but finding one that expands reach and drives sales and loyalty for both brands can prove as elusive as the search for a romantic soulmate. Some brands are an...Read More

When you play the lottery it drives the feeling of excitement and opportunity which inevitably keeps you coming back. That emotional rush of enjoyment and excitement plays a key role in how the lottery industry connects with players and keeps them engaged. Merging loyalty programs and lotteries...Read More

Games mean fun, and who doesn’t like having fun? The allure of rewards, the urge to compete, and the fear of missing out are factors that make gamification a popular choice for loyalty programs. According to the 2021 Gartner Consumer Values and Lifestyle Survey...Read More

If you are looking for a way to improve your response rates, direct mail is the way to go. Direct mail is a great marketing channel with proven results, if done correctly. Here are some fundamentals on how and why using direct mail effectively can help generate better response...Read More

In today’s fast-paced business world, companies need to make data-driven decisions to stay competitive. One critical area of data analysis is customer analytics, which involves examining customer behavior, needs, and preferences to create effective marketing and business strategies. While...Read More

At its core, pay with points is a loyalty program feature that allows customers to redeem their accumulated points for rewards, discounts, or even cash-back on purchases. It is a popular feature among loyalty programs, as it provides customers with a tangible benefit for their loyalty to a...Read More

It is the start of 2023 and if there is one topic I get involved with the most in conversations it is around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its latest iteration, the AI chat-bot ChatGPT.  Once you use ChatGPT, it does initially have a new toy feel and a lot of promise, but certainly will...Read More

Direct mail marketing is one of the most proven forms of advertising and marketing. It has been around for more than 60 years, and it’s still going strong today. According to some estimates, in 2022, about $43.3 billion was spent on direct mail in the United States...Read More

In all of my years in the loyalty industry, the last few years have been the most tumultuous. The old adage, ‘the only constant is change’ looks to be the norm for the next few years as well.With many businesses adopting new technologies and approaches to engage and reward their...Read More

Why It All Ads UpLet's make something clear right out of the gate – today's consumers hate ads. They hate it when pop-ups literally pop up uninvited as they scroll through social media walls, when the so-called 'shorts' prevent them...Read More

Once you launch your loyalty program the work isn’t done just yet. Measuring data is crucial to running a successful loyalty program. There are multiple key performance indicators (KPI) that you can use to measure your success throughout your program's lifetime. Here is a quick guide on...Read More

Hospitality marketers are working hard to learn how to better utilize their customers’ data, and hotels are looking for smart ways to personalize their communication with customers, so they can keep them engaged before, during, and after their stay. Facing challenges like understaffing and...Read More

Program managers have learned over loyalty’s 40-year history that both financial and experiential elements are needed for a strong value proposition. Customers have long wanted both tangible and emotional inspiration – and if they get those from a brand, they’ll respond.  ...Read More

Think direct mail is a thing of the past? Think again: Direct mail marketing is still highly effective and can help you level-up your marketing efforts in a big way.With that said, you need the right direct mail solution—offered by the right direct mail marketing partner—to...Read More

For a surfer, nothing beats the feeling of riding the waves. Just imagine a customer experience where members are rewarded for what they love, not just what they buy. Rip Curl, the “Ultimate Surfing Company” set out to do just that: reward customers for feeling the salty breeze...Read More

Effective marketing channels for reaching and engaging people requires more than great content alone. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations require healthcare providers to comply with certain security measures to protect patient data. Wondering what that means...Read More

Feeling the pinch of inflation, and under the shadow of a potential recession, experts expect consumers will focus more on value in 2023. In response, brands may be tempted to fine-tune their loyalty programs to put a greater emphasis on short-term discounts and promotions.Factoring in the long...Read More

People want to feel their health insurance providers care about their personal health, and generic, impersonal messaging won’t do much to impart that feeling. Companies in the healthcare space must better engage with their members and promote their healthy choices like preventative...Read More

It’s a great sign when a loyalty program has loads of members, right? Yes! Having high enrollment is an important goal in most loyalty programs. Some words of warning, however: achieving high adoption through loyalty program promotion doesn’t equal instant success. Once customers...Read More

Digital transformation and digital acceleration are crucial for growing businesses that want an optimized customer experience (CX). Customer expectations, especially their digital experience, have evolved over the past few years, making it essential for businesses to streamline...Read More

Want to increase your sales through email marketing? Email marketing can be a powerful way to increase brand exposure and loyalty and ultimately lead to more purchases from more customers. A key part of any successful email campaign is personalization. Learn why personalization matters and how...Read More

Brands have shifted from telling the consumer what they want to let the consumer narrate. All industries have radically shifted to become hyper-consumer centric. This is great news – what better way to build a loyal customer base than to truly listen and act on what your consumer wants...Read More

Every operator wants to increase the number of customers and grow sales in their stores. But do you know the best way to accomplish this? No matter where your c-store is located, there are many ways to attract more customers and entice them to increase their spend both at the pump and in your...Read More

Imagine you’re a marketing leader who’s spent months—and hundreds of thousands of dollars—preparing to launch a new or refreshed loyalty and customer relationship management (CRM) program. Unfortunately, when you unveil the program, your employees are unenthusiastic about,...Read More

No one wants to send emails that languish unread in recipients’ inboxes. Personalization is key if you want your email campaigns to truly connect with your contacts. But how can you make that personalization ideal a reality?  The right email marketing agency can make all the...Read More

We asked Chris Berry, PDI CTO and General Manager of Security, to provide her thoughts on key cybersecurity trends for 2023. Read on to get the latest updates on the evolving threat landscape and how retailers can reduce risk to better protect their customers and business assets.Q: Let’s...Read More

Loyalty fraud is not new, but it is increasingAccording to the Loyalty Security Alliance, 17.6% of survey respondents said loyalty fraud grew “a lot” in the last three years, while 23.5% said it grew “somewhat.” And according to Statista, 27% of all fraud attempts...Read More

While we know that consumers value the opinions of their favorite influencers, attitudes toward traditional influencer marketing are changing. In a recent white paper from The Lacek Group, “Generationally Speaking: Gen Z Transforms Loyalty,” Montanna Cervenka points out that Gen Z...Read More

Have you ever received an email from a brand you like to do business with, but they’re promoting a product that you have no interest in? If you have, the brand is relying on a traditional method of email marketing that focuses on casting a wide net with generic mailings to a long list of...Read More

At the beginning of every year it is important to sit down and take a look at upcoming trends in the industry and determine what your team can do to get ahead on your strategy for the year. While a lot of trends stay consistent, it’s important to look at where you can revamp and put more of...Read More

B2B customer engagement and customer loyalty mirror many of the same principles we apply for B2C consumers. However, B2B loyalty marketing does have unique challenges. In another article, we highlighted the 3 Core Principles every successful B2B loyalty program should follow and...Read More

As more and more retailers offer paid loyalty programs, some are asking themselves if they should consider adding the model to their repertoire. This approach can completely change the traditional loyalty model of transactions-first for benefits later. In a paid loyalty program, members...Read More

Have you ever considered that the most important stage in the sales process might not be when a customer hands over their money? When it comes to purchasing a product or service, customers go through a process to make their decision. Their buying decisions are influenced by a variety of factors...Read More

From once-in-a-decade weather events to historic political happenings, 2023 is already off to a turbulent start. All brands—regardless of size, industry, or heritage—need to continue pivoting to address changes and needs from varied consumer and customer bases. Our team of brand...Read More

Customer acquisition is the process of finding new customers for your business. It should be a key focus area for most companies, as acquiring new customers is one of the most effective ways to grow your revenue. However, it can be challenging to figure out how to effectively acquire new...Read More

Across the United States, forces impacting consumer spend are at play, ranging from pent-up demand stemming from COVID-19 to pressures from inflation. These forces present consumer-facing companies with a challenge and opportunity—how can companies maintain current share of wallet but also...Read More

The technology behind loyalty programs is like the lab coat-wearing scientists in a spy organization. They might be in the background, but at the end of the day, it’s their cool gadgets that help James Bond save the day. That’s why you should never underestimate the power and...Read More

The utility of points—or the number of ways points can be earned and redeemed or “spent” outside of a brand’s core product or service offering—grew significantly in the past few years. While there are many drivers behind this evolution, we dive into four primary...Read More

To text or to email—that is the question.SMS and email are both highly effective marketing channels for engaging customers and achieving maximum ROI. However, choosing between SMS and email marketing for your business can be challenging. Let’s compare the key advantages to...Read More

Bakkt® takes the pain points that loyalty program owners are facing and helps turn them into opportunities for loyalty solution innovation. Our latest report, “Accelerating Loyalty Value to Drive Engagement and ROI” contains valuable insights on how to overcome common...Read More

Facial recognition and verification technology can be a powerful marketing tool, especially as part of a customer loyalty solution. While facial recognition was once found only in science fiction, applications of facial recognition technology continue to become more mainstream by the day...Read More

Creating a loyalty program requires a lot of resources, so it’s very important to follow through. Customers will enroll fast in the beginning if your message is right, but real success comes from continuing to engage them as members. In this episode of Mission: Loyalty, I’ve gathered...Read More

The most successful brands know that customer loyalty isn’t bought, it’s built. Rewarding loyal advocates is a great way to build long-lasting customer relationships and keep them coming back to your business time and time again. Executing an effective loyalty program...Read More

Running promotions can be daunting because there are many options to choose from when deciding what will work best for your brand. In the U.S., promotions typically consist of any two of three elements: Chance (random selection)Prize (anything of monetary value)  Consideration...Read More

It is not uncommon for those who are new to the world of loyalty marketing to think that all loyalty programs work the same way or have equal benefits. Some may even be tempted to say that “visuals aside, if there are any technical differences, they...Read More

Think it can’t be done? See how loyalty programs and better personalization can be used to keep your customers coming back. It’s more cost-effective than identifying new audiences and helps maintain your brand image and profit margins which can be eroded by steep discounting. ...Read More

B2B relationships, B2B customer engagement, and B2B brand loyalty are personal at their core. Like B2C initiatives, business-to-business transactions and engagement need personalization and emotional elements to create and nurture long-term success.  Make B2B Loyalty Personal &...Read More

Following the hyperjump in eCommerce adoption, companies that could make rapid and sweeping changes in customer retention and digitalization managed to emerge successful, while many sleeping giants suffered severe losses. This sentiment is reflected in our Global Customer Loyalty Report 2023...Read More

Look at the typical consumer's email inbox, and you’re likely to see an inundation of messages from different loyalty programs, all clamoring for attention. This isn’t happenstance.  American households today belong to an average of 16.6 loyalty memberships1 Hotel chains...Read More

Companies want their loyalty programs to succeed. Ask any program administrator and they’ll agree that ensuring their program is working smoothly and achieving objectives is their top priority. However what some of them don’t realize is the subtle ways they might be holding their own...Read More

Connecting with and retaining customers as they compete for both share of mind and share of wallet remains a challenge in tumultuous times. The combination of a lingering pandemic, residual supply chain issues, labor shortages, record-high inflation, and increasing economic uncertainty is new...Read More

"Would you like fries with that”? McDonald’s already knows the answer. And what seems like a simple, innocent and effortless question allows the fast food giant to sell over four million kilograms of fries globally every day, which accounts for 25-40% of ...Read More

What are the best loyalty programs out there today? Every company can go and make something wonderful, which is unique and unlike anyone else’s. But there’s so much to learn from the companies who have been successful with their loyalty programs. As Martin Reeves, Partner at Boston...Read More

The past year provided a wealth of challenges for brands looking to connect with consumers—and 2023 may be just as challenging. Between rising economic concerns and geopolitical issues, brands and customers alike face a near constant state of disruption. Despite this, there remains a...Read More

Whoever says they have the magic recipe for the perfect cadence & timing to deliver marketing communications must know something the rest of the world doesn’t. Unfortunately, there is no real science to it. Multiple factors come into play: business model...Read More

The reward factor: How the travel preferences of loyalty program members stack up against the typical American leisure traveler.Value is even more important to this subset of travelers, as is their ability to use points or miles for their trip.Between July and September 2022, arrivia ...Read More

Suddenly, the "metaverse" is everywhere in business.1 And maybe your company isn't ready to dive headfirst into this still-fuzzy concept of a world in code. But it's a good time to contemplate the role digital assets should play in your company's growth plan. In fact, you...Read More

The relationship between the customer and the brand is one of the most important factors in cultivating long-term customer loyalty. Companies rely on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms and tools to help manage their customers, but many businesses have actually forgotten...Read More

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business, and loyalty programs are one of the best ways to market your brand. But what exactly are loyalty programs? And how can they help you grow? Here's everything you need to know about loyalty programs.  What Are Loyalty Programs?A loyalty program...Read More

Consumer loyalty is changing faster than ever, and marketers must shift their strategies to maintain a competitive advantage. One way to do this is to rethink how your brand views and rewards loyalty from your biggest fans.  An easy way to incorporate customer-first thinking involves...Read More

Retail shareholders investing in electric vehicles are trying to catch lighting in a bottle by tapping into one of the fastest growing – and volatile – markets seen in decades. While the growth of the electric vehicle market is sure to soar, finding the right company to invest in and...Read More

There is no doubt that the news over the past few weeks has been shocking to us all and it is disheartening to see such risky and inappropriate practices come to light. It will take some time to learn exactly what transpired and how many consumers and market providers are impacted. As we have...Read More

In the wake of Hurricane Ian, our thoughts are with all who were impacted by this unpredictable storm. From our home city of St. Petersburg, we navigated the uncertainty in true Kobie fashion – rallying together to continue supporting clients while facing our own adversity. Chief Customer...Read More

Associations are some of the most common membership-based organizations in existence. From trade groups to professional societies to service clubs, associations are groups of people with shared interests and common goals. And while those goals may be business-oriented – growing a...Read More

It is common knowledge that brand awareness amongst customers is one of the most important aspects of running a successful company. In this article, you will find useful tips and tricks to implement a successful strategy to build and measure brand...Read More

With the slew of challenges facing the B2B industry today - inflation, supply chain instability, rapidly evolving technology and workplace environments - it’s no wonder that businesses are feeling increasing pressure to stay competitive and prevent customer churn.  When industry...Read More

When it comes to holiday season investment lore, the Santa Claus Rally is as legendary to retail shareholders as the name behind it. The Santa Claus Rally describes the week before Christmas when stocks have historically risen. There is historic precedence for the yuletide bump. The S&P 500...Read More

Nowadays, loyalty programs are mainly implemented within enterprises that emphasize the importance of the customer-centric approach – no matter what kind of business you are running, and in what industry you are specializing, it is always a good idea to...Read More

Did you know that the average American consumer is willing to sell their personal data for approximately $1400? In some cases, their data might be worth substantially more than this. The key factor to consider, though, is how you can get them to voluntarily give you their data. Collecting...Read More

Whether you’re a business owner or a consumer, you’re likely well-aware of modern-day customer loyalty programs, and probably already belong to several programs. Today, nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults report being a member of at least three rewards programs, proving their...Read More

Even though “it costs 5 times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one”[1], many companies still believe that getting more new customers is the only way to bigger profits. We’re here to show you that it ...Read More

Snow. Some rejoice when the fluffy white stuff starts flying. For others, it comes out of their mouths in a snarl, like any other four-letter curse word. Whether you love it or hate it, as a retail investor, there are many opportunities to invest in companies that rely on it. There are a...Read More

I thought that being a Secret Agent would convince people to open up and share their personal information with me. It turns out it’s not that easy…people tend to be quite sensitive regarding their personal data. Nevertheless, according to research by Clear Channel and JCDecaux, more...Read More

Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, Pokémon GO, Wordle, League of Legends—there’s a good chance that you, or someone close to you, is obsessed with one of the many chart-topping mobile games. Highly engaging and entertaining to users, gaming is a growing industry: Mobile gamers—that is...Read More

Kobie CMO, Bobby Greenberg, was recently interviewed on Demandbase’s podcast, “Sunny Side Up” Episode 342, to discuss how marketers can measure “Big L” and “Little L” loyalty, creating a more engaging customer experience. Click here to listen to the...Read More

While undercover, I asked a lot of people about running loyalty programs. Based on their answers, loyalty programs are such an easy concept. “I just give my customers points for the money they spend, some cool rewards — maybe sprinkle in some tiers for good measure — and boom...Read More

While the holidays can be a joyous occasion, this is also a busy time of year for your customers and…identity thieves. We released our 6th Annual Holiday Shopping Identity Theft survey results, polling consumers on their holiday shopping habits and the cybersecurity and identity theft...Read More

Converting a new customer is certainly very exciting. However, many businesses make the mistake of overlooking the valuable customers they already have and focus most of their marketing efforts on acquisition rather than retention. According to Harvard Business Review statistics, it’s...Read More

The early days of e-commerce ushered in a debate that continues today: Is the future of retail brick-and-mortar stores or digital storefronts? Retailers still wonder if they should lean into one strategy over another, or if they should seek a best-of-both-worlds balance between them? At present...Read More

Customer engagement is more than a way to gauge how connected customers are with your brand. It’s an umbrella term for the various processes you can use to create and foster customer relationships. The right engagement strategies can have a tremendous effect on the success of your...Read More

Some things are important to all travelers like value for money and having access to the right variety of travel options to meet their needs.But in our recent survey of members of a travel rewards program offered by a major national financial institution, we found subtle areas of differentiation....Read More

There’s no doubt that the digital marketing landscape is far different than it was just a few short years ago. Where it was once possible to use paid ads and a few blog posts to get the word out about your brand, today you need a robust content marketing plan to really see results.Which is...Read More

While cruises have always been an excellent bang-for-your-buck travel option, they are particularly attractive and valuable for vacationers in the current economic environment. According to the CEO of Royal Caribbean, speaking in an interview ahead of the launch of the largest cruise...Read More

If there’s anything I’ve learned since becoming a secret agent for loyalty programs, it is that nothing tops the power of an innovative idea. As such, I dedicated my very first mission to this concept, exploring four loyalty program ideas that will put a unique spin on your...Read More

It might only be October — but in the marketing world, the holidays are around the corner. As many of us know, advertisers start their campaigns earlier and earlier every year, with Black Friday arriving before Halloween and Christmas campaigns starting as early as July. If you’re a...Read More

As seasonal trends and demand patterns in the travel market begin to take a more familiar shape after three years of being dominated by the pandemic’s influence, we can see which aspects of travel have fundamentally changed since 2020. One of those is the prevalence, popularity, and...Read More

According to Richard Branson, “Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business. It’s as simple as that.”That’s sage advice—especially considering the direct connection between employee engagement and customer experience (CX). Forbes reports that...Read More

Customer loyalty programs should be a primary focus for every business in the retail industry. Retailers find themselves in a rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive marketplace, but an effective loyalty program can give a retail business an edge over its competitors.Five Benefits of...Read More

One of the most important aspects of any business is keeping your customers happy.However, keeping your customers’ needs in mind is more than just ensuring that they’re satisfied with their current experience. It’s also about focusing on long-term strategies that can cut your...Read More

When it comes to unlocking the full possibilities of what a loyalty program can do, one aspect brands shouldn’t overlook is integrations. A loyalty program’s ability to seamlessly connect and share data across a wide scope of different technologies will play a significant part in not...Read More

While travel demand continues to boom, so does the cost of travel insurance. As frustrated passengers continue to cope with flight cancellations, missed connections, and lost luggage, they now must deal with the rising cost of insuring their trips.Arrivia’s Chief Executive Officer...Read More

HighlightsVirtual recruitment has become an effective means of talent acquisition for the hybrid workspace. Even after the pandemic has ended and its aftermath is curbed, remote hiring is sure to stay because of its time- and cost-saving benefits, opportunity to transcend geographical barriers...Read More

Data security and customer privacy are critical parts of every successful customer loyalty solution. Recent privacy laws and regulations reflect how individuals value their personal data and online privacy. It’s vital those individuals trust your brand enough to voluntarily share...Read More

Of all the consumer-facing businesses and organizations with a travel loyalty program in place, few have built those programs from scratch using internal resources. The rest, at some point or another, identified a partner that could help them build or expand their programs. Why? Because creating...Read More

Some historians date the first loyalty programs all the way back to Ancient Egypt, where wooden tokens were exchanged for rewards like beer and bread. Flash forward 5,000 years, and these programs are still as popular as ever. However, they never would have survived so many cultural...Read More

Collecting zero-party data through loyalty programs is the future of digital marketing. More than ever, customers value their online privacy and the protection of personal information they share with brands. Third-party cookies, traditionally used by marketers to track customer data, are...Read More

In today’s world, companies are constantly working to build brand awareness as they compete for consumers’ attention. There are many avenues to market your business to customers, but some measures are more effective than others in expanding your customer base....Read More

Travel loyalty programs have a rich history and remain incredibly popular among consumers. And there is a full spectrum of travel loyalty programs currently in the market, with some functioning like full-service travel agencies with sophisticated earning and redemption processes on one end and...Read More

Hello, I’m Secret Agent Jess… but you can just call me Jess. I joined Antavo back in 2016 and have been writing about loyalty for a long time. I’ve even been in a few videos! You might have seen some of my blog posts before. But there’s something you might not know...Read More

When retail investors discover TiiCKER, some have questions about how stock perks work. So the editorial team thought it would be worthwhile to dig into our mailbag and answer some common questions about TiiCKER. Periodically, we will answer these questions and give individual investors a few...Read More

Without getting too philosophical, there’s no denying that mobile devices have redefined our lives and our expectations. Today we get what we want, whenever and wherever we want it simply by looking at the device in the palm of our hands. Anything from buying dinner to directions to travel...Read More

Coming up with loyalty rewards for your membership program is such an exciting time for your company. All the brainstorming, all the crazy ideas! It really brings out your team’s creativity, don’t you agree? Unfortunately, reward planning meetings often end up inconclusive. In our...Read More

When retail investors discover TiiCKER, some have questions about how stock perks work. So the editorial team periodically digs into our mailbag to answer some common questions about TiiCKER. We want you to get the most out of the platform that rewards shareholders for simply owning stock in...Read More

Most brands understand the value of loyalty, but few get it right. Generic loyalty tactics are costly and fail to attract customers. Retaining loyal customers is critical as attracting new ones becomes increasingly difficult in crowded, competitive landscapes. So where do you start? What do you...Read More

The shifting landscape of consumer trends in travel and hospitalityAs organizations make progress on delivering better customer experience, workforce experience, and partnership experience, leaders are turning to human experience (HX) to bring a stronger focus on people in all areas of these key...Read More

Aligning with the customers’ values and supporting ESG causes is one of the hallmarks of a next-gen emotional loyalty program. But how can a reward program meaningfully contribute to a cause, such as sustainability? Craft beer retailer BrewDog does so by encouraging customers to...Read More

When you think of challenger brands, what comes to mind? A nimble David standing up to a legacy Goliath with towering name recognition and budget for days. Now imagine that you are a David battling multiple Goliaths. That’s the challenge facing Sir Kensington’s, a condiment brand with...Read More

If there’s something the 21st century has taught us, it’s that one-size-fits-all solutions simply don’t cut it anymore. With the rise of the ‘unique customer’ who wants everything to be super-personalized and hyper-relevant, companies need to custom-tailor their...Read More

Every successful brand needs a profitable customer loyalty program. Companies across industries leverage loyalty programs to identify their most engaged customers, collect behavioral and preference data, and incentivize purchases. Loyalty programs build customer loyalty, and analytics...Read More

To create a loyalty marketing strategy, it is critical to understand that every customer is unique. Every member has different needs, preferences, communication channels, behavior, and emotions. Approaching all these unique members as one via mass communication is...Read More

The team at Clio Snacks believes in being curious about new ideas. After all, that’s how their product came into being. Founder Sergey Konchakovskiy invented the chocolate-covered Greek Yogurt bars after seeing his kids’ playing with some yogurt leftover from a marinade. Adding sure...Read More

Conducting consumer research is a time-tested and effective way to inform loyalty program decisions. Moreover, qualitative and quantitative research offers strategic opportunities to gather the perspectives of your brand’s target consumers. Relying on assumptions alone could put your value...Read More

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies aren't just for digital payments enthusiasts. Cryptocurrencies have completely changed the landscape of digital payments.1 They've given some people untraditional ways be part of the digital economy.In fact, popular coins like bitcoin and ether are a...Read More

Premium loyalty programs have become more common in recent years and are an attractive asset for any brand.   And these stats shine a light on the growing popularity of premium loyalty.  People have been paying to be members of Amazon Prime since 2005. And they’ve...Read More

You know the old adage about never getting a second chance to make a first impression? The same is true when you connect with a customer for the first time. However, an effective onboarding strategy provides the opportunity to reinforce, or remedy, that first impression well beyond those...Read More

What is zero-party data?Data is being collected on individuals and exchanged everyday between systems and third parties, but soon the tools to collect this data are radically changing.  In order to understand why zero-party data is so important we ...Read More

Shareholder rewards or shareholder perks are benefits, you, as a retail investor can earn for holding shares of a company. Shareholder rewards should not be confused with dividends. Instead, they are perks that can be redeemed by individual investors and designed to reward loyalty in ownership...Read More

Few people associate the word “party” with data, but for marketers, it’s all we can talk about these days. Data is critical in ensuring we can be effective at our jobs. Without it, we’re driving blind and losing precious dollars and market share. ...Read More

Want to know what makes a Loyalty Program unique? Our clients have lots of answers to that question. Check out some program highlights below! RetailBurton        Burton’s global, multi currency, multi-language program lets members earn points for purchases...Read More

Insights on building today’s leading loyalty programsCustomers have higher expectations than ever and companies must deliver more to earn and build loyalty. Our research provides insight into the specific loyalty drivers that programs need to be investing in today. Read our report to learn...Read More

Not many people might associate loyalty and lottery programs together. But in reality lotteries can benefit significantly from establishing loyalty programs for their player bases. Loyalty programs come with a number of benefits and features that can help lotteries grow - data insights &...Read More

Your customers have heard about cryptocurrency in the news. They're intrigued, yet perhaps cautious. They could use your trusted brand to help them connect to this exciting new financial world.Could it be your brand?Bakkt's report, Creating Your Business's Crypto Strategy ...Read More

It’s hard to argue, but no vertical has been hit as hard by the Covid-19 pandemic as the travel industry. Compared to 2019, there have been more than 1 billion fewer international arrivals, prompting many railway companies and airlines to reevaluate their strategies. And, even though...Read More

With consumers sipping their first pumpkin spice lattes of the season, faint jingle bells can be heard as brands prepare for the bustling holiday season. And with holiday spending forecasted to reach record levels in 2022 at $1.262 trillion, it is table stakes that brands break through the...Read More

You can’t beat the value of cruise travel, especially right now. Coming off two-and-a-half years of shutdowns and restrictions due to COVID-19, cruise lines are making it very difficult for consumers to say no to a vacation at sea. According to cruise deal aggregator Cruise Sheet, the...Read More

Customers can now take advantage of 49 cruise lines and thousands of golf productsConsumers are officially back on the road, in the air and booking trips at pre-pandemic levels, even despite increased prices from inflation. Recently, Bakkt added new options for river and ocean cruises as well as...Read More

‘Omnichannel’ and ’omnichannel loyalty programs’ have been buzzwords in the industry for years, but after the disruptive changes of the pandemic, simply having multiple marketing channels is no longer just an advantage, but instead it’s a must-have — especially...Read More

Shareholder loyalty is a phrase that’s been around a long time. Public companies have always tried to capture the loyalty of their shareholders, but before TiiCKER, it was an arduous, nearly impossible task to reward individual investors for their loyalty.Smart publicly traded companies are...Read More

Workplace burnout is on the rise as employees deal with psychological aspects of work, overwhelming stress, and a prolonged lack of bandwidth to successfully handle both job requirements and life demands. A recent Gallup study found that nearly two-thirds of employees are feeling burnt out on the...Read More

Prior to the pandemic, loyalty programs were on the rise, with many retailers realizing their potential to drive business and customer value. COVID-19 has dramatically evolved the retail landscape by accelerating pre-pandemic trends, creating new consumer behaviors, and shifting market share...Read More

Intermediaries have always been a vital part of the consumer’s experience with products. Consumers are loyal to brands, but rarely interact with the companies that produce those brands. Instead, intermediaries (such as distributors or retailers) act as the...Read More

A member's health journey is top of mind. Healthcare payers and partners should consider the evergreen metric of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Industry leaders can focus on Customer Experience Transformation (CXT) and put member needs at the heart of their strategic planning and operations...Read More

Gamification is one of the latest loyalty program innovations being used to increase customer engagement and sales. Video game developers have become masters at creating and motivating player loyalty through game mechanics. Today, successful customer loyalty programs ...Read More

As more brands are building emotional loyalty into their customer loyalty strategies, it's important to know how best to approach this task. It's no secret that the relationship between consumers and brands has changed drastically over the last few years. There are many reasons for...Read More

If you want to strengthen your customers’ brand loyalty, look no further than the value connected to offers and rebates promotions. Consider that 82% of consumers would prefer to redeem a product rebate online/digitally, and 85% of consumers have redeemed a...Read More

Travel-inspired benefits, like retreats or working overseas, are becoming a popular talent-retention move. Companies that offer travel benefits for employees differentiate themselves over competitors and can be a deciding factor in attracting and retaining talent in a tough labor market.In a...Read More

Brands are continuously looking to grow their loyalty programs and improve customer retention. However, many loyalty programs fail to deliver the rewards and benefits that customers desire and value. According to our recent survey on the intersection of travel and loyalty, 24% of respondents...Read More

Employees are looking for work-sponsored benefits that align with their personal and professional goals and provide a pathway to better work-life balance. With more HR executives and people leaders focused on employees’ mental health and total well-being than ever before, how can...Read More

Consumers’ continued interest and increasing demand for cruise travel is likely to continue as many cruise lines lift their testing and vaccination requirements. For companies offering cruise as a redemption or booking option within their loyalty programs, they can expect higher levels of...Read More

To say the US credit card market is crowded is a dramatic understatement. Nearly every financial institution offers a credit card product, as do an increasing number of merchants, fintech companies and non-traditional lenders. Most American consumers have at least one credit card, and according...Read More

For the past two years, supply-chain issues have frustrated suppliers and consumers alike. In October 2021, Adobe reported that out-of-stock messages were up 250% from prepandemic levels, and supply-chain volatility is expected to persist into 2023. Supply-chain delays of everything from baby...Read More

When we ask customers about the brands they’re most loyal to, there’s often an interesting disconnect between the reasons customers love their favorite brands and the rewards they offer. Certainly, we hear about points or other earning mechanisms and how they can be used to deliver...Read More

The return of travel parallels consumers’ expectations for travel: they’re  looking for more  travel options, deeper discounts, and better experiences – whether it’s how they search and book their next trip, getting to their destination to what happens at the...Read More

Few events affected Americans’ shopping habits as swiftly and profoundly as COVID-19. In the earliest days of the global pandemic, consumers rushed to stock up on pantry items, cleaning supplies and medicines. Retailers accelerated plans to provide easy online ordering, more robust apps...Read More

Pent-up travel demand sees Americans eager to experience adventure or visit friends and family, outweighing concerns about current events and COVID-19. What's more, travelers continue to plan indulgent trips, acting on what’s known as “revenge travel,” where people finally...Read More

Value is very important to travelers, but many programs are lacking Between December 2021 and January 2022, arrivia surveyed 2,150 American consumers and 204 industry decision-makers about the role of travel rewards in the post-pandemic travel resurgence. Almost 50% of surveyed...Read More

Is your brand giving customers what they want?Alongside most everything else, travel is getting more expensive. But that hasn’t curtailed demand — at least not yet. After more than two years of COVID travel restrictions, consumers are eager to make up for lost time and...Read More

How to maximize search results for your brand’s loyalty programIt’s a pretty safe bet that you’ve used a search engine as part of your online activities today. Most of us search for something three to four times a day on Google, with an average of 8.5 billion searches taking...Read More

Contactless channels have been around for the last decade or so.  They were innovations hospitality companies could use to deliver parts of the experience in streamlined ways.  They saw moderate adoption at first, gradually got more popular, and then seemed to level off.…then...Read More

In a consumer landscape where personalization is key, and personal data is sacrosanct, how can companies use emerging technologies to create meaningful (and durable) customer relationships?Personalization is table stakes, whether you’re an early-stage start-up or an award-winning brand...Read More

 Brands today continue to face a multitude of pandemic-related challenges – like shipping delays and supply chain disruptions – that have fundamentally altered the way they engage with their consumers. Pre-pandemic approaches to engagement no longer resonate with the current...Read More

Managing a loyalty program is a lot like a relay race. You might start off with a specific type of rewards program, but then reach the finish line with another. Nonetheless, as long as you aim to give customers a meaningful experience, your brand will be a winner. And don’t be afraid...Read More

Financial institutions are in a prime position to capitalize on the return of travel thanks to a mature marketplace with 77% of conventional banking customers belonging to 5 or more loyalty programs. Yet many financial services loyalty programs aren’t generating the retention and engagement...Read More

With over half the world (4.62 billion users) active on social media today, it is no surprise the influence it holds in our lives. Whether it be #GentleMinions breaking box-office records with teens flocking to see the new Minions movie as part of the newest TikTok trend, or products...Read More

As brands have dealt with various customer loyalty and data issues in the past two-plus years of the pandemic, previous business strategies are being tested by consumers with limitless options.  Our CEO, Tom Caporaso, recently participated in a video interview with Hannah DeMaio, Vice...Read More

The founders of The Home Depot, the largest home improvement retailer in the United States, had a special vision. They aimed to facilitate the work of their customers by providing them with services that make it simple for them to get in, get what they need, and get back to work quickly and...Read More

Over the past few years, the importance of understanding your target audience and providing them with a personalized experience has become crucial. The floods of information that customers encounter each day online and in person make it harder for brands to stick out and remain on the top of...Read More

Traditional loyalty programs have been around forever and serve a distinct and extremely useful purpose.  But premium loyalty programs are a newer rising trend. Their popularity has risen in recent years and helps make your best customers exponentially more valuable. ...Read More

Understanding the role of travel rewards in the post-pandemic travel resurgenceAfter more than two years of yo-yoing pandemic-driven restrictions, Americans are more than ready to travel again. A survey conducted by arrivia in early 2022 of 2,150 U.S. consumers who are loyalty...Read More

Expectations for corporate social responsibility (CSR), like so many parts of our social fabric, are evolving. Amid changing social perspectives, political upheaval, and increasing consumer demand for brands to demonstrate positive impacts on the world, CSR engagement is no longer a...Read More

Fostering loyalty in the babywear and maternity clothing industry comes with unique challenges. On one hand, the consumer base — the little rascals — grows quickly and is in constant need of new clothing. However, if a company can capture the hearts of a newly formed family, it can be...Read More

With inflation, rising interest rates, and a flattening housing market – consumers have a lot to consider when they swipe their cards. And let’s face it, brands have been in a continual learning mode for over two years now. That’s why Kobie recently met up with key leaders in...Read More

Every brand has a media plan, but not every plan includes a data strategy. Historically, media and analytics teams are siloed, but as the digital landscape continues to evolve, teams need to work together in sharing knowledge and expertise to reach goals and deliver on customer expectations. ...Read More

In the crowded marketplace of our fast-paced, distracted world, it’s imperative for your brand voice to embrace a distinct and identifiable personality that strikes the right note and can be heard above all the background noise of other marketing. Here’s how one brand is making its...Read More

Achieving and maintaining customer loyalty is one of the biggest challenges of running a successful business in 2022.Consumer research shows that approximately 75% of buyers changed their shopping behavior over the past 12 months. In fact, more than 40% switched brands. And 39% changed retailers...Read More

Customer data is the lifeblood of businesses today. It fuels plenty of actions and backs corporate decision-making, from marketing to budgeting, customer retention, email communication, and many, many more. However, the rising number of privacy laws and the crackdown on third-party cookies...Read More

Time flies fast, especially in the world of digital marketing. The marketing world is dynamic and ever-changing — trends, technology, and tactics are never stagnant. That’s why it’s critical that your business stays up to date with new developments in the industry — after...Read More

The customer data platform (CDP) is one of the fastest-growing categories of marketing technology today. In order to understand why, you have to look at some of the underlying challenges in marketing related to data and personalization.What does a customer data platform do?We live...Read More

As a critical customer retention tool, loyalty programs play a vital role in helping companies maintain their customers. The challenge that pharmacies and drugstores face, however, is to find new ways to innovate and keep a rapidly-growing customer base loyal. Pharmacy loyalty programs play an...Read More

U.S. inflation rates reached a 40-year high in February,1 and there's a growing consensus among experts that inflation is currently a key threat to the economy.2President Joe Biden acknowledged this consensus in his State of the Union address on March 1, saying: "Too many families are...Read More

The power of positive word-of-mouth is one of the fundamental truths of marketing. In a field that is undergoing seismic shifts, from data privacy to the metaverse, the superior impact of having your fans recommend your brand is undisputed. It’s more trusted. It’s more effective. And...Read More

For a brand, discovering a customer who not only purchases frequently, but actually goes out of their way to promote and represent the brand to others is akin to hitting the jackpot. This brand lover is essentially providing free marketing for the brand. But the world of the brand ambassador isn...Read More

Welcome to the next generation of marketing strategies that actually work.Navigating today’s marketing landscape is a tricky task and marketers are feeling the pressure to increase results while the martech and advertising infrastructure they’ve come to lean on disintegrates around...Read More

Retail therapy—that little jolt of happiness we experience when we make a purchase (or two or three) online or in-store—is getting an upgrade.Driven by expanding technology, pandemic-inspired changes in consumer behavior, and our urge to retreat from a stressful world, retail therapy...Read More

If you’ve ever been a victim of identity fraud, you know how much time and effort it took to resolve the incident. The piles of paperwork and what seemed like endless calls to the impacted company’s fraud or customer service department likely took a toll, particularly if each time you...Read More

Premium loyalty programs have gained momentum in recent years and are being embraced by more brands and consumers.  Consider that 78% of consumers said they’re willing to pay to join a premium loyalty program, according to our 2022 Premium Loyalty Data Study.  ...Read More

Like most marketers, we are big fans of brand advocacy. Harnessing the power of your best consumers to find your next consumers drives powerful impact for your brand. It influences purchase decision-making through ratings and reviews. Elevates awareness and conversions through Word...Read More

The biggest challenge of winning over the Asia-Pacific demographic as a Western brand lies in understanding differences in customer behavior and loyalty. Big brands with decades of history serving the European or US market often learn the hard way that their tried-and-tested marketing campaigns...Read More

Grab your free Big Gulp (or perhaps a free Starbucks Venti iced coffee), thanks to your membership rewards, and buckle up! We’re back on the road for a cross-country fantasy road trip all over Loyalty Land. And with the growing price of gasoline, airline tickets, and almost everything else,...Read More

Loyalty fraud is the act of cheating in a loyalty program to unfairly earn points or benefits. We asked resident Machine Learning expert at Clutch, Marianne Bunn to explain how ML technology can be used to monitor and ultimately stop fraudsters. As a thought leader in the customer loyalty...Read More

Marketing is changing. The focus is now on talking to people on a much more personal level and on building long-term relationships. People don’t want companies to talk at them; they are looking for companies to engage with them, and print is a key element of engagement marketing. The...Read More

In today’s crowded e-commerce landscape, having a robust, data-driven customer loyalty program is no longer a “nice to have,” it’s a MUST. And if you don’t have a program, it’s time to launch one. A customer loyalty program is a great asset to your retail...Read More

In the last few years, subscription platforms with original premium content have eaten into the market share of the advertising-based video on-demand (AVOD) platform. But with subscription fatigue kicking in, the AVOD players are now pulling out all the stops to dominate the business.Rise of the...Read More

Email marketing is a great way to turn contacts into customers. Not just any emails will have the impact you want, though. Make sure you’re following these five best practices to make the most of your email marketing so you can grow your customer base and boost revenue!What Is Email...Read More

There’s a new wave of shoppers on the rise — Gen Z customers. As a savvy marketer, you must learn to understand what makes this younger generation tick, and what loyalty program features you should focus on to appeal to them. Gen Z shoppers are more likely to see loyalty to a...Read More

There’s a new type of data offering brands an opportunity to build trust and loyalty with consumers: zero-party data.Brands are facing a privacy and personalization paradox. Consumers want to feel heard by brands, but they’re not always comfortable sharing their data with brands...Read More

Traditional marketing no longer cuts it in the financial services arena today. Customers increasingly want the brands they trust to interact with them in personal ways, and that includes their financial service institutions. Banks need to make full use of their CRM data in order to deliver that...Read More

For just a minute, put yourself in the shoes of a customer. Think about purchases you’ve made from your favorite brands.What is it that makes you a loyal customer?There’s a good chance that it’s because the brands you choose offer a quality, seamless customer experience. ...Read More

Marketers want to collect more data to better personalize customer experiences, but it’s challenging due to regulatory and privacy issues. And that’s where zero-party data enters the picture. As Google plans to block third-party cookies on its Chrome browser by the end of...Read More

Summer, summer, summertime! The summer season is well underway, and with it brings the opportunity for the whole family to get out of the house and explore new places. But, while many of us have been itching for travel to pick back up – thanks, COVID – one thing remains true...Read More

With so many of our transactions happening online, it sometimes seems like we’ll never have to step into a store again. But statistics show that even with the convenience of online shopping, most people still want to go into a store to purchase, craving experiences only offered...Read More

Customers want to feel understood. For example, 74% of consumers have a favorite brand because that brand uses data responsibly, which makes them feel comfortable. Relationship Marketing involves gaining a deeper understanding of each customer and responding across touchpoints in real-time...Read More

Like many consumers, my purchasing habits changed during COVID-19. I went from buying the occasional shirt online to purchasing everything from a website. I was not alone. According to Digital Commerce 360, U.S. consumers spent $870.78 billion (about $2,700 per person in the US) online in 2021...Read More

The crisis and stress of the pandemic created a widespread reconsideration of individual priorities. That shift in thinking led to 47.8 million resignations in 2021, the highest number in a single year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey,...Read More

Welcome to the Customer Data Platform era. When did this era officially begin? Somewhere between the confluence of when third-party cookies were no longer an option, personalized CX became the primary focus of CX and first-party data became the top currency for marketers.Granted weaker versions...Read More

As the age-old saying goes, everything’s fair in love and war. However, in the 21st century, you can add another item to the list: marketing. Because being able to capture the hearts and minds of consumers in an age where buyers are constantly bombarded with messages is only possible if you...Read More

For over a decade I have been searching for the Holy Grail: a way to ensure mere marketing mortals like myself can have access to the power of advanced analytics. With this power comes a great responsibility, which is to deliver one-to-one personalization at true scale and do great things for...Read More

A seamless, personalized loyalty program requires an understanding of the latest user experience trends and common pitfalls Loyalty experiences are much more than loyalty programs—and interactive design can either enhance loyalty to a brand or detract from it. Customers interact...Read More

And nurturing loyalty will help you build it.In today’s tumultuous world, trust is hard won. Overall consumer trust is failing, which means establishing and maintaining trust with your customers is vital for your brand’s success. Despite rapidly evolving consumer expectations, right...Read More

Did you know that in recent years, loyalty program fraud has risen by 89%? Besides the obvious monetary loss that comes with this, leaving your reward program vulnerable to fraud also jeopardizes customers’ trust in your brand. If their data is stolen, or they are punished after...Read More

Outside of their core banking product, credit unions employ different tactics to attract new members and keep existing ones engaged. Member benefits — think preferential rates on car insurance, first access to concert tickets and deep discounts on hotel stays—are one way to...Read More

Companies are investing in data at record levels. Yet even as they add data execs to the C-suite and spend more money to collect, analyze, and store more and more information, many are seeing surprisingly few improvements. Data transformation, unlike digital transformation, has stalled.Only 24...Read More

Buy now, pay later (BNPL)—a purchasing option that’s more than simply a contemporary version of layaway—is trending with consumers and gaining traction with major brands, retailers, and credit card issuers.Take, for example, the rapid expansion of BNPL sales during Cyber Week...Read More

Customers’ lives have changed profoundly over the last two years, so it’s only natural their expectations have evolved as well. Brands that meet customers where they are—with authenticity and empathy woven through every interaction and across all channels—can build...Read More

A successful brand advocacy strategy can create powerful Word-of-Mouth (WOM) marketing to elevate awareness and consideration. It can enhance your brand’s social proof through high-quality ratings & reviews. And it can inspire authentic user-generated content (UGC) to build...Read More

Across every industry, employers are re-thinking their workforce retention strategies and are going beyond offering higher wages, considering benefits that contribute to employees’ quality of life and show appreciation for the work employees are doing. What unique benefits can companies...Read More

Do you want to elevate your customer relationships and also collect insights that can be tailored for future experiences?  Promotions help you be in the moment with your loyal customers. One of the best attributes of promotions is they allow you to achieve your marketing and...Read More

Sustainability is an enormous social issue and it’s here to stay. Eco-friendliness has become the new normal for young customers, who are increasingly choosing well-made ethical products over cheap, mass-produced goods. It’s no surprise that Gartner predicts that...Read More

Nearly 90% of consumers expect brands to accommodate their preferences. One of the ways marketers understand consumer preferences is through consumer insights. Qualitative research has been a long-standing pillar in forming a holistic picture of what a brand’s differentiators are...Read More

We could go on and on about the benefits of online brand communities. But we know how much more powerful personal testimonials and authentic reviews can be. So we thought we’d let one of the many brands that are reaping the benefits of an online brand community tell you...Read More

Consumer shopping behavior continues to shift dramatically as global events and emerging technologies impact how, when, and why they purchase from a brand. Customer loyalty is no longer a guarantee in this evolving market, and brands must find new ways to understand and engage their customers...Read More

When a loyalty program is solely focused on rewarding transactional behaviors they are missing out on the chance to build real long-lasting customer loyalty. When a program is focused on building relationships (relational loyalty programs) it is important that they reward the customers for their...Read More

The Changing Look of Loyalty No matter which side of your brain does the thinking about customer loyalty, you’ll find valuable insights into the key drivers of customer loyalty in our infographic and research report.More than 6,500 brand-engaged consumers across 13 global markets were...Read More

The trend for strategic loyalty partnerships is becoming more and more mainstream as brands like Starbucks join the movement. The CEO even stated that “through blockchain or other innovative technologies, they are exploring how to tokenize Stars and create the ability for other...Read More

As the world has changed, so has B2C marketing. We’ve seen B2C marketing transform from the early days of transactional, volume- based messaging to a conversational engagement strategy. In this new world, we are all under more pressure than ever before and are required to do more in less...Read More

Four email campaigns to help marketers fill that gapConventional wisdom says email marketing requires explicit permission. In other words, consumers must proactively opt in to receive marketing email. However, the legal requirements are actually more marketing friendly than that.The permission...Read More

Are you creating an experience for your customers to really engage with your brand? When you go out to see a movie, you have expectations—you’ll be entertained, the movie will be done well, etc. If you have a great time and really enjoy the movie, you’ll be...Read More

Customer data is the lifeblood of businesses today. It fuels plenty of actions and backs corporate decision-making, from marketing to budgeting, customer retention, email communication, and many, many more. However, the rising number of privacy laws and the crackdown on third-party cookies...Read More

HighlightsExperience the convergence of the physical and digital world as never before.Metaverse would constitute a more decentralized framework, giving users more control across multiple domains.A regulatory body to oversee transactions, data protection, and user interaction in the metaverse...Read More

Recently arrivia conducted a travel sentiment survey with our membership. The majority of the travelers surveyed recognize the value associated with travel loyalty programs, with 63% holding frequent flier status with at least one airline. The type of rewards they prefer to earn varies, with the...Read More

This content was originally published on the Loyalty Innovators Community.Today’s successful loyalty programs are not the same as they were even 10 years ago. Dead are the days of mass offers and earn-and-burn tactics, and here to stay are programs that span across an entire...Read More

In-store sales at convenience stores have been steadily climbing for the past twenty years — with no sign of slowing down.  And on top of that, the pandemic shifted many trends in c-store’s favor to become an even stronger growth opportunity for CPG brands. Today’s...Read More

Many restaurant brands have had a harder time staying connected with their customers in recent years.For over two decades, consumers increasingly moved to the digital space. Then, the forced isolation of the pandemic exacerbated that trend as diners who previously sought the social and...Read More

The table stakes are covered; your brand is collecting zero-party data directly from customers who are happy to share it, emails are being personalized based on that data, and sales are improving. However, it isn’t time to pat yourself on the back for a job well done just yet. You’re...Read More

In the world of customer retention, building a loyalty program that stands out is a major endeavor for any company. Loyalty programs can be a game-changing opportunity if created with care and precision. However, taking the first step is often the most daunting, due to the many decisions that...Read More

Focusing on customer retention is a requirement for brands that want to succeed in our current era of customer-centric commerce. But knowing it’s critical versus measuring it and acting on the results are two different things. To improve customer retention, your brand must look at metrics...Read More

Gen Z drives much of the cultural conversation on social media. This audience grew up in a different world as digital native internet users. Gen Z is the most diverse, culturally fluid generation, and they question everything. Other audiences require a methodical and intentional...Read More

Travel is back. Of course, restrictions are still in place across many regions and sectors, and the business travel market looks like it’s in for a more gradual recovery. But even casual observers recognize that travel demand is booming compared to the pandemic-era stagnation. More...Read More

Providing your customers with a reason to buy your products seems quite obvious. The challenge lies in clearly formulating what benefit your product or service provides them and expressing why it provides more value than similar offerings. As such, a value proposition is probably the most...Read More

While B2B customer loyalty programs have existed for decades, many businesses have not yet explored the opportunity. In today’s market, B2B companies experience a number of issues when exploring or implementing channel incentive programs. But with the proper technology...Read More

How can you know where there are opportunities for growth if you’re not sure where you stand right now? Analyzing your customer database can reveal opportunities for implementing changes that produce positive results. Plus, establishing a baseline will help you measure ROI as you implement...Read More

Most brands dream of creating customer loyalty programs that stack up to the likes of Starbucks, Sephora, United Airlines, and Amazon. These loyalty-leading brands build deep relationships with customers by offering them exactly what they’re demanding from modern loyalty programs, and...Read More

Have you ever shopped for something online and then, moments later, found yourself inundated with ads for an eerily similar product? These are third-party cookies (tiny invisible bits of ad-tracking code that record our activity) in action. But the cookie was originally meant to facilitate...Read More

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues have been moving upward on senior executive agendas even before the Covid-19 pandemic. The past two years have accelerated that movement, particularly for consumer products and services companies.ESG concerns find expression in consumer...Read More

Think about your lifestyle, needs, and interests. Now, think about the same for others, like your friends or family. Even though you may share a few common traits or interests, odds are you're not the exact same in every way, even with those people whom you are closest to.And because you aren...Read More

Financial models are only as good as the educated guesses that inform them. If the underlying assumptions are on target, an economic model can be an incredibly useful tool. If the assumptions are off, you can miss the mark by overestimating—or underestimating, for that matter—your...Read More

If you asked any of your customers what their most memorable moment was while interacting with your brand, they would never say something like, “That time I swiped my credit card on the counter” or “Clicking on the checkout button for my online order was so memorable”. It...Read More

Dynamic Segmentation is the process of identifying a group of people within your target audience who share common attributes based on real-time data and behaviors. Dynamic groups are constantly adding and subtracting members based on criteria.Our SVP of Strategy and Design Chris...Read More

Benefits that resonate with workers todayCOVID-19 ushered in a fundamental transformation to the workplace. But it’s not just commuting that has changed. Faced with rising burnout and the knowledge that work no longer must center around the physical office, worker priorities and motivations...Read More

What Is Borderless Working? The world of work is becoming bigger and smaller at the same time.Bigger because the talent pool available to businesses has increased. Smaller because the concept of geography defining how and where people work is being removed.Welcome to borderless working. ...Read More

Your customers have heard about cryptocurrency in the news. They're intrigued, yet perhaps cautious. They could use your trusted brand to help them connect to this exciting new financial world.Could it be your brand?Bakkt's report, Creating Your Business's Crypto Strategy ...Read More

Formation surveyed 500 US adult consumers to see where they feel current loyalty programs are falling short and what they actually want out of their loyalty programs.What are the Downfalls of Current Loyalty Programs?Good interactions between a brand and a consumer put a smile on the consumers...Read More

As gamification rises in popularity, successful development and implementation are critical to gaining value for brands. Gamification is part of the human experience. Even as toddlers, learning how to walk is gamified—beginning with walking to a parent, then a little further to the couch...Read More

Loyalty programs cannot rely on earn-and-burn tactics, like mass offers, if they want to become revenue powerhouses. Customers today expect engaging, relevant, and personalized interactions. And with plenty of options at their fingertips, if a loyalty program is static, they’ll leave for a...Read More

Retail has faced some serious challenges over the last few years. Make 2022 the year you shake up your marketing strategies and find effective ways to pull in new customers and re-engage inactive existing customers. Let’s look at five retail marketing strategies that can help you meet your...Read More

Understanding the changing, and in many cases, new preferences of their customers is critical for travel brands and marketers as they adjust to returning demand. But it’s only by utilizing data to better understand the types of travel experiences customers are now looking for that travel...Read More

It might seem early to be thinking about implementing a holiday rewards program already, but whether you manage a brick-and-mortar or an online store, the holiday season is a great opportunity to connect with your customers and drive more revenue. This time of the year, in particular, customers...Read More

Digital optimization has become table stakes for brands. As the pandemic forced technology to adapt or be left behind, Kobie experts looked back at the brands who crushed it with digital enhancements, fulfilling member needs and bridging the online vs. offline gap. 1. Venmo: Let’s talk...Read More

Ignorance is not bliss. Academic research shows that barely 10% of CEOs are selected from marketing’s ranks and, even in top CPG companies, less than 20% of CEOs rise from marketing. Worse, less than 3% of a company’s board roles are filled by people with a marketing background...Read More

According to our 2022 Customer Loyalty Data Study, less than one-third (32%) of loyal customers are members of loyalty programs. So, what can you do to incentivize more of your customers to join your loyalty program? Seventy-one percent of consumers in 2021 belonged to traditional...Read More

Privacy is a major concern for all of us—brands and consumers alike—and increasingly so, highlighted by recent government legislation, data breaches, and revelations about everyone’s favorite love-to-hate internet F word (so meta). This has consumers protecting their personal...Read More

Across every industry, hiring and retaining workers has never been more challenging. A positive company culture, strong values, better wages, more flexibility, and clear advancement opportunities all play an important role in employee acquisition and retention. But what else can companies offer...Read More

Making customers feel truly exceptional and appreciated is no longer a simple task. So, adding that little extra special something, like a surprise and delight element, to your loyalty program can renew interest, boost purchases and make customers more loyal. Unexpected perks can result in an...Read More

In the modern consumer world, new customers and existing customers are redefining their expectations from brands and their loyalty program. No longer impressed by the one-size-fits-all model, customers are now craving personalization, relevancy, and emotional connections from brands as part of...Read More

Businesses worldwide are scrambling to grow and maintain their workforce as they face historic pandemic-driven labor shortages. To combat the growing resignation surge and a highly competitive labor market, employers are restructuring their talent retention programs to go above and beyond...Read More

Channel engagement is a hot topic of discussion among B2B marketers for good reason. Quality channel partner and customer engagement is proven to have a positive impact on brand-customer relationships that leads to increased sales and stronger loyalty. However the key to success isn't just...Read More

Your brand is always looking for ways to increase loyalty program membership, customer engagement, and gather more quality data. Incentives can help you achieve those goals. Consider 81% of consumers say they’re more likely to engage with a brand if it offers an incentive...Read More

Did you know that marketers who conduct audience research are 3X more likely to achieve their marketing goals? And that a whopping 65% of marketers report doing audience research “rarely or never?’ Today’s consumers, especially parents, demand that brands not only...Read More

Despite the fact that acquiring new customers costs 5 to 10 times more than selling to a current customer — and current customers spend 67% more on average than those who are new to your business – customer retention in marketing has long taken a back seat to...Read More

Travel loyalty is a complicated business to get into. To be successful, you need the technology and staff to support your consumers through their entire redemption journeys, from booking to boarding. You also need to offer travel products that engage your customers on an individual level.In a...Read More

B2B loyalty and incentive programs depend on member participation in order to be successful both from a financial perspective and to accomplish key business goals. Depending on when you launched your program and the make-up of your program you might be finding that your partner participation...Read More

While the notion of 1:1 personalization is enchanting, scalable loyalty strategies are built around sizeable loyalty segments that share common needs and hold potential for the organization. The fun, but the maddening challenge with loyalty segmentation is that the options seem endless,...Read More

Credit unions depend on face-to-face interactions to bring in new members. The pandemic has upended this model by limiting those opportunities and many credit unions have seen a dip in their membership growth. American Banker recently interviewed arrivia Chief Product Officer, Alan Josephs...Read More

The challenge for any loyalty program is keeping your members engaged. The early excitement of enrolling and participating in new programs can sometimes wane as members repeat the same earning actions to try and earn the same rewards. And promotion overlays increase customer...Read More

The loyalty landscape continues to evolve and brands are flexing in new ways to differentiate from the pack. This is leading to a resurgence in rethinking loyalty programs and an ongoing focus on creating more compelling offers to drive deeper customer engagement with brands. We’re excited...Read More

With leisure travel driving the current travel rebound, companies with travel rewards programs will need to pivot their loyalty focus to cater to this clientele. Whether their loyalty members are high-frequency travelers or occasional vacationers, reward programs should emphasize value, options...Read More

Nearly 90% of consumers expect brands to accommodate their preferences. One of the ways marketers understand consumer preferences is through consumer insights. Qualitative research has been a long-standing pillar in forming a holistic picture of what a brand’s differentiators are...Read More

Reflect for a moment on why you buy from certain retailers or have preferences for brands and products. What makes you purchase a pair of New Balance trainers over a Nike pair? What is driving you to empty your wallet for the latest Apple iPhone as opposed to a cheaper and potentially better...Read More

You want to get an edge on your competition, increase customer engagement, build brand loyalty, and collect zero-party data. Creative promotions can help you achieve these goals, especially ones with attractive prizing structures.  An optimal prizing structure combines a sense of...Read More

How to attract and retain employees with unique benefits that inspire and reward Businesses in the United States and worldwide are scrambling to attract and retain employees as they face historic pandemic-related labor shortages. Many have increased wages to incentivize their workforce. On...Read More

Level up your loyalty marketing with the latest insights to keep customers coming back. 100% data-backed with 157 customer loyalty statistics.  Let’s take a deep dive into customer loyalty statistics to find out what metrics are set to shape the coming years. Because MarketsandMarkets...Read More

In the past couple years companies have seen an increase in people spending more time shopping online. This is a great opportunity to implement incentives and rewards through loyalty programs. There isn’t a playbook out there that tells you exactly how to go about starting your own loyalty...Read More

Across the travel sector, there’s more positivity in the air – at last. More travelers are taking to the skies and the seas, and many are already planning their 2022 and even 2023 adventures. As airlines, hotels, travel brands, and all the intermediaries in between embrace the...Read More

As the US begins its return to normality, many citizens have a pent up desire to travel. Financial services companies must understand that this desire is driven by leisure travellers, not business ones, meaning the best immediate course of action for the company to be successful is to tailor...Read More

Many titans of the Web 1.0 and 2.0 eras have been relegated to the dustbin of history, rendered irrelevant or knocked out altogether for failing to evolve and give consumers what they want. As we sit on the precipice of the more decentralized and immersive Web 3.0, more commonly known as ...Read More

Are you making the most of your customer data, or are you leaving this goldmine untapped? Leveraging customer data can help you acquire more customers, reactivate inactive customers, retain customers, and enhance the overall customer experience. Learn how you can use data to implement...Read More

The years following the pandemic have brought digital transformation to an unprecedented level, prompting businesses all around the world to rethink how they are interacting with their customers. And due to the rekindled interest in innovative customer engagement solutions, loyalty programs are...Read More

With global travel depressed by the COVID-19 pandemic for nearly eighteen months, demand for mainstream and niche travel options is forecast to surge this year and next. The impact of the Delta coronavirus variant will likely determine whether the majority of the surge occurs in 2021 or 2022, but...Read More

In today’s competitive marketplace, it is becoming increasingly difficult for employers to find and retain quality employees. Some employers are looking to hire prospective and keep current employees by expanding their benefit offerings to include more out-of-the-box perks. Many employees...Read More

Loyalty is an attribute we highly prize in our personal and professional relationships. And companies value customer loyalty through loyalty programs, which boast a long record of helping companies of all kinds achieve growth and revenue goals.In brief: A loyalty program builds brand engagement...Read More

Flexa, the world’s leading pure-digital payments network, today introduced Flexa Payments, a new set of tools for merchants to simply and instantly accept 99 different digital currencies from any app or wallet. Flexa Payments provides merchants with all of the...Read More

With evolving customer expectations of how data is collected and used, customer data platforms (CDP) are playing a key role in the future of customer experience and data management. Businesses are gaining access to more and more data, whether that's from their own customer relationship...Read More

What makes customers truly loyal? The key lies not in sales and discounts, but in customer satisfaction and long-term engagement. According to Salesforce, 91% of customers say they’re more likely to make another purchase after a great service experience. In the world of loyalty...Read More

Gamification is a strategic element business’ use to enhance their systems, services, organizations, and activities. They want their customers to feel as though they are playing a game as a way to motivate and encourage participation. Gamifying a loyalty program will automatically make it...Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone and all businesses in the past two-plus years. One segment that has become more relevant to consumers during this time has been pharmacies. Consumers have reshaped their relationships with pharmacies, from buying more online and picking up in-store...Read More

It’s no secret: COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) has disrupted lives, livelihoods, communities, and businesses across the globe. With business storefronts temporarily shut down, 7.14 million Americans filing for unemployment, and the rise of coronavirus-related scams, it’s more...Read More

Iris has been appointed as the global lead strategic and creative agency for beer brand Grolsch.The agency will be tasked with reigniting the brand and asserting it as a global beer icon. Iris’ remit is fully integrated, spanning from ATL with brand strategy and TV, OOH and Radio, to...Read More

As everyone enjoys the early days of spring amid falling COVID-19 numbers, we wanted to learn how consumers are feeling about shopping for Mother’s Day (May 8) this year.  Last year global spending for Mother’s Day was expected to reach a record-breaking $28.1 billion...Read More

Learn how Kobie’s data scientists used data analysis to prove that reward choice keeps members engaged in the program more than a single reward offering.CHALLENGE​A national Client with a membership-based program wanted to reduce churn and explore cost-effective redemption options...Read More

If any of you already watched ‘Ready Player One’, then buckle up because we are about to make the science-fiction of this movie a reality. The Metaverse has been a hot topic in the recent months since Facebook or rather Meta, announced that they were going to shift their vision in the...Read More

Some say you shouldn’t compare yourself to others. This may be true in your personal life, but when it comes to your business, if you don’t know where you stand, how can you begin to get better?Brands that are unclear about what their competitors are doing are operating in the dark...Read More

It’s the paradox all marketers face: a strong brand makes everything you need to do easier, but building a strong brand isn’t easy.It takes hard work and persistence to develop a brand worthy of devotion, that drives lasting loyalty and passionate advocacy. Not to mention the right...Read More

Intermediaries have always been a vital part of the consumer’s experience with products. Consumers are loyal to brands, but rarely interact with the companies that produce those brands. Instead, intermediaries (such as distributors or retailers) act as the...Read More

Services & Benefits That Build Employee Loyalty and Customer SatisfactionSmart companies understand that keeping both employees and customers happy are key to overall business success.Positive employee experiences are deeply connected to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Engaged...Read More

Marketers are challenged today to deliver amazing digital experiences. The bar has been set by companies like Chewy, Etsy, USAA, and Costco (all in the top 5% of the Forrester CX Index 2021). To create these experiences, you need technology that can talk to one another, provide insights, and...Read More

Using past years gathered statistics is a crucial part of making your marketing plan for the upcoming year. Looking through the numbers and data collected will help your team know what trends are out and what’s new to implement into your program. There are three different ways to look at...Read More

Although Mother’s Day is less than two months away, there are things your brand can do to spark customer engagement and capture those special moments. Offering an incentive appeals to consumer emotion and can positively impact customer engagement. Incentivized promotions can help...Read More

We get it. The idea of building an online community can feel daunting. Hear us out, though: The benefits of an online brand community are numerous, and the ROI from a thriving community is unmatched. You’re also not starting from scratch. You’ve already got an...Read More

Most businesses collect data on diversity in their ranks, and more of them are publicizing their efforts to improve it. But to keep diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts on track in a work-from-anywhere era, measuring the D alone may not be enough. More companies need to start...Read More

Forty-five percent of consumers have made a first-time purchase because of participating in a sweepstakes campaign. And 72% of consumers would share personal information to participate in a sweepstakes. These statistics show how impactful and engaging sweepstakes campaigns can...Read More

The field of customer loyalty is an extremely competitive area in marketing business. All companies have the same target in mind: to link as many customers as possible to their brand for the long term. But the strategies to achieve this goal...Read More

Partnerships continue to be an important tool for deepening customer loyalty. The right partners give users a reason to engage on a more regular basis with your brand. Thoughtfully chosen partnerships also provide opportunities to align with industry leaders to reach new audiences.However...Read More

When market dynamics shift, brands face a domino effect. Market changes force technology to adapt, and technology changes force loyalty strategies to adapt. At the receiving end of this chain is the customer, who may have lost, changed, or gained emotional loyalty along...Read More

For years now, publications have been declaring that the era of brand loyalty is long gone. Consumers jump from brand to brand to purchase products and are easily convinced to switch brands at the drop of a hat. While it’s true that winning customer loyalty is a greater challenge today, it...Read More

Pretty much everyone is familiar with the concept of loyalty programs, but not everyone is as aware of the different ways they can positively affect a brand's business success. Especially for B2B companies who deal with long buying cycles, complex decision-making processes, procurement issues...Read More

What constitutes a loyal customer? Increased spend? Order frequency? Brand advocacy? While our new 2022 Customer Loyalty Data Study showed that 67% of loyal customers buy from their favorite brands at least once a month, and what happens in between purchases is just as...Read More

The mobile user is on their phone just over 4 hours every single day. Mobile phones are checked upwards of 96 times a day. Mobile is becoming an extension of the consumer, as every part of their daily lives becomes interconnected with these devices. To reach today’s consumer, brands must...Read More

Loyalty programs are the name of the game for marketers today since keeping a customer is 5x less costly than acquiring new ones, and nearly half of a brand's revenue is created by only about 8% of their most loyal customers.As transactional offers - like coupons and generic...Read More

Flexible teleworking options have been trending in the workplace for years now, and many experts predicted this perk will one day become obligatory for organizations that wish to remain face-to-face five days a week. The rapid global spread of COVID-19 fast tracked its necessity – and in a...Read More

Curious to know more about who your customers are and where they’re at? They’re online, telling you all about themselves. Now more than ever, consumers want a unique experience as part of their customer journey. They expect personalized content and offers, providing...Read More

Health, fitness, mindfulness and wellness have taken center stage during a global pandemic. Brands across all industries have had to address the table stakes issues for how they are keeping the buying experience safe – from digital orders to contactless payments to curbside pick-up or...Read More

You’ve seen them around. You’ve been invited to them. Maybe you’re a part of one right now. We’re talking about an online community.Online communities are a valuable tool in a marketer’s arsenal. The question is: How do you create an online community?Our guide...Read More

Customer retention can be the key to growing your revenue because existing customers are known to spend more than new customers, and convincing customers to stick around tends to cost less than acquiring new customers. Holding onto existing customers is easier said than done, though&mdash...Read More

You have a loyalty program and your customers are engaged, are earning and redeeming rewards, and are pretty satisfied with the program.  Still, you may be asking yourself (or maybe your CFO is asking), what is my program truly contributing to our bottom line? After all, your loyalty program...Read More

Loyalty programs have long been a popular marketing strategy, allowing brands to identify, recognize, and reward customers for desired engagement. The most significant benefits of loyalty programs include increased brand consideration, deepened customer insight, and incremental revenue. Studies...Read More

Quick-to-market promotions help brands be in the moment with their loyal customers. These incentivized engagement solutions often coincide with specific current events or special brand occasions. Incentive-based programs such as sweepstakes, UGC contests, rebates, and loyalty programs...Read More

No customer wants to feel like a brand just doesn’t get them. Customer segmentation analysis allows brands to better understand and categorize their customer base according to factors like demographics and interests. Better understanding your customers can help you appeal to each group...Read More

Providing a great customer experience (CX) has long been prioritized by brands wanting to differentiate from the competition. Companies that continue to recognize the importance of customer experience—and prioritize investments and actions that generate high customer satisfaction and...Read More

Visual marketing materials like in-store signage play a critical role in shaping customers’ buying decisions, so having the right signs at the right time is crucial. Signage that has been on display for months on end will become like white noise to regular shoppers, and even new customers...Read More

According to research by Salesforce, 73% of customers say one extraordinary experience with one company raises their expectations for engagement with other companies. The same report also shows 54% of customers believe companies need to “fundamentally transform” how they...Read More

Any effective employee value proposition (EVP) should provide a compelling basis for employees to commit to your organization.And yet, the pandemic has prompted many employees to reassess what is most important to them. What do people truly value: Family and flexibility? Remote working? ...Read More

Loyalty programs should be one of the cornerstones of any effective marketing strategy. According to Accenture's recent study, “members of loyalty programs generate between 12 to 18% [higher] incremental revenue growth per year than non-members.” But not all loyalty...Read More

Customer loyalty programs are a great way for companies to build long-lasting relationships with their customers and reward them for being repeat buyers of their products. After developing a loyalty program for customers the last thing brands want to see is a lack of results. Loyalty programs...Read More

You probably already know all too well the critical role that customer retention plays in your brand’s success. It’s not enough to attract new customers to your business—in order to be successful, you need to keep existing customers coming back.When you retain current customers,...Read More

When brands evaluate their business success, they look at metrics like net promoter score, customer satisfaction, and customer effort score. But perhaps one of the most important metrics these days is the customer lifetime value (LTV), which highlights the strength of customer loyalty.In...Read More

For any size of brand, working at any scale, personalization is table stakes. And that doesn’t just mean a name in an email. Personalization should reflect what you know about your customers, and this should be present across any communication channel, during any experience they...Read More

Retailers are facing some real challenges, but customer marketing can play a major role in helping retailers thrive despite the challenges. Learn how to usher in a bright future with effective customer marketing programs.Why Retail Needs a HeroThe retail industry has been scrambling as it faces...Read More

Customer loyalty is one of the most widely talked about topics today, and for good reason. When it comes to where to buy products or services, your customers have unlimited choices at their fingertips. It’s tougher than ever to acquire and retain customers, but loyalty programs can be...Read More

In light of the ongoing pandemic, the increased focus on privacy that has resulted in a crackdown on third-party cookies, and the emergence of increasingly powerful “walled gardens” around data, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are redefining their relationships with...Read More

A record-shattering 4.5 million Americans left their jobs in November 2021, part of an exodus known as The Great Resignation. That trend is expected to continue this year, posing big questions and even bigger implications for sales leaders.What happens when your top sales rep &mdash...Read More

Some media pundits forecasted that a new ‘Roaring 20s’ with a sustained consumer spending boom and ‘party’ mentality lay ahead once we emerged from Covid. However, the only roar so far is that of rising inflation.Inflation has hit 5.4%, its highest level in...Read More

As we learned in the last blog post, it’s key to kill breakage (=points not used/expired) by increasing the liquidity of your rewards. Why? McKinsey found that the top-performing loyalty programs profit from customers who redeem their points since these customers either purchase more...Read More

What do today's consumers want – and need - when it comes to travel? Answering this question is a challenge at the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic. Regardless of market conditions, however, travel marketers must rise to the occasion. That means abandoning the spray and...Read More

Customer loyalty can be measured in many ways. By transactions, brand engagement, advocacy, social media sharing, or through unique experiences. But loyalty isn’t earned overnight, so it’s important for brands to nurture their best customer relationships through positive...Read More

When I’m meeting with prospective customers who are exploring their cybersecurity options, they often begin the conversation by asking how much they need to do to become compliant. Especially in the QSR industry, that question typically revolves around PCI compliance and being...Read More

What is brand advocacy? Simply put, brand advocacy is a fancy term for good ol word-of-mouth. When you have a cohort of satisfied consumers advocating for other consumers to buy your product or service, you’ve got brand advocacy. These actions then influence brand awareness, brand...Read More

In recent years, customer experience has become more important within the buying journey. In order to provide better customer experiences, companies have to understand different elements such as how customers use their products, where they purchase the products, and the multiple factors that...Read More

When brands evaluate their business success, they look at metrics like net promoter score, customer satisfaction, and customer effort score. But perhaps one of the most important metrics these days is the customer lifetime value (LTV), which highlights the strength of customer loyalty.In...Read More

You probably know how to build trust with your stakeholders, but do you know how to measure and quantify it? You’re not alone if the answer is no. Most business leaders would agree that trust in all its forms — physical, digital, emotional, financial, and ethical — is...Read More

Maybe you’ve heard of variable data printing (VDP)—the print technology that automatically customizes printed materials like direct mail based on customer data. If you’ve never used variable data printing, though, or even if you have, you may not know everything about this...Read More

If any of you already watched ‘Ready Player One’, then buckle up because we are about to make the science-fiction of this movie a reality. The Metaverse has been a hot topic in the recent months since Facebook or rather Meta, announced that they were going to shift their vision in the...Read More

B2B brands are not held up as marketing innovators as much as they should be. It is B2B brands who are embracing and driving forward the strategic idea of being a ‘Participation Brand’.What’s that? Quite simply it means a brand that has created a valuable role for itself in its...Read More

Break through a crowded market with tips for creating an innovative program. Loyalty programs have been around for decades, permeating almost every consumer sector. In fact, brands that do not offer programs now stand out more than those that do. The benefits of a program are obvious: they...Read More

Ask 10 marketers to tell you how they calculate customer lifetime value (CLV), and you'll likely get 10 different answers. It's a tricky metric to assess, even though at its core, it's a simple equation: CLV is the sum of each customer's total value of purchases over the course of...Read More

What is variable data printing (VDP)? Maybe you’ve heard this term thrown around in marketing circles, but you’re foggy on the details or don’t have the first idea what it means. Let’s define this technology and work through an example to show how you can use VDP for...Read More

How do brands drive customer loyalty and engagement? By consistently delivering outstanding service that customers expect and by understanding their intent. Implementing dedicated member engagement groups, integrating new listening posts like social media, and listening to nontraditional channels...Read More

With a large population of part-time workers, multiple remote sites, and a high number of payment transactions processed each day, the QSR industry presents a target-rich environment for cybercriminals. Unfortunately, just like many other highly distributed businesses, QSRs usually don’t...Read More

Using Flexa, Regal patrons can buy tickets and concessions today using dozens of digital currencies at over 500 theatres.NEW YORK — Regal, a subsidiary of Cineworld Group and the operator of one of the largest and most geographically diverse theatre circuits in the United...Read More

When it seems as though a customer is starting to distance themselves, there are still things that you can do to re-engage them and make them a more active customer. A very important aspect is to make sure that your re-engagement tactics are personalized to the customer as an individual, such as...Read More

Retailers are facing some real challenges, but customer marketing can play a major role in helping retailers thrive despite the challenges. Learn how to usher in a bright future with effective customer marketing programs. Why Retail Needs a HeroThe retail industry has been scrambling as it faces...Read More

It’s critical that brands measure how valuable their loyal customers are, but this can be a challenge. Measuring purchase data is easy to do: AOV, frequency, and yearly transactions. In that sense, brands can measure the success of loyalty programs and other engagement tactics...Read More

Just because an aspiring writer has a new Word document open right in front of them doesn’t mean they will, without any doubts, create a gripping, larger-than-life story within that space. Don’t get us wrong – it is possible, but whether the young writer will tell such a story...Read More

Extended reality (XR) experiences first hit the mainstream as an innovation of video game technology. Now marketers are leveraging XR’s potential—including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)—to increase consumer engagement with their brands. Immersive XR campaigns...Read More

Making the return to travel memorable and delivering on rising expectations post-pandemic The pandemic forced brands to shift how they deliver products and services to customers, resulting in ever-increasing expectations for consumers on their experiences with brands. Meeting those expectations...Read More

As we look ahead at what to expect across the cybersecurity landscape in 2022, we’ll continue to see some familiar threats along with the escalation of those threats into something much more significant.Ransomware should remain at the top of everyone’s list of concerns, because it...Read More

Investing in a customer experience management platform is a significant investment both financially and, if done correctly, in commitment of company logistics and personnel. To maximize your ROI and ensure your customer experience (CX) program has the best possible impact on your organization...Read More

You’ll never hear me describe the fuel logistics industry as boring, and 2021 was no exception. In addition to facing all the ongoing pandemic-related impacts, labor shortages remained a big challenge for many businesses.So, what can we expect in 2022? We’ll most likely see similar...Read More

MarTech stacks can enhance customer experiences when strategically adopted, but a lack of focus and governance can lead to internal strife and customer churn. As the age of digital continues to accelerate at a breakneck speed, it’s time for organizations to step back and ask themselves a...Read More

Roaring high this 2022 is definitely the festive spirit of people celebrating the Lunar New Year (aka the Chinese New Year) across the world. After all this year is all about the year of the Tiger. Knowing that the past two years have been tumultuous, the year of tiger reminds people to...Read More

When the world’s leading biscuit brand (Parle Products) increased the price of its crowd favorite- Parle G by 6-7% in 2021, marketers sensed seismic shifts burgeoning in the CPG industry. As much as the hike is owing to the rising input cost, it is also because of the volatility...Read More

A gap exists between what consumers want from brands and how they feel those brands deliver. The missing piece is often simple—emotional connection. According to our Humanizing Loyalty Report, this is the most common key driver of loyalty outcomes, not just a points program. As the...Read More

Now’s the time for loyalty marketers to take actionLast year at this time, the business landscape looked promising with easing COVID restrictions, emerging vaccines, and revving consumer demand. As 2021 continued, however, the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19 dented that optimism. And...Read More

A sense of community is a powerful feeling for people sharing any common bond. And the same is true for brand communities.  If your brand instills a sense of community and exclusivity for your customers, chances are they will wind up being your best customers and strongest advocates...Read More

It has been nearly 2 years since the pandemic struck and world economies have settled in for the new normal, let alone Saudi Arabia. Consumers from the kingdom are warming up to get back to normal spending levels, to make consumption choices based on aspirations rather than necessity. But amidst...Read More

While rewarding profitable customers with experiential rewards isn’t a new concept, customers’ mindsets and commerce habits have changed immensely since the COVID pandemic hit. This new paradigm has motivated many companies to change not only day-to-day commerce but customer reward...Read More

Leading organizations embrace change. They recognize and appreciate the value of a diverse workforce—creating employee experiences to fit the individual needs of employees.But those needs aren’t static. They’re constantly shifting and evolving, impacted by...Read More

All signs point to 2022 as being a critical year for fuel and convenience retailers to strengthen their relationships with consumers. To accomplish this, you’ll need to leverage a variety of new and emerging consumer engagement technologies. Building longer-lasting and more meaningful...Read More

The market largely perceives loyalty as a promotional stunt that offers customers only points’ redemption. But this is not the absolute truth.Much to naysayers’ chagrin, loyalty is a larger canvas for brands to reap benefits from. Loyalty is about how well you understand your customer...Read More

In 2020, we launched our first annual Generation Pay Report, which touched on evolving attitudes towards payments along generational lines. For 2021, we took a similar approach, surveying more than 4,000 consumers in five regions across 4 generations – Generation Y, Millennials, Generation...Read More

There isn’t a single marketing solution for every business, but powerful reporting can bridge knowledge gaps, inform goal success, and deliver measurable returns for your business.   In a previous post, "The future of marketing analytics—driven by strategy," we...Read More

Here is a list of some incredible growth hacks and examples to increase your sales using AARRR Metrics framework. Keep your prospects excited throughout the funnel and acquire more customers. Let’s dig in some gold today!  Amazon - 100 million prime customers worldwide, Grammarly...Read More

Your customers spend more time online than ever. According to Pew Research, almost a third of adults say they are online almost constantly, flitting between devices throughout the day. Your customers, and your competitors' customers live in a digital world, generating two megabytes of...Read More

Business leaders continue to face tremendous uncertainty. As the new Omicron variant has shown, the pandemic still has the capacity to surprise, even as positive developments with vaccines and treatments emerge. Border controls are tightening, energy prices are rising, supply chains are...Read More

To gain the loyalty of your customers, you may feel rewarding is your way out. However, if you start your reward point system with this notion, you are probably beginning on the wrong note.‍So, how do you retain customers? How do you gain their loyalty?To gain the loyalty of your customers...Read More

The Bizrate Insights team has exciting news! For the fourth year in a row, Bizrate Insights has been recognized as a leading vendor to the top 1000 ecommerce retailers in North America. Digital Commerce 360 recently released its annual report which ranks the top 10 vendors that support ecommerce...Read More

The term “collaboration” is becoming as overused and generic as “innovation.” It’s no secret that remote and hybrid environments require more intentional approaches to encourage collaboration. Many of our clients are asking the same question: How do I get...Read More

PrizeLogic, the leading incentivized engagement company whose clients include PepsiCo, Molson Coors, Lowe’s and Samsung, today announced the selection of Cloudflare to provide its industry leading bot management solutions for enhanced protection against undesirable and malicious...Read More

Imagine when your brand’s network of distributing partners and customers is sprawled across 6000 islands! Reaching out to them isn’t really a welcoming task by marketers. And now imagine the mammoth task of CPG brand marketers who not only have to navigate through the populous...Read More

The probability of selling to an existing customer is 3x to 35x higher than selling to a new one. Yet the focus tends to be on acquiring new customers, simply for the reason that looks better on paper. Positive numbers for new customers is always a fun thing to see on your spreadsheets....Read More

“Handshakes have given way to fist bumps, and sanitizers have found residence with the humble pen in every pocket. And while the masks remain, the eyes still smile. On-ground events are back with a bang!”After almost 24 months of the world living in sealed pockets, we are now...Read More

Whether you already have a loyalty program, are considering revamping yours, or are launching one for the first time, you need to set clear goals from the start if you want it to be successful. While it can be tempting to dive right in, without goals, it’s difficult ...Read More

Humor is the language of culture change, and at Cheetah we don’t do boring. So we recruited Tom Fishburne aka the Marketoonist - one of the funniest people in marketing, to deliver a session that will leave you laughing out loud, but also thinking about how you can implement cultural change...Read More

People love to talk and share about food (who hasn’t had to scroll through 5 pages of a gushing food blog to get to the recipe?)! That’s what makes food and beverage brands such a natural fit for an online brand community.Offering consumers a “home” to dish on their...Read More

Over the last year, loyalty members have changed – they have new habits, new expectations, and new needs. For brands, relearning who their member is, and how they want to engage with a program is critical.Engaging members between transactions – whether it is to complete their profile,...Read More

Even with global supply chain issues expected to continue into the new year, Adobe Analytics forecasts online holiday sales will top $200 billion for the first time, including $9.5 billion in Black Friday 2021 sales. We put together a list of four consumer insights using data from a recent...Read More

Virtual onboarding can be challenging but applying lean manufacturing principles can accelerate the ability of new hires to provide substantial value.  The pandemic has changed employee onboarding—particularly in the technology industry—forever. Previously, onboarding would...Read More

At Cheetah we’re committed to helping enterprise marketers keep their customers engaged, retained, and loyal in a world full of infinite choice. This week we sat down with leading brands to discuss how they have reimagined loyalty - going beyond point-win-prizes and using it to...Read More

Loneliness and isolation have become growing workplace concerns as more people work remotely for at least part of the week. Thirty-six percent of Americans report feeling serious loneliness, and 65% of people who switched to remote work during the pandemic said they felt...Read More

Sustainability has been increasingly top of mind for many organizations across all industries. Companies the world over have made commitments to meet decarbonization goals and are looking inward, reviewing their operations and processes all in a quest to reduce emissions.For technology companies,...Read More

Upon the launch of the Vans Family loyalty program, it was an immediate hit. They asked their members, known as their “family,” to share photos and memories of their very first pair of Vans. Pretty soon, members were sharing stories of the first time they put those shoes on, flooding...Read More

Establishing a set of customer segments is the first step to strategic, impactful marketing. Beyond personalization, segments can be used to manage churn, increase margin, optimize engagement, and even mitigate fraud. If you are just starting out or want to get more advanced with your use of...Read More

Earning customer loyalty is harder than ever because consumers have more options, are trying new brands, accessing more channels, using more devices and have quickly evolving shopping habits. To be successful, brands must authentically and relevantly connect with consumers.But with numerous...Read More

The industry has seen a growing opportunity for pump-to-store conversion where c-store locations also sell fuel. This has especially been the case during the last few years as fuel demand has fluctuated.Consumers increasingly plan their shopping trips, often resulting in fewer overall trips...Read More

Just like a pre-flight checklist a pilot and co-pilot might review before takeoff, it’s critical to have a loyalty program pre-launch checklist. Once it launches, your loyalty program becomes an ongoing entity within your company and ...Read More

With the holidays just behind us, it’s time for the next and final inevitable phase of the shopping season:  The post-holiday returns period. Each of the past couple years has been very different and this year is no exception. With some stores reopening after COVID closures...Read More

The challenging dynamics created by COVID-19, has destabilized the demand in oil and gas industry, along with the supply shock due to Saudi Arabia and Russia’s disagreement on production costs which has initiated a price war, further reducing the prices. This could negatively impact...Read More

Customer churn is one of the most important things to understand when you are growing your business. It is the percentage of your consumers that have stopped using your products and services during a specific time frame. While it can be discouraging, it will help your company understand where you...Read More

Marketers have been focused on engaging between the transactions for the better part of this century – whether they realize it or not. For many brands, it has been no small feat. By itself, getting customers to change behaviors can be challenging enough; however, when you add in the task of...Read More

Today we hear from Jami Ferguson—Director, Product Management—to learn which SMG tech enhancements she’s most excited about, why successful companies put product at the forefront, and how Wayne Gretzky impacts her team’s work philosophy.You have a wealth of experience and...Read More

Gathering customer data is an important starting point, but it’s not enough—you have to know what to do with that data. Unfortunately, data can be messy and confusing on its own. That’s why you need a strong strategy in place to make your data work for you.Why a Customer...Read More

For many organizations, DevOps is often thought of as simply a technology-centered transformation focused on integrating the development and operations teams. While that is a core element of adopting DevOps, the benefits extend far beyond team integration.Properly leveraged DevOps methodologies...Read More

Driven by marketing and analytics leaders, SaaS experienced explosive growth over the past decade, with market revenue estimated to exceed $2 billion. When it comes to the age-old challenge of strategically allocating a marketing budget while ensuring your mix of channels remains agile...Read More

From Fossils to OilJust over fifty years ago, on October 29, 1969, ARPANET—the precursor to the internet as we know it today—was born. At its inception, ARPANET involved four machines across four locations in California and Utah, and it was primarily used for academic research...Read More

While the majority of retailers recognize the importance of their gift card business – a $160 billion business with double-digit growth since 2015, according to Incisiv – 93 percent of retailers admit they have low gift card integration with their digital systems, according...Read More

Monolithic solutions aren't necessarily the answer. As we briefly discussed in our previous blog about managing the supply chain, here at Evolving Systems we think that the unique inventory challenges facing MNOs demand immediate and expert attention.Inadequate approaches, for instance...Read More

Customer experience (CX) leaders understand the importance of demonstrating financial impact, but 50% aren’t confident in their ability to do so. On top of that existing pressure, timing is of the essence with more than half of leaders expected to connect CX investments to...Read More

The most successful businesses (regardless of industry) all have one thing in common: They put the customer first. Their products and services are customer-centric. Their customer experience is seamless and top-notch. And they develop marketing strategies around the trends of their audiences...Read More

Throughout the pandemic, brands across industries that have prioritized the health + safety of their customers and employees have seen higher satisfaction and an increase in loyalty. This is in large part due to their dedication to providing contactless experiences.  Though health + safety...Read More

Several online retailers, including the big ones such as Amazon, offer digital gift cards as a way to shop or give rewards to employees, partners, and customers alike.Why do people opt for digital retail cards such as Amazon?Traditional physical gift cards have enjoyed a long run of popularity...Read More

Some people enter the technology world and often start coding or forging a path to work in that industry at a young age. But that’s not the case for everyone. Some people have a total career change to tech and start working after having a job that has absolutely nothing to do with...Read More

This year’s record-breaking rise in job vacancies is forcing organizations to work even harder to provide appealing opportunities to attract and retain employees.With labor shortages impacting brands across industries, we wanted to get a better...Read More

Over the last year, loyalty members have changed – they have new habits, new expectations, and new needs. For brands, relearning who their member is, and how they want to engage with a program is critical.Engaging members between transactions – whether it is to complete their profile,...Read More

Does your customer loyalty program achieve its intended objectives?If you had to think twice about your response, it’s probably time to make improvements.Customer loyalty best practices constantly evolve. So even if your program previously achieved great results, failing to update it...Read More

If the last year and a half has taught promotion law attorneys anything, it’s that there really are world events that can affect our promotions on a very large scale.  COVID 19, had a big impact on many promotions and on many levels all at once. It has been unprecedented and...Read More

Personalization of the customer experience has become a driving factor in promoting engagement and interaction beyond the point of sale. Companies have been adopting digital technologies to help bridge the gap between online and in-store shopping, while also working to improve consumer...Read More

With today’s desire to create customer-obsessed, hyper-personalized experiences, it’s getting harder to deliver value to our best consumers. The challenge is in aligning customer needs to business objectives, which requires prioritizing a digital transformation from within and...Read More

As data privacy concerns push third-party cookies into the past, marketers have the opportunity to create deeper connections with customers. As data privacy concerns rise, third-party cookies will soon be a thing of the past. The crumbling of third-party cookies will require agility and patience...Read More

This Is an OpportunityA great deal of the discussion around digital transformation has focused on retail banking. But commercial banking is just as important. In wake of the pandemic, many commercial banks are keen to accelerate progress to catch up. Here we consider how corporate banking can...Read More

Last month at T2RL Conference,  Stuart Barwood, Director Airline Strategy at Forter was joined by Cory Garner, a former 20-year veteran of American Airlines and current Co-CEO & President Distribution at T2RL Conference to discuss how the airline industry is building trust in eCommerce...Read More

Last year, daily online spending throughout the holiday shopping season surpassed $1 billion for the first time. Now, even during a global supply chain crisis, continued online spending and a surge in demand has Adobe predicting holiday ecommerce retail spending to top $200 billion.With...Read More

Data is the key to building a loyalty program that will create true value and resonate with your customers.A loyalty program is a great asset for brands because it gives them tons of valuable customer data that can be leveraged in the future to personalize communications.But customer data is...Read More

Consumer trends are shifting more quickly than ever.And businesses are shifting with them, focusing on keeping aligned with their consumers. After all, it’s all about the customer.But what implications does this have for brands?To future proof your business and continue to stay relevant...Read More

Contact centers represent a key touchpoint for brands—often at an especially critical time when the customer relationship is stressed—but these interactions are notoriously difficult to assess in real time. Data silos, departmental ownership that limits visibility, and the...Read More

Consumer distrust at an all-time high. The modern consumer finds personalization initiatives derived from cookie tracking, location data or social media activity to be creepy, not cool. Vast swathes are turning away from brands due to ethical reasons, like environmental, corporate, or political...Read More

Globally, the evolution in the Fuel, Oil and Gas industry has begun. Marketers have adapted their brand and business strategies to the shifting fuel retail paradigm between drivers and forecourts.Accelerating this change, the non-fuel retail business took the lead this year exhibiting potential...Read More

Being a brand that people trust is a key component to building brand loyalty- a survey states that 83% of customers will happily recommend a brand to others if they trust it. If people do not trust a brand then they are less likely to become returning customers and promote your brand to...Read More

47% Indian consumers remain loyal to a favorite brand even after a bad experience, reveals a study by KPMG.Indeed, India hails with sheer loyalists – an untapped and remarkable consumer market for brands to build a strong ground for loyalty. Marketers! Read through this blog to know...Read More

Brand partnerships are often framed as business opportunities or a way to solve a pain point in the customer journey. Both are true.But partnerships also provide powerful value that drives both business growth and customer loyalty.So let’s dig in!In this presentation, we’ll cover the...Read More

There’s a new sensation that’s causing quite a stir: NFT art. From a cute pop-tart cat meme that was sold for $590,000 to the almost $3 million spent on the first-ever tweet from back in 2006, people are definitely going crazy for NFT. However, the booming...Read More

By now, many retailers have included brand loyalty into their marketing mix. Today’s retailers develop programs that not only acquire, retain, and reactivate consumers, they go a step further to build brand-specific loyalty programs aspiring to increase repeat purchases and the...Read More

Retailers understand the challenges that come with attracting and ultimately retaining customers—especially in today’s competitive climate. That’s why customer loyalty programs are as crucial as ever when it comes to creating a meaningful connection with your customers and...Read More

Gathering customer data is an important starting point, but it’s not enough—you have to know what to do with that data. Unfortunately, data can be messy and confusing on its own. That’s why you need a strong strategy in place to make your data work for you.Why a Customer...Read More

Within the loyalty and marketing industry, there is a growing concern regarding customer loyalty fraud and program gaming. Loyalty programs have become an attractive target of digital fraudsters. Loyalty Program Fraud is, of course, not a new issue. It’s...Read More

Much has been written about acquisition and retention in the loyalty industry. Which strategy should you focus on more as it relates to your loyalty program? You can make solid cases for prioritizing acquisition or retention as a loyalty strategy....Read More

The last 18 months have created unprecedented challenges for the healthcare industry, and the ramifications are likely to be lasting. Given the challenges at hand, it has never been more important for healthcare organizations to give a voice to the human experiences happening within their systems...Read More

The pandemic didn’t just disrupt sales. It caused a seismic shift.Before 2020, sales teams hummed on leads in pipe, one-off sales (digital and in-person), and pipeline velocity. Success metrics, like quotas, reflected these topline goals.But in the wake of COVID-19, digital adoption...Read More

Chargebacks cost e-commerce businesses billions every year, and a rapidly growing percentage of them are due to chargeback fraud. So, today we’re looking at what chargeback fraud is and steps you can take to prevent it.What Is a Chargeback?A chargeback is a reversal of a payment...Read More

Managing the Supply Chain is EvolvingWhatever issues lie in and around the supply chain, it’s safe to say that there isn’t much glamour about any of them. Managing warehouse inventory is “the weeds” of any business; knowing where stock is (and where it’s going...Read More

While some might say that the future is now, others would argue that the future is just beginning to unravel itself. I’m not much of a crystal ball reader, but I can look through the risk lens to tell you that technology is going to fuel a future that is even more connected, agile, and...Read More

When done correctly, loyalty programs are full-time jobs for marketers. But even though marketers are actively engrossed in running their program, certain features and functionalities can fall into disuse.This tends to happen when those features land outside the normal day-to-day workings of a...Read More

Nearly two-thirds of consumers say their loyalty is more difficult for retailers to maintain than ever before. Retailers realize this and know consumers have infinite options. The urgency to differentiate your loyalty program has hit an all-time high. A great...Read More

What Is Loyalty Fraud?Loyalty fraud is the act of cheating in a loyalty program to unfairly earn points or benefits. There are a few different categories of loyalty fraud that might occur at your brand, based on who is committing the fraud and how they are achieving it. You can see a breakdown of...Read More

Thanks to the ever-changing consumer landscape, coupled with the global pandemic, the number of brands launching subscription programs skyrocketed, fueling explosive growth. In fact, the UBS financial services firm coined this the “subscription economy.” It predicts that...Read More

This episode features loyalty strategy celebrity Paula Thomas, host of the “Let’s Talk Loyalty” podcast and strategic consulting expert. Watch now to discover the importance of paid loyalty programs, innovative ways to communicate with your customers, and what is the most...Read More

Every e-commerce business must deal with chargebacks, also known as disputes. But some companies have a much higher chargeback rate than others. A higher chargeback rate means you pay more in fees and spend more time collecting evidence to defend your business. However, you can purchase...Read More

Employee wellness is becoming increasingly important to companies’ success. Managers may even start to be held accountable for it. Frank DeMaria was never the kind of leader who organized virtual happy hours, pumpkin carvings, gingerbread house making, or open office hours for...Read More

Several online retailers, including the big ones such as Amazon, offer digital gift cards as a way to shop or give rewards to employees, partners, and customers alike. Why do people opt for digital retail cards such as Amazon?Traditional physical gift cards have enjoyed a long run of...Read More

Consumers always want choices. When giving your loyalty program members options, adding a premium loyalty tier is a great complement to your existing traditional loyalty program. For a fee, these programs offer enhanced benefits and experiences to your best...Read More

“Without Big Data Analytics, companies are blind and deaf, wandering out onto the web like deer on a freeway.” Geoffrey Moore, organizational theorist.Imagine the retail world without customer data – shopping aisles would be filled with irrelevant products, and customers...Read More

Understanding how to create a lasting relationship with your customers is a key part of running and growing your business. A key step is to understand and evaluate the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) which represents the total amount of money a customer is expected to spend in your business, or on...Read More

Customers engaged in a paid loyalty program are 59% more likely to choose a brand over its competitors and 62% more likely to spend more with that brand. Unlike a free rewards program with little to no commitment, a premium loyalty program must meet several criteria to justify the upfront...Read More

The holiday shopping season in 2020 was unlike any other, and retailers have reason to be optimistic about this year’s shopping season. KPMG predicts a historic 7% growth in holiday sales in 2021 and many retail executives are anticipating a 35% increase in online sales over last year....Read More

If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, it’s difficult to stay engaged. In fact, 83% of employees who undergo gamified training are more motivated at work.All work and no play can make work … somewhat dull. We know that’s not the most delicate way to put it (or...Read More

For large hotelier and travel brands, financial settlement and reporting are one of the most crucial aspects of operations. Not only does it keep the business moving, but it’s also what funds and fuels other critical efforts, including marketing and customer care. And for larger enterprises...Read More

Personalization is one of the most essential elements of a successful customer loyalty program for several reasons. The primary goal of most loyalty programs is to incentivize customer behavior in ways that benefit both the company and the customer.Not all customers will value various incentives...Read More

Loyalty programs are everywhere these days and in every industry, from restaurants to beauty brands, to travel and B2B businesses, and the numbers keep growing. This isn’t a coincidence - loyalty programs are having a bigger impact than ever on attracting and retaining customers.  With...Read More

Loyalty programs are good business—and they’re everywhere. They’re often free to join and begin with a simple and free registration process. Sometimes your telephone number or email address is all you need to provide to start enjoying program benefits. Other programs require a...Read More

As in-store experiences become few and far between, consumers must be empowered with all the information they need at their fingertips. One of the most powerful ways retailers can provide customers with up-to-date, relevant information is through their loyalty programs, which is why many...Read More

As a modern marketer up to date with the latest trends in strengthening your brand, you’ve probably heard about online brand communities. A destination where consumers can come together with a shared interest in a brand, whether it’s an interest in products and services or the...Read More

In the first part of this two-part blog series, we touched upon why CPG loyalty is important and what are the latest trends to keep in mind for CMOs while executing brand marketing strategy. In this part, we take a deeper look at the challenges that marketers must address while building a...Read More

There's a lot that goes into a purchase decision.How, what, where, when, and who are all questions customers encounter when they're looking to buy a product or choose a retailer. So what are some of the factors that influence customer purchasing decisions, and how can your brand use them...Read More

By now, many retailers have included brand loyalty into their marketing mix. Today’s retailers develop programs that not only acquire, retain, and reactivate consumers, they go a step further to build brand-specific loyalty programs aspiring to increase repeat purchases and the...Read More

Did you know that 90% of retailers say expanding their respective loyalty programs is a priority for 2021?There has been plenty of change in the past year, thanks to COVID-19 and its massive impact on consumer behavior and retailers themselves.Consider that nearly two-thirds of...Read More

Channel partner incentives are due for a change - in fact, they are already innovating. So what does the ‘next’ channel ecosystem look, feel and smell like? Let's explore the channel incentive picture of the future.  Synergy, co-creation, and rewards are the pillars of a...Read More

Although most business leaders say it’s critical to demonstrate the financial impact of the customer experience, many don’t know how to quantify ROI. And to add even more pressure, time is of the essence with 52% saying they have less than a year to meet demands of their...Read More

We’re in a new pandemic world. While we’ve made significant progress in developing vaccines and understanding COVID-19, the Delta variant has dragged us all back to an uncomfortably high degree of uncertainty about how the virus will continue to impact our lives and livelihoods.When...Read More

Is the constantly changing consumer journey throwing you in too many directions? You may struggle with maintaining loyalty among existing consumers. You are likely challenged in achieving efficient consumer acquisition. And you are almost assuredly under constant pressure to keep up with a...Read More

Recently, PDI and GasBuddy issued their first joint report analyzing how the pandemic has influenced shopping behavior in the $650 billion fuel and convenience industry. The “Buddy Up: C-Store Shopper Insights” report combines GasBuddy consumer survey data from more than 15...Read More

Your brand is one of the most important assets your business owns (no pressure).   What are you doing today to strengthen it for tomorrow?There’s a good chance you’ve already spent a significant amount of time trying to achieve this goal.  From logos and brand...Read More

Increasing utility company focus on emerging technologies leads to future DSM program successes. Follow these three steps to educate and support your customers.  LED bulbs have been an important demand-side management (DSM) savings measure that have played a big role in helping customers...Read More

More retailers are spending the time to find creative ways to reach new markets. Have you noticed some big box retailers with specialty retailer mini shops inside their locations? These strategic partnerships are becoming more common. Why? What’s in...Read More

The core purpose of CRM is to improve a brand’s business relationship with its customers.CRM achieves this by analyzing a brand’s existing customer interactions throughout the purchase journey. These customer interactions are captured in one place to evaluate data and offer...Read More

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel” – Carl W. BuehnerIn our industry, we are introduced to new technologies & innovations regularly.  Most of these stick around as ongoing components within our strategic arsenal.  We...Read More

Email marketing is still considered a powerful driver of customer engagement and lead nurturing by the majority of companies. Loyalty programs of every shape and size can benefit from utilizing a strong email strategy not only to acquire new customers, but to stay connected and engaged with...Read More

Retail has some troubling storms brewing for the future.It’s hard to say it could get much worse than the last couple of years, but it looks like the industry hasn’t hit rock-bottom quite yet.And it might take rock-bottom for the industry to realize they need to take a serious look at...Read More

Innovative payment services such as Patm in India and Transfiya in Columbia would not have seen the light of day if their respective financial ecosystems hadn’t been open for new players. It’s difficult for anyone to be able to foresee what the market will demand in terms of financial...Read More

Running a sweepstakes or contest on social media is an easy way to connect with your customers in a medium they’re already frequenting. According the Pew Research Center, around seven in ten Americans say they use a social media site, and that number has been consisitent over the past five...Read More

As marketing and sales professionals, one of your foremost goals would be to increase customers and to ensure that your existing customers stay with you. In fact, a number of businesses combine the two goals. How? Through customer referral programs. The most significant revenue drivers of...Read More

Supply-chain challenges, microchip shortages, and the continued threat of COVID-19 have changed the automotive industry over the last 18 months. With millennial and Gen-Z consumers overtaking the market, there is more upheaval ahead. While the ripple effects of the pandemic will...Read More

I was recently asked an impossible question during a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) webcast. “What is the reputational risk of not moving to a hybrid way of working?”It was an interesting query from a nervous HR professional and not a particularly easy one to answer...Read More

This interview is part of our Moving Forward Blog Series, where we ask major brands how they’re adapting to changing consumer expectations from a loyalty perspective post-pandemic.    It’s amazing how so many brands prioritized their customer loyalty efforts, refined...Read More

Learning is a rewarding experience. But only when teaching is, too. It’s time to engage, recognize and reward our teacher leaders so that they can transfer the spark forward - to the leaders of tomorrow.“The only superhero Marvel’s Avenger team is missing is in a classroom...Read More

Foodservice in c-stores is performing a great deal better than in the not-so-distant past. However, the category still has some ground to make up for a full recovery. All the while, according to NPD Group advisor, David Portalatin, “The QSR (restaurant) segment, ideally suited for...Read More

Migrating a complex, enterprise-level loyalty platform can be an overwhelming, lengthy, and costly process, deterring—or at least postponing—many large travel brands from re-platforming and updating their loyalty technology and supporting ecosystem sooner. However, despite the massive...Read More

According to our 2021 Premium Loyalty Data Study, 76% of consumers would pay to join a premium loyalty program.  These programs are becoming more popular with consumers because they provide them with instant, 24/7 access to top-tier benefits. ...Read More

In the 1970s, Stanford researchers ran a series of psychological studies revealing that human beings are mostly irrational thinkers. From the perspective of confirmation bias (the behavior of accepting ideas that support existing beliefs and rejecting ideas that contradict them), the researchers...Read More

E-commerce continues to grow in popularity year after year, reaching new heights during the pandemic situation in 2020.With this increase in popularity comes a harsh reality: More opportunities for fraud.Many types of e-commerce fraud exist, all of which can cause significant issues for...Read More

If you’re like most people, you probably think there’s a good chance that AI or robots will have a significant impact on the global job market. Yet surveys also show that most of us think that these disruptive technologies are primarily going to affect someone elseーsomeone with a...Read More

This article below was written by our CEO, Tom Caporaso, and originally published as part of the Retail TouchPoints Customer Loyalty Benchmark Report in June 2021. Even before the height of the pandemic, nearly ...Read More

Machine learning has been around for more than 70 years and has come a long way since the late 1950s when Frank Rosenblatt paved the way with his design for the first artificial neural network that implemented patterns and shapes recognition. And while machine learning hasn’t been around...Read More

To thrive in today's fast-paced digital world, companies need innovative strategies to grab the attention of audiences exposed to massive amounts of media daily. But it's not enough to simply connect. That next level of engagement is participation—and developing and...Read More

Abuse is growing in volume and attentionPolicy abuse is a recurring topic in my recent conversations. As eCommerce has grown rapidly, so have the types and amount of abuse.Gartner identified policy abuse as a key differentiator of platform solutions in their just published Market Guide on...Read More

This interview is part of our Moving Forward Blog Series, where we ask major brands how they’re adapting to changing consumer expectations from a loyalty perspective post-pandemic.   Customer loyalty has always been a top priority at Foot Locker. It focuses on four things...Read More

Although online brand communities are rapidly growing in popularity, we know there’s a burning question many of you still need answered.“How is an online brand community any different from a Facebook group? Do I need one if I’ve already got a large following on social...Read More

The troubling trend of dispassionate automationHistorically one of the core marketing strategies in the United States for driving long-term growth has been retaining high-value customers loyal to your brand—in other words ‘hugging your heavies.’ The art and science of engaging...Read More

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) are dealing with a hiring crunch. Though U.S. unemployment rates are still high compared to pre-pandemic levels, employers are also facing a shortage of applicants. The result is plenty of “Help Wanted” ads, but not enough...Read More

“Sustainability” isn’t just a buzzword brands can throw around without taking action or factoring it in to the customer experience. Today’s consumers are more environmentally conscious and are awarding their business + loyalty to organizations prioritizing sustainability...Read More

Convenience stores have notoriously been data deserts for consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers. C-stores have typically only made weekly sales data by region available to CPG distributors and manufacturers and not at the store level. Historically, c-stores haven’t been at the...Read More

Building a successful premium loyalty program is rewarding for your members and your brand because it forms strong, sustainable relationships. What benefits will provide the most value and resonate with your customers? How do you find a compatible loyalty partner? ...Read More

It seems that fraudsters are more prevalent than ever these days, with tons of different types of fraud that exist.From broad types such as credit card fraud to more specific types such as worker’s compensation fraud, businesses need to be vigilant in their fraud prevention efforts.One type...Read More

By 2030, all the baby boomers will be 65 or older and joining the ranks of being a senior right along with their parents.Per the U.S. Census Bureau, many of those who reach age 65 will likely live an additional 10-20 years, and 13% of us can expect to live to the age of 85 or beyond. The...Read More

As customer feedback methods evolve alongside cross-channel interactions, it’s no longer enough to rely on printed invitations from your POS or EHR systems. Consumers are continuing to turn to digital touchpoints, and brands must adopt innovative engagement methods to collect feedback...Read More

If you feel like you’re not getting the full value out of your investment in technology, you’re not alone. According to Gartner, the majority of marketers across the US and UK are only using 58% of their martech stack’s full capabilities. So, are marketers being sold more...Read More

We know that you, like every marketer, would love to strengthen your brand. From increasing brand awareness to building a group of die-hard raving fans of your product or service, building your brand is a crucial component of an effective marketing strategy. The question is, how do you...Read More

We live in an instant society where consumers want and expect everything now, but most traditional loyalty programs make members wait too long to receive benefits.That’s because they’re based on accumulating points through purchases, where members earn rewards at an indefinite point...Read More

An experience management (XM) program can drive changes across your business that increase loyalty, reduce churn, and generate revenue—and even the smallest changes can have a major impact on your bottom line.In their brief, How Customer Experience Drives Business Growth, 2020, ...Read More

While June 2020 marked the emergence of a new normal, June 2021 was marked by dollar sales that were flat compared to the previous year. Although year-over-year growth is an important measure of performance, the pandemic-influenced 2020 results were so different that there are still questions...Read More

Personalization of the customer experience has become a driving factor in promoting engagement and interaction beyond the point of sale. Companies have been adopting digital technologies to help bridge the gap between online and in-store shopping, while also working to improve consumer...Read More

Gamify to Boost Customer EngagementEvery parent knows a contest or game can transform many situations by redirecting kids’ unruly energy. “Who can sit still the longest?” Counting backward from 100. Twenty questions. These are just a few of the go-to, often impromptu, games that...Read More

Online sales were up 32.4% in 2020 over the previous year.This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the pandemic situation we found ourselves in.However, even as the pandemic began to subside and restrictions were loosened, it’s likely that online shopping will continue to remain...Read More

Customer loyalty is a high-priority goal for companies seeking sustainable, long-term growth. But traditional loyalty programs can come with a hefty price tag. And despite all the benefits of a traditional loyalty solution, sometimes cost can impede an organization’s ability to move beyond...Read More

Earn and burn has become a passé. Personalization is hygiene.In a world where dynamic consumer behavior has become the deal breaker for brands to set their marketing strategy, gamification might just be the secret ingredient that Indian brands should watch out for next.Coined in 2003...Read More

You don’t necessarily need to channel your inner Jeff Foxworthy, but as marketers, there are some telltale signs to look out for. And if at least one of these signs applies to you, a loyalty program might help. Here are 3 signs, or at least strong indicators:You are competing in a &ldquo...Read More

Seventy-six percent of consumers would pay to join a premium loyalty program, according to our 2021 Premium Loyalty Data Study.That’s because a premium loyalty program offers benefits that extend beyond traditional points. These benefits can take many forms, including...Read More

All year, the Cheetah Digital product teams have been laser-focused on delivering a unified platform to drive revenue, building lasting customer relationships, and creating a unique value exchange throughout the entire customer lifecycle. In June, we introduced exciting updates to the Customer...Read More

‘CUSTO-MORE’ IS ALWAYS RIGHT.  That shot of happiness that courses through your veins everytime you tuck into a cup of Starbucks? It could be more than just caffeine. After all, the ‘rewards’ you pick up with every sip can produce an equally heady feeling. That...Read More

Keeping up with cybersecurity is a challenge for every organization. It’s an ongoing investment that requires constant monitoring, a multitude of safeguards, and myriad other requirements to ensure your systems, customer data, assets, and intellectual property are protected—both...Read More

“So, who needs a customer loyalty program?” Seems like a pretty basic question, doesn’t it? It’s hard to believe that any successful enterprise today doesn’t already have one. And it’s also a reality that many enterprises already do, but could do better. With...Read More

Even though it’s sunny and humid outside, it’s time for marketers to shift our thinking to the days growing ever shorter, the leaves beginning to brown and pumpkin-spiced everything hitting our shelves. The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for the beloved...Read More

In an ultra-competitive marketplace, how do you turn the need to protect sensitive cardholder data into a business advantage? You can start by following these six steps from the PCI Security Standards Council to simplify PCI DSS compliance and streamline your business operations.  ...Read More

COVID-19 changed everything for retail and pushed consumers online.Earning customer loyalty is harder than ever because consumers are trying new brands and changed shopping habits. In fact, nearly two-thirds of consumers say their loyalty is more difficult for retailers to maintain than...Read More

Have you been relying on basic anti-virus and anti-malware tools to protect your business? What if you could get the robust, round-the-clock protection you deserve—at a price you can afford?If you’re in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry, protecting your business just got a...Read More

The pandemic heavily impacted employment across industries, with many companies resorting to layoffs and furloughs to stay afloat. Today, with a record-high increase in job openings and a tight labor market, many organizations are facing a critical challenge as they struggle to hire new...Read More

Of the many different types of fraud that exist, return fraud can be one of the most difficult to track and prevent.This is largely due to the fact that there are many different tactics used by criminals to commit return fraud. It can be difficult to know what to look out for.That...Read More

When pandemic lockdowns took full effect in March 2020, almost every company selling to consumers had to become expert in building engagement between transactions. As restrictions for in-person interactions, travel and gathering in groups were repeatedly extended, the need for innovation became...Read More

Millennials have shown to be one of the most brand-loyal generations.In fact, only 1% of Millennials are impacted by advertising. Instead, they are drawn to memorable customer experiences. They have heightened expectations around customer service and make decisions based...Read More

It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through 2021. As some semblance of normalcy is returning, it feels like many of the unknowns of 2020 are in the rearview mirror. In the past 18 months, we saw the world through a lens we never thought possible. Social media engagement surged...Read More

The sweeping and large-scale impact of pandemic has caused consumers to reduce their outlets for spending. While some of this scaling back is caused by limited financial flexibility, a lot of it is because customers don’t have many avenues to spend. Travel has taken a back seat and work...Read More

The past year reshaped everything about our lives, including how we live, work, and eat. Different brands from across all industries were forced to design new ways of reaching their now home-based customers. Interestingly, fast food restaurant chains like Burger King and McDonald's are...Read More

With the battle for share of wallet more fierce than ever, retailers have to ensure that loyalty and commerce programs are performing at a consistently high level. To drive better business outcomes in this competitive environment, retailers need aggressive goals paired with an effective...Read More

Here’s our second set of notes from Mobile World Congress 2021, to give you a general update on what we learned from attending various sessions at the event.One particularly interesting session explored the immersive world of AR. One panelist suggested that it looks like finally AR is...Read More

It’s July, Mobile World Congress has just ended, and I haven’t left my desk. Welcome to the future? Perhaps.From a strictly personal perspective, I enjoyed the virtual event. The online conference platform was user-friendly, sessions were easy to identify and attend, there was no...Read More

Journey mapping is the process of understanding the experience of loyalty program members, identifying barriers, and focusing on solutions.  For instance, many retailers or merchants are surprised to discover that members have issues with managing their accounts or completing the onboarding...Read More

Customer rewards programs are the point-based loyalty programs to boost sales, customer engagement, build loyal customers and convert casual buyers into brand advocates.It is no secret that today’s customers love reward programs. The question is, what kind of reward system are they truly...Read More

Customers are turning to digital touchpoints more frequently than ever—in fact, 87% of customers begin product searches online. But brands are struggling to advance their customer experience (CX) strategies to keep pace.This has a lot to do with rapid changes in the customer journey...Read More

Health, fitness, mindfulness and wellness have taken center stage during the global pandemic. Brands across all industries have had to address the table stakes issues for how they are keeping the buying experience safe – from digital orders to contactless payments to curbside pick-up or...Read More

When most merchants think of fraud prevention, they concentrate on managing risk and minimizing costs. They don’t consider how fraud prevention can serve as a driver for growth. Fraud prevention is about far more than minimizing risk and cutting costs. It’s also about finding...Read More

PCI-DSS compliance and loyalty programs aren’t usually mentioned in the same breath. But with 90% of retailers thinking about launching premium loyalty programs, where your customers pay for membership, understanding how PCI-DSS compliance impacts your loyalty program has...Read More

The concept of loyalty in healthcare started popping up in niche publications around 2016 and soon gained traction in more mainstream healthcare media, including JAMA and Advisory Board. Most articles suggested looking at loyalty programs in direct-to-consumer industries as guideposts...Read More

The troubling trend of dispassionate automationHistorically one of the core marketing strategies in the United States for driving long-term growth has been retaining high-value customers loyal to your brand—in other words ‘hugging your heavies.’ The art and science of engaging...Read More

During Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference a few weeks ago (WWDC ‘21 6/7-11), the company announced its new “Mail Privacy Protection” (MPP) feature which will be implemented on the Apple Mail app in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey coming this fall. Senders are...Read More

Fast escalating membership to its Loyalty Program membership was making the Founders of this one startup very happy. Till the day the penny dropped. And they realized that the only reason members were growing in number, was that no one could figure out how to exit the “damn” app. Yes,...Read More

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic drove millions of consumers online. People needed a convenient and safe way to buy essential products, and shopping online was the way to go. Today, data shows  that those online shopping behaviors aren’t going anywhere. Consumers will continue to shop...Read More

Strong basket spend and steady, albeit slow, trip return during 2H 2020 ultimately helped “save” 2020 for C-stores and a wide range of categories. In the past six months we’ve seen trips continue to lag 2019 levels, but it appears shoppers are continuing to return and/or...Read More

Empathetic marketing means truly understanding your audience. It’s marketing that knows exactly who the customer or prospect is, what they’re going through, and what they need. It can make that person feel like they’re corresponding with a close friend, family member...Read More

Enjoy your vacation all the more when you earn and redeem loyalty points wherever you go.Grab your free Big Gulp (or perhaps a free Starbucks Venti iced coffee), thanks to your membership rewards, and buckle up! We're going on a loyalty road trip. This cross-country fantasy takes place all...Read More

In the last year, as brands adapted to better meet their customers’ needs, so too did the consumer mindset evolve. Think of your consumer habits before the pandemic. How many stores did you peruse on an errand-packed day? Did you plan ahead and order online, or wing it, hoping for the...Read More

What was that one thing that most brands focused most during last year?Brand Loyalty.Indeed, it has come a long way. In the world of retail, loyalty was often considered as an underdog. The broadcast commercials, promotional offers and print advertisements ruled the roost. Cut to the...Read More

Return fraud can be a scary thing for businesses to deal with.How do you know if you’re dealing with it? What are the signs? How many different types of return fraud are out there?We’ve talked about return fraud in general before and highlighted everything from how it...Read More

Amazon continues to break sales records every year and Prime Day 2021 will likely follow the trend.  Since 2015, Prime Day has grown to become one of Amazon’s most important events. And while COVID-19 turned retail on its head...Read More

Loyalty programs have typically relied on a core value proposition around earning points – the basic “do-get” concept.  Members earn based on their spending and receive some sort of reward.  But today’s customers expect more in return for their loyalty.  ...Read More

Convenience was already top of mind for most consumers. But a global pandemic has only heightened the focus on convenient choices—and restaurants are meeting that demand with expanded in-house delivery options and delivery partnerships.Yet third-party delivery on its own remains prevalent...Read More

Loyalty programs are important to brands for many reasons.They make your customers feel special and valued, and successful ones improve your bottom line.Rewarding your customers for their loyalty with valuable and unique benefits can set you apart from the competition.According to our 2020...Read More

What is your “go to” to incentivize your loyalty program, rewards program, or community members to engage and act? Is it free samples? A branded experience? VIP treatment? A discount offer?Marketers are challenged with striking the right balance between transactional engagement and...Read More

As a Salesforce MVP and Vice President of Product at 7Summits, a Salesforce integration partner, I live and breathe Salesforce. I know how to build amazing digital experiences on the Salesforce platform that leverage innovative components, apps, and Lightning bolts. I’ve authored a few...Read More

Consumers are gearing up for a more “normal”-looking summer—one that involves traveling, getting food from restaurants, and shopping in-store. However, while people are feeling more comfortable resuming pre-COVID activities, elevated health + safety expectations are here to stay...Read More

Like most industries, banking and insurance were already undergoing a shift to serving customers through digital channels, but in 2020, the shift to all-digital went into overdrive almost overnight. This was a huge wakeup call for the financial services industry to focus not only on digital...Read More

Shopping for technology is a process. At last check, there were over 8,000 different marketing technologies available to businesses. From data, to content and experience, to commerce and sales, it can be downright overwhelming assessing everything that’s available out...Read More

Prime Day’s sales have increased significantly each year, including last year’s event held in October due to the pandemic. Typically held in July, this year’s Prime Day is set for June 21-22.Besides recording massive sales during the annual two-day shopping...Read More

Marketers have been focused on engaging between the transactions for the better part of this century – whether they realize it or not. For many brands, it has been no small feat. By itself, getting customers to change behaviors can be challenging enough; however, when you add in the task of...Read More

As retailers reopen during the back half of 2020, they face the unique challenge of ensuring customers feel comfortable with the return to in-person shopping. Businesses across the board have been forced to reimagine the entire in-store experience to meet social distancing and hygiene standards...Read More

If you have a store on the Adobe Commerce platform then you know how difficult it is to balance fraud prevention and a fast and seamless shopping experience. Maybe you’re struggling with a legacy fraud prevention system that falsely declines legitimate customers and adds unnecessary...Read More

Did you know there are regulations and restrictions when using images of currency in advertising?  The law regulating currency images is called the Counterfeit Detection Act of 1992 and is administered by the Department of Treasury.  The law sets forth rules for how advertisers can use...Read More

This post was originally published in June 2019 and was updated in April 2021 with additional data points, updated survey results, and new information.These days, you don’t order takeout, book a hotel, or buy a product without reading a few reviews first. In fact, 91% of our 2021 survey...Read More

A launch needs to tell a story about how it is solving the end user’s problem, even if the problem they are solving is not one that users were previously aware they had.  Recently, our client Miller Brewing Co., pulled off a deliciously fun little stunt at the expense of its...Read More

Whether it’s visiting your website to research and purchase products or engaging with your mobile app, customers are turning to digital channels more frequently than ever.In their June 2020 report, Envisioning The Future of Omnichannel Commerce, Forrester states, “It...Read More

The world is no longer the same. Masks and hand sterilizers are the bare minima for social acceptance at the outset until the world gets vaccinated. People tried their best to transform from meeting rooms to Zoom meetings and office desks to couch-beds, but that’s not all that changed.Let...Read More

It’s more essential than ever that marketers take a step back from tracking and stalking consumers across the internet — and take a step forward into building actual relationships with them. However, this is easier said than done. Together with Raconteur, Cheetah Digital has...Read More

Premium loyalty programs are becoming best practice for some retailers because they increase engagement with your best customers and build emotional loyalty.These programs offer instant, 24/7 access to top-tier benefits like free shipping and immediate discounts in exchange for a membership fee...Read More

When the same old discounts aren’t helping brands sell anymore, a click to claim campaign can help track down the reason why — and give their customers an extra incentive to buy as well. The opportunity for experimentation, segmentation, analytics, and enhanced customer experience...Read More

Fuel operators face all kinds of new challenge today due to lack of time, resources, automation and tools needed to deliver on-demand insights and provide visibility to make sound decisions that have major impact on a business’ bottom line. If we shine a spotlight on one area, Terminal...Read More

The race between competitor brands in the Middle East has recently become very intense. Almost 70% of the population is less than 30 years of age with a dynamic purchase behavior. Unless brands build a robust feedback system to understand customers’ needs, buyers could easily jump to...Read More

Fraud is a persistent issue causing great harm to businesses regardless of industry.From basic lost revenue to the damage caused by different aspects such as false declines, it’s in everyone’s best interest to take preventative measures and minimize fraud in all of its forms.The...Read More

A successful loyalty program has three equally important parts: a compelling value proposition, operational feasibility, and financial viability. While loyalty clients frequently focus on developing a clever or unique value proposition, it’s important to balance that with the two other...Read More

Retailers have spent the last year adjusting their operations to accommodate new consumer shopping behaviors. From investing in buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) offerings to premium loyalty programs, ecommerce retailers are doing all they can to retain customers.Despite the many changes to...Read More

Two customers A and B walk into a grocery store. Customer A visits the store every first week of the month, and shops with an organized list. They stick to previously used brands or opts for a product with the most discounted price. Meanwhile, Customer B is a frequent visitor...Read More

This interview is part of our Moving Forward Blog Series, where we ask major brands how they’re adapting to changing consumer expectations from a loyalty perspective post-pandemic. As the nation’s leading bridal and special occasion brand, David’s Bridal has made the most...Read More

Shoppers’ priorities and expectations have changed throughout 2020, but one constant has been the desire for a safe and convenient shopping experience. Whether you’ve recently implemented a BOPIS program or have been offering it in some form for years, there is always room...Read More

If you have been following our blog, you may have heard us speak about “value exchange” which is a big driver of what we do at Cheetah Digital. Cheetah Experiences isn’t any different and it has always had a clear vision to enable marketers to create beautiful...Read More

Thanks to social media and third-party review sites, the customer relationship hasn’t been private for decades. Instead of an unsatisfied consumer quietly choosing to walk away after a negative interaction, they can write a review to share their negative experience with the world and...Read More

There is a lot of discussion on the “death of the cookie” and what it means for marketers – the questions swirl:How will we connect with our customers if we can’t track them across touchpoints and platforms?How will we talk to them in meaningful and relevant ways?How will...Read More

Ninety percent of retailers say expanding their respective loyalty programs is a priority for 2021.The days of “set it and forget it” loyalty programs are over. Consumers have too many choices today and, if they don’t see any value from your loyalty program, they will...Read More

Last month PDI completed its twentieth acquisition, and if that sounds like a lot, it is. It’s great to work for a company that’s growing so quickly, but I’ll bet you’re wondering what’s in it for you.For starters, we’re not making acquisitions just for the...Read More

As leaders finalize plans for hybrid work environments and/or returning employees to the workplace, what’s key is to not set that date and see it as a finish line for the organization. Instead, see it as a milestone to continuing the transformation. Now is an opportunity to improve the...Read More

This episode of Coffee with Comarch Loyalty features Devin Miller, who has been creating amazing digital experiences at ExxonMobil for the past 15 years. Watch the episode now to discover how the brand pivoted its loyalty strategy, how customer experience trends in fuel retail are inspiring their...Read More

With coronavirus case numbers declining in the U.S., the retail industry has reached the beginning of the end to one of its most hectic periods in recent memory. But even as public health restrictions across the country continue to ease, retailers should not be so quick to abandon all of the...Read More

The B2B industry saw a bit of a reckoning in 2020. The industry that historically focused on product attributes and lead attribution was forced to reset during a year full of crises. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated new marketing trends, and traditional means of engaging, selling to, retaining...Read More

Striking a balance between your local and corporate marketing goals can be intricate. Constant brand messaging is an essential part of your marketing duties, and you must ensure that all teams receive the right message. Conflicting messaging can do more harm than good. Ultimately, all marketing...Read More

The beer category boomed in 2020, with a large positive shift at the start of the pandemic. However, more recently beer sales are down versus a year ago, as are trips. Immediate questions rise to the surface:Have beer sales returned to their pre-pandemic levels?Should we expect to lose additional...Read More

The pre-Covid levels of retail revenue in India seem farther away now. While many retailers hoped that 2021 would be the year of recovery, the second wave of infections have dampened their pace. Even the financial services company Nomura has revised its growth expectations for India...Read More

In the first two parts of this series, we looked at ‘Understand your Objectives’, and ‘Program Characteristics’. In the final part of the series, we now take those two steps and look at what they mean for you.Firstly, it’s important to understand that your brand is a...Read More

Just when many brands thought they had customer loyalty figured out with new technology and the ability to capture data, Dave Andreadakis, Kobie’s Chief Innovation Officer, suggests there may be something just as important that marketers need to do. Kobie is a recognized industry leader in...Read More

Brand partnerships are often framed as business opportunities or a way to solve a pain point in the customer journey. Both are true.But partnerships also provide powerful value that drives both business growth and customer loyalty.So let’s dig in!In this presentation, we’ll cover the...Read More

With the nature of the program settled (read the first blog in this series, here), what about program characteristics, specifically those beyond the standard transactional and emotional engagement vectors? There are a number of other characteristics worth considering when comparing concept types...Read More

Research shows 72% of all ecommerce transactions are expected to come from mobile this year. While this is a significant number, is it really that much of a surprise given how much we rely on our devices? Mobile digital experiences answer our questions, show us the latest sale...Read More

In the latest version of our COVID-19 Monitor Survey, U.S. consumers report how the pandemic has impacted their personal finances and financial behaviors.Editor’s Note (5/25/2021): This article includes findings from ICF’s eleventh wave of data collection that was fielded April...Read More

As more consumers begin to make in-store visits again, retailers must continue to focus on health + safety measures to ensure customers feel comfortable with their experience. To get a better understanding of what those expectations look like and how they’re impacting consumer behavior, we...Read More

If you’re on our website and reading this blog, the chances are that either now or at one time or another in the past, you’ve been faced with the task of designing an effective Customer Value Management or Loyalty program. The question’s an obvious one; arriving at the right...Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic completely changed the way people carry out normal life and more specifically the way that they shop.By the end of the first quarter of 2020, the ecommerce market experienced 10 years’ worth of growth, according to data from McKinsey & Company. This...Read More

When your brand launches or revamps a loyalty program, you hope it will be attractive to consumers and elevate their engagement and spending frequency.The main attraction of any loyalty program is your benefits.From our research, the quicker you provide benefits to members of your loyalty...Read More

At PDI Security Solutions, we see ransomware attacks on a daily basis. However, those attacks typically don’t show up as news alerts or headlines in national news media. That’s where the attack on the Colonial Pipeline stands out. Yet the underlying issues of all ransomware...Read More

Spicy salsa, rich ranch, or gratifyingly good guac, just what is the perfect dip to plunge a Lay’s Bugles® cone into? Well, rather than merely guess, or commission a costly and time-consuming focus group, the Lay’s Bugles® team (a Lay’s® crisp brand and part of the...Read More

There are lots of loyalty stats out there from a consumer perspective, including our 2020 Premium Loyalty Data Study.But if you’re looking for statistics from retailers, read on.Based on a national survey of 300 marketing and loyalty professionals, our 2021 Loyalty Industry Data...Read More

Gas stations can close or run out of fuel after a natural disaster or a crisis. GasBuddy’s Fuel Availability Tracker helps drivers in affected areas find fuel if stations run out. GasBuddy’s free app can tell you which stations have no gasoline, no diesel, or no power so you can try...Read More

When doctors, nurses and other frontline healthcare warriors feel the heat of stress and adversary, leaders must step in to help them recuperate - by unleashing the tonic of genuine recognition, generous appreciation and meaningful rewards. While the healthcare warriors are doing so much for...Read More

Background Three Ireland is the number two mobile service provider in its domestic market with an approximately 35% market share. With 2.4 million customers, its 4G network covers 99% of the population, of whom 37.5% presently have 5G coverage. 68% of Ireland’s mobile data traffic is...Read More

Jersey Mike’s, the nation’s leading fast casual sub sandwich franchise, wanted to reconnect with their lapsed customers and acquire new ones. Jeff Hemschoot, Marketing Director at Jersey Mike’s, explains, “Our goal was to test if digital could help us reactivate...Read More

SHIFTING CONSUMER NEEDS DISRUPTED THE RETAIL STATUS QUO.In the direct-to-consumer (DTC) category, brands are adapting their e-commerce strategies and capabilities to keep pace with consumer preferences. Those changes are happening at digital-first brands (e.g., men’s wellness site Hims and...Read More

Unified data is the key tool in a marketer’s arsenal to personalize at scale. In a digital-first world, consumers are engaging brands and consuming media at the time and place of their choosing, across multiple channels. Building that one-to-one relationship has become the way to delight...Read More

While most brands understand the importance of customer + employee feedback and have some sort of experience management (XM) solution in place, many lack the actionable insights necessary to create meaningful, systemwide change.For large organizations, this is often due to an XM provider...Read More

Did you know that there is a better way to make your new customers behave like they have been buying your product for 10 years?Yes, you read it right! Your brand can attain this from refining customer experiences through an accessible rewards program. A good reward’s program can become the...Read More

The holiday shopping season is the most crucial time of the year for retailers. Your brand’s sales in the final quarter of the fiscal year can determine whether you blast through your yearly sales goals or miss the mark by a longshot. Last year’s unprecedented holiday season brought...Read More

When you offer a premium loyalty program, there is an extra layer of customer service that members expect. After all, they’re paying to be members and they’re your best customers.Whether you manage your premium loyalty program in-house or work with a loyalty partner...Read More

Most often, disruption in the fuel supply chain comes with little warning, as it did this week with the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline system. While the magnitude of the impact on this critical supply artery isn’t fully clear, there are already localized outages and reports of long...Read More

Apple plans to start rolling out its long-awaited App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework on April 26. This new development requires active and explicit consent for access to a device’s identifier for advertisers (IDFA), meaning publishers need permission before using a device ID or any...Read More

Background The Cambodian mobile market is extremely competitive with three main service providers, including Cellcard, battling for market share. Their fight has to date been characterized by an ongoing price war in which the cost of data has dropped precipitously ($10 buys 10GBs across all...Read More

With apologies to my favorite wildlife creature/meme/video/viral sensation over the last decade, I’d like to talk about ransomware.If you think “honey badger don’t care,” wait until your first experience with ransomware. Because ransomware definitely don’t care. (And...Read More

In the latest version of our COVID-19 Monitor Survey, hard-hit consumers look likely to return to pre-pandemic habits in retail.Editor’s Note (5/13/2021):This article includes findings from ICF’s eleventh wave of data collection that was fielded April 15 – 22. This wave...Read More

As COVID-19 cases continue to decline across the country, more consumers are starting to feel comfortable shopping in-store again. And while e-commerce and digital sales will continue to grow long after the pandemic is over, the current increase in foot traffic is a great opportunity...Read More

Look-alike models can be used to expand a brand’s target audience. These models analyze a small dataset of consumers and identify desirable characteristics. The model is then used to find more people who share those traits in a larger set of data, providing access to an otherwise unknown...Read More

There has been a lot of talk in the marketing world about Google's plans to eradicate third-party cookies. The Chrome browser, which houses about two-thirds of the online market, will no longer host third-party cookies. It comes as a massive blow for marketers considering ...Read More

This episode of Coffee with Comarch Loyalty features Patsy Rey, who has spent nearly 30 years fostering customer loyalty at Enterprise Holdings. From the resurgence of the road trip to communicating with customers and “future-proofing” loyalty programs, listen in to discover how...Read More

Customers today are hyper-aware and engaging them is a tough task for businesses. But through numerous customer engagement strategies and techniques it is possible to make a real connection with customers that extends beyond selling.‍What is Customer Engagement?Gallup’s definition...Read More

After analyzing over 400 million checkouts, Bed Bath and Beyond announced last fall that it would be cutting back on its infamous coupon strategy, deeming 40% of them “ineffective.”“Ineffective at what?” you might ask. And that is a great question! When it comes to...Read More

Earning customer loyalty was hard before COVID-19.Now, it’s even harder.In fact, nearly two-thirds of consumers say their loyalty is more difficult for retailers to maintain than ever before.There are so many loyalty programs out there (90% of companies offer either a loyalty...Read More

The past year saw retail brands move faster than ever to embrace digital transformation. Today’s challenge is driving customers back in-store while also retaining strong online engagement. As long-held marketing practices continue to be disrupted, now is the time for bold action supported...Read More

An Inhospitable LandscapeWe recently hosted a webinar with NCR, a global leader in banking and commerce solutions, that focused on creating Human Centered Experiences in restaurants and hospitality. A relevant topic in any market, the past year has introduced new challenges for...Read More

Your business-to-business (B2B) customers are used to doing business with your sales reps over the phone. Will they adopt a digital commerce substitute? Only if you help them make the change from phone to storefront. If you’ve already taken the steps to launch your digital...Read More

It is an open secret that brands invest significant revenue to nurture loyal customers (research shows over 70% of brands invest more than 2% of total revenue)— after all, a 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75 percent.  Today...Read More

There’s no doubt that false declines can be a confusing problem to deal with.On the one hand, fraud prevention is necessary. Fraudsters are more prevalent than ever, using stolen credit card credentials to make illegitimate purchases.However, this same net also manages to capture genuine...Read More

If there’s one thing this last year has taught us, it’s that consumer behavior has changed drastically. And brands who have pivoted to meet changing expectations are those who will build even stronger relationships with their customers...Read More

Online shopping has exploded over the last year, due to both convenience and necessity. While this has been a struggle for some brick-and-mortar retailers, it has been a boon for those who have a robust online presence. As we deal with the fallout of the last year, Gartner notes...Read More

The past year has been an emotional rollercoaster—you would be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t been on a ride. In times like these, we turn to the things that comfort us. It could be a favorite video game, a bit of online shopping, or a favorite food or drink. For me, it&rsquo...Read More

Brands that drive the most meaningful customer loyalty find ways to connect their products and services so that customers gain added value.  Traditional financial institutions have been chipping away at digital transformation roadmaps, but most are still playing catch-up due to internal...Read More

Business owners are juggling a lot – from managing employees to meeting customer expectations – they are constantly focused on problem-solving multiple issues at once.However, one issue that may fly under the radar for businesses is false declines.A  false decline is a...Read More

In our recent Loyalty Industry Data Study, we talked to 300 retail marketers and found that 95% of them said one mega-retailer influenced their decision to consider a premium loyalty program by the end of 2021.This retailer has hundreds of millions of customers globally and offers things...Read More

C-store trips have been increasing steadily and catching up to pre-pandemic levels. This is good news, but c-Stores still have to recapture all of their lost trips, as shoppers have not resumed all their previous habits.  A steady climb in trips, combined with a record-high spend per trip...Read More

If the number of new management books, conferences, and executive education programs are any indication, senior leaders and team managers are going to need a whole new set of skills to succeed in the new model of company culture — hybrid work.  ...Read More

DEVELOPING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS HAS ALWAYS BEEN CRITICAL FOR BRANDS TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS, AND THIS BECOMES EVEN MORE VITAL IN A PRIVACY-FIRST WORLD.—David Temkin, Google’s Director of Product Management, Ads Privacy and User TrustFor decades digital...Read More

Long before the onset of COVID-19, organizations were prioritizing digital transformation efforts and opening up more channels + touchpoints for customers and employees to engage with their brand. But the pandemic only exacerbated the need, forcing more aggressive digital expansions...Read More

It’s been a little over a year since our team started working remotely.While we’ve always had a work-from-home policy in place, none of us were truly prepared for the shift that came on March 13th, 2020.This quickly threw a curveball at our highly collaborative, in-person culture. So,...Read More

There’s a coherent argument that presently, we are in the middle of a seismic shift in terms of what brands are doing with their customer loyalty and engagement initiatives.This shift has been accelerated by the worldwide pandemic, in the wake of which digital disruption is forcing brands...Read More

Given their superpowers of organizing and accelerating business outcomes, implementing a CRM is often its own reward. And while your teams will agree with the spirit of the expression, you can’t blame them for wanting to be rewarded a little more ‘tangibly’ for little and big...Read More

In order to deliver effective customer engagement strategies, brands and marketers often need to look beyond the technology, and ensure that the people, process, and strategy elements within are sound, well-articulated, and well communicated in an organization. According to Gartner, modern...Read More

Creating customer value and cultivating customer relationships has never been more important—or complicated. Consumer expectations are high, business models have changed, and it’s essential for brands to communicate value in everything they do.This is especially important for loyalty...Read More

As we emerge from the pandemic, the once “new normal” is becoming a bit more normal. We’ve adapted to new procedures, social distancing, and changed our shopping behaviors.Amid changes in consumer behavior last year, retailers were forced to reactively respond quickly making...Read More

With every new year, you can look forward to a list of creative trends that will define it, or try to. Some are spot-on, and some are just ideas that never take off. But in the last calendar year, a lot in the world has changed and our design communications have evolved with it. ...Read More

DIGITAL MARKETING NEEDS TO ACCOMMODATE CONSUMERS’ POST-PANDEMIC OUTLOOK.During the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the stay-at-home orders, The Harris Poll determined that between 46% and 51% of U.S. adults reported using social media more since the outbreak began. Among the...Read More

With last year’s accelerated surge in digital and cross-channel shopping—which included 146% growth in all online retail orders in the U.S. and Canada alone—brands were forced to take a critical eye to theirdigital transformation maturityand work quickly to evolve...Read More

Recent research from Statista projects that the total eCommerce revenue in Africa will be close to $25 billion in 2021 and with a projected annual growth rate of more than 13% could reach $40 billion by 2025. This growth potential not only provides domestic and cross-border eCommerce...Read More

In today’s highly competitive digital landscape, brands have to balance between retaining customers and acquiring new ones to continue growth in both business and customer base. In fact, what hurts brands most is losing existing customers instead of vying for new ones. As per one study...Read More

In this week’s episode of the #loyaltyexpertsvoice video series, Sami Nachawati, Consulting Director at Comarch, presents a few numbers that show the scale of the global mobile payments revolution happening right now. Focusing primarily on the #oil&gas industry and retail, Sami reveals...Read More

Identity resolution was a major challenge for marketers even before they were confronted with the phase-out of third-party cookies and mobile ad IDs. It’s increasingly important to construct a single, coherent, actionable view of customers across online and offline...Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the travel and tourism sector. In 2019, 330 million jobs were supported by travel and tourism. The novel coronavirus has impacted over 120 million of those jobs and livelihoods, and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates a loss of $3.4...Read More

Ninety-five percent of retailers with only traditional loyalty programs have discussed launching a premium loyalty program in 2021 and Best Buy’s new Beta membership program is the latest example.It’s no secret that Best Buy saw increased sales since the pandemic started as...Read More

It’s a hot buzzword these days - but you might be left wondering what does customer advocacy mean? You’re not alone if you’re feeling a bit confused, as customer advocacy actually comes in different forms. Making your customers into more than just purchasers - into advocates...Read More

There’s no doubt that fraudulent transactions end up costing businesses money. With fraudsters targeting businesses at alarmingly high rates, it’s become more important than ever to protect yourself across every stage of the purchasing journey.However, this very same protection...Read More

Why should employee engagement efforts be at the top of your organization’s priority list? Engaged employees are more loyal, helping create highly satisfied and loyal customers. And highly satisfied, loyal customers lead directly to growth in sales and profits. This progression is...Read More

In this episode of the #loyaltyexpertsvoice series, Aleksandra Sasińska, Product Manager at Comarch, talks about #gamification, explaining why loyalty programs thrive on game-like mechanics. Watch the video to learn why most of today’s loyalty programs are not strictly about loyalty and how...Read More

When the pandemic hit, Marriott had to rethink how it approached customers. For many, leaving their homes and traveling in general gave consumers pause. Sure, people’s day-to-day changed, but their mindsets changed as well. This was uncharted territory.No matter what industry you’re...Read More

Marketers have always been at the precipice of change and innovation, yet the vicissitude of the past year has tested those skills to the limit. With bricks-and-mortar stores largely closed for business, digital natives have been joined online by swathes of digital newbies. However, these...Read More

Membership loyalty programs, also known as premium loyalty programs, have been around for quite some time.But they’re growing in popularity. Why is that?In these programs, your customers pay a fee in exchange for enhanced benefits that traditional free loyalty programs can’t...Read More

The world expected a better 2021 with vaccination and a hope for a brighter tomorrow! And here we are, yet again standing still amidst chaos in the second quarter of the year. There are fresh guidelines being issued everyday on travel, lockdown, opening of schools, malls with the second wave of...Read More

Consider that it takes five to seven times more money to retain an existing customer than acquire a new one. What’s more, the average, loyal customer is worth at least 10 times as much as their first purchase and 50% more likely to try out new products from your company....Read More

You’ve found yourself at step four of our Personalization Engine Series. So far we’ve introduced the importance of a personalization engine. We’ve connected the dots, explaining how data curation via four distinct lenses (customer identification, customer preference, behavioral...Read More

Loyalty programs are a central component of many convenience retailers’ marketing and customer engagement strategies, and for good reason. They collect vital customer data and insights into member behaviors, provide value to members through the accrual and redemption of rewards, and...Read More

On March 3, Google published its position on user-level identifiers, and some likened it to dropping a bomb on the ad-tech community. Google shared that it does not intend to directly use alternative authenticated user-level identifiers after deprecating third-party...Read More

While the purchasing journey presents many opportunities for fraudsters to target your business, you may be surprised to learn that false declines are often even more damaging.Merchants can lose up to 75x more revenue to false declines than they do to fraud.However...Read More

Our Founder, CEO, and Community Powered Marketing pioneer Susan Frech shared how to build lasting bonds that create authentic brand advocacy in a recent article for Forbes. The following article was originally published here. Every brand has its best customers. The definition of ride-or...Read More

It was a heck of a 2020.  But, as 2020 was more a reactive year for retailers due to COVID-19, the first three months of 2021 have been more proactive.  Retail is starting to reopen.  Last year 35% of U.S. consumers tried a new brand since the COVID-19 pandemic began...Read More

All brands vie to target customers with intelligent marketing, but a few get it right.  Imagine if at the height of the pandemic, after spending a week browsing for a bigger apartment to shift into, you come across your dream house through a Facebook ad—a classic scenario when you...Read More

There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our lives and changed everything about how we go about our day to day business. How we work, how we play, how we educate, how we dine and so much more. But it has been particularly impactful on how we bank.Almost from the start, the...Read More

To remain relevant and grow as a business, a vast majority of leaders say their company will fundamentally change how it engages with customersFirst came customer experience. The much-needed employee experience followed. The next frontier CEOs need to conquer? The business of experience. ...Read More

“It all began in the markets of Provence. With nothing but an alembic, a small truck and a solid knowledge of plants…” is L’Occitane’s humble origin story. Since then, the brand has grown to sell luxurious skincare and beauty products in stores across the...Read More

As paid loyalty programs continue to gain popularity, many retailers are asking themselves if they should consider offering one to their customers.This approach takes the traditional loyalty model of transactions first for benefits later and completely turns it upside down. In a paid loyalty...Read More

Measurement is paramount in marketing today. Every decision we make as marketers to enhance efficiency and effectiveness must be measured before it can be assessed, either directly or indirectly. Without measurements, we wouldn’t know whether our decisions yielded the actions and results we...Read More

Consumers demand experiences that speak to their deepest emotions and true feelings. Yet we all know that data is drying up and trends are moving faster then ever. How can you stay on top of key decision-making factors that traditional research measures might miss?Discover Vesta’s New...Read More

As an e-commerce business owner, there’s a good chance that you’re missing out on more potential business than you might think.Why is this?Two words: False declines.We’ve previously gone in-depth explaining what false declines are.  However, for those...Read More

Even though the California Consumer Protection Act (the “CCPA”) is still wet behind the ears – only becoming effective on January 1, 2020 – California voters decided in November 2020 to amend and expand the CCPA by passing the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA...Read More

In today’s “smart,” connected world, cybercriminals and their tools are having a field day. Anything connected to the internet is within reach as bad actors execute phishing campaigns and malware strains that are increasingly sophisticated and diverse. This means that...Read More

As we move deeper into 2021, many of us will be encountering a changed landscape, especially retailers and retail marketers. In a recent survey done by Gartner, analysts found that CMOs are more likely to be looking inward in the coming months, focusing their efforts on their already existing...Read More

When it comes to garnering customer loyalty, Oil and Gas Retail companies face unique challenges. For one, fuel prices are highly regulated by the government and fluctuate with changes in the global crude oil prices, and so profit margins on fuel sales are slim when compared to other sectors...Read More

Not so long ago, "bleisure"—a term coined about a decade ago to describe the combining of business and leisure travel—was hot. Travel marketers everywhere were talking about the trend, and for good reason: Cheaper airfare, increasingly distributed workforces and an era of...Read More

While brand marketers understand the importance of customer loyalty, there is significant difficulty navigating the complex MarTech landscape.In its assessment of the MarTech landscape, Loyalty360 recently released its first-ever Technology Today Industry report, which recognized Clarus Commerce...Read More

Making a decision can be a simple task, like what to eat for dinner, or a monumental choice, like finding a spouse.Decisioning, on the other hand, is decision-making by means of computational methodology. These days decisioning is more high-tech than ever, perhaps especially in marketing. That...Read More

Often overlooked, line managers play a crucial role in mitigating negative employee sentiment while fostering an inclusive and strong workforce culture.As more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, most companies are preparing to—once again—readjust approaches to where and how...Read More

In this episode of the #loyaltyexpertsvoice series, we’ve got Christopher Sandstrom, Director of Marketing at Comarch North America, talking about building a strong #community of brand advocates using the so-called “4 Ls” (Locate, Listen, Leverage, Learn) model. Enjoy this 3...Read More

Today, we're featuring a guest post from Dan Greenberg of Skipify. When a customer makes a decision to purchase something, you have a very brief window of time where that decision is fresh in their mind. The longer you wait, and the more distractions that get in the way...Read More

Tracking your loyalty program KPIs and optimizing your program over time to keep it fresh and relevant is crucial to its long-term success.After all, launching a loyalty program is a huge feat in itself, but you can’t stop there.That’s just the beginning.For example, how often is it...Read More

Remember that old connect-the-dots game—the one a parent or friend likely taught you as a kid? You draw a bunch of dots in a pattern of squares and then take turns connecting one dot to another. If you make a box with your line, you get to place your initial inside the box and then draw...Read More

The human mind loves games.Around us, from millennials playing CandyCrush for hours on social media to gamblers losing all their money in casinos, there are plenty of examples of how games can be addicting. In fact, gaming is the most popular habit of the digital age. A report by Statista...Read More

Since the pandemic began, many brands have been playing from behind due to store closings, a massive shift to online purchases, and limitless consumer options.While loyalty was hard for brands in the past, it’s even harder now.At Best Western, listening to customer voices and issues...Read More

While most brands have adapted and stood up multiple listening points for feedback and engagement across the ever-growing network of customer touchpoints, this information is often disparate and disjointed.But when you eliminate those silos and integrate datasets, you stand to gain big. As...Read More

Remember those old geometry proofs you hated in high school? Or maybe you liked them like I did. Regardless, a geometry proof is a pretty good metaphor for the conundrum that marketers are finding themselves in:If you’re a marketer today, you must build and deepen your brand’s...Read More

With every brand trying to sell you something, it’s no surprise that the Internet is chock full of content and marketing messages.But which messages or ads do you really remember?If you spend some time thinking about it, you’ll notice that it’s usually something that you...Read More

Last week, Google published a blog post detailing their position on leveraging alternative user-level identifiers once third-party cookies are deprecated, noting their consumer privacy concerns and how such an identifier would be used in...Read More

The COVID climate has prompted more shoppers than ever before to shift to digital channels. Today’s volume of new online shoppers is 2x greater than pre COVID-19 levels. However, these new online shoppers are 5-7x more likely to be declined by current fraud systems than returning...Read More

Unleashing the full potential of mobile With smartphones accounting for 84% of the 2019 holiday season shopping, mobile loyalty programs present a clear and present opportunity for American retailers to increase sales, conversions, and overall customer experience...Read More

2021 has travel and hospitality brands poised for a long-awaited recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. But this promised recovery will not look like anything that came before. Consumer habits and preferences have been rewired by the pandemic, forcing brands to dig deeper to connect with and...Read More

Fourth-quarter sales at Urban Outfitters fell 7%, prompting company officials to find a way to spark sales growth and increase customer engagement.Along with the drop in sales, Urban Outfitters temporarily closed stores after the pandemic began. Although sales decreased, the number of...Read More

Zero-party data is heating up.Google the term and you’ll find thousands of results, from simple definitions to “complete” guides, and even an article calling zero-party data the “holy grail” of consumer information. Meanwhile, research companies are cranking out...Read More

What can ecommerce browsing and buying habits in 51 countries tell us about the digital surge – and what’s next for brands?2020 was the year digital transformation became more than a distant ambition, and everything we thought we knew about online shopping statistics flew out the...Read More

Every organization that conducts transactions online battles fraud. However, not every organization faces the same types of fraud nor do they approach fraud prevention in the same way. Some businesses present a higher value target for fraudsters, so they deal with more risks and get hit by a...Read More

Did you know that 90% of retailers say expanding their respective loyalty programs is a priority for 2021?There has been plenty of change in the past year, thanks to COVID-19 and its massive impact on consumer behavior and retailers themselves.Consider that nearly two-thirds of...Read More

No man is an islandCommunity & connections are integral to humans and we tend to do badly when isolated from each other.The irony is that it took us a pandemic to realize the need for building and maintaining strong relationships.With social distancing in place, we have realized how much we...Read More

Identity. It’s the holy grail sitting at the core of digital advertising and powering personalization, measurement and efficiency. With third-party cookie deprecation looming and Apple’s pending IDFA changes this spring, marketers are preparing for a future where identity resolution...Read More

The White ElephantWe are referring to the (erstwhile) frequent traveler’s elite status in glitzy hotel chains worldwide. If you have been a busy business traveler or a globe trotter, you will agree to this. COVID-19 made your top-tier memberships with hotel brands practically useless...Read More

The Pain in Payments TodayIn the payments process today, both merchants and issuing banks need to perform risk evaluations on every transaction to reduce fraud. However, these decisions are made independently, with merchants and issuers using different sets of data and insights to evaluate risk...Read More

There’s one mode of transport that’s no stranger to the loyalty program. From frequent flyer miles to members’ only lounges, airline schemes are abundant, driving both profit and customer affinity. But for on-the-ground transit operators, loyalty programs are few and far...Read More

With mobile ecosystems rapidly evolving, challenges and opportunities are being presented at equal pace. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) accumulating a raft of new applications central to delivering advanced networks is now a commonplace strategy; the result being that remote SIM configuration...Read More

Lots of consumers belong to loyalty programs. That may make it seem like there are a lot of loyal customers out there, but these 17 customer loyalty stats say otherwise.Just about every retailer has a loyalty program and chances are, you’re a member of at least a few of them.Purchase a...Read More

In the latest episode of the #loyaltyexpertsvoice series, Maciej Tyczyński, Head of Data Analytics & Machine Learning Team at Comarch, explains what the term "loyaltyfraud" really means. He discusses some of the most common types of fraudulent activities and reveals how they can...Read More

In 2021, brands are prioritizing customer retention. And in order to know how well your business is doing at maintaining customers, you must measure your success with customer retention metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). These measurements track how successful your business is at...Read More

The core of optimized marketing relies on attracting high-value, targeted demographics. The key to this strategy is reliable customer data, which allows a business to vet qualified customers as well as enhance its products and services.   This has led to an increase in...Read More

This scenario is much more common than it should be: you’re checking the monthly channel sales numbers and the results are disappointing. The rebate program you put in place to incentivize partners to sell more isn’t helping. In fact, some partners aren’t even entering the sales...Read More

The number of online transactions has risen dramatically in recent months as a vast majority of consumers shifted from shopping primarily in-store to shopping online. Fraudsters have noticed the rise in digital transactions and merchants expanding to new channels, services, and markets.As more...Read More

We’re all ready for GOOD NEWS, aren’t we? As COVID-19 vaccines become available and the pandemic starts to recede, you can expect more opportunities to enjoy travel again. This year also marks a milestone for EA+, as it is our 25th Anniversary. For the past quarter-century, ...Read More

Less than a third of global marketing leaders were satisfied with their ability to measure ROI last year. How is 2021 flipping the script?Chief marketing officers (CMOs) have faced an uphill battle delivering premium customer experiences while driving business in the last year. Not only do they...Read More

Stuzo congratulates Murphy USA on its incredible achievement wherein its Murphy Drive Rewards program was ranked the #1 Gas Station loyalty program in Newsweek’s “America’s Best Loyalty Programs 2021” report. With a score of 8.2, Murphy Drive Rewards ranked #1 in...Read More

We’ve already seen how COVID-19 has changed consumer behaviors and business outcomes in the short term, but what about the long term? The constant fluctuation of case rates, openings and shutdowns makes that hard to determine, but there is one change that’s likely to have...Read More

Is it only a game?     As a young graduate student at Harvard in the 60s, the psychologist and behaviorist B.F Skinner devised an experiment. It involved putting pigeons in a box that issued a pellet of food whenever the pigeons pushed a lever. Skinner varied the pellets such that...Read More

Defining success for any vision begins with asking, “What does success look like?” As with any good strategy, we begin the year with a clear set of objectives and key results to measure along the way. When change happens, whether through unforeseen circumstances like COVID-19 or...Read More

Veggies Made Great Senior Brand Manager, Christine Luongo, contributed insights into building customer loyalty in a recent article for Loyalty360. The following article was originally published here. Veggies Made Great makes a bold statement in how they make their products: the first...Read More

Comarch’s new vodcast series: "Coffee with Comarch Loyalty" will feature brand and retail loyalty experts from both household-name brands and up-and-coming companies. Take a quick coffee break and tune in to hear from experts at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Redbox, 4th Ave...Read More

Have you ever wondered what makes customers willing to pay for a loyalty program?Our 2020 Premium Loyalty Data Study found that 70% of consumers would be willing to join a premium loyalty program if their favorite retailers offered them and the benefits were valuable to them.Amazon...Read More

Even before COVID-19 shook the world and forever transformed customer behavior and the digital landscape, Customer Data Platforms were generating quite a lot of interest. *Google Trends snapshot of the surge in search levels for the term ‘Customer Data Platform’This is hardly...Read More

Ecommerce Marketers Can Now Create Beautiful Custom Quizzes in their Shopify Storefronts and Automate Email Personalization Fueled By First-Party Data.View the original press release here. Keep reading to learn how brands can enhance their eCommerce Marketing strategy with the...Read More

Stop and Shop has been a neighborhood grocer across the Northeast for more than a century. Known for its convenient locations, it leads in market share among its traditional competitors with 413 stores in 5 states along with more than 100 gas stations. But with a rapidly changing grocery...Read More

Learn best practices to navigate new fraud trends and maintain business growth while enhancing the customer journey.Discussion topics will include how to:Protect and accelerate contactless commercePersonalize customer experiences to increase loyalty and wallet shareMitigate fraud and establish...Read More

As part of the Suite Talks series, Forter CEO and Co-Founder Michael Reitblat recently sat down with Edible Arrangements President and COO Cheikh Mboup to discuss how Edible Arrangements shifted its approach to business during COVID.Like many businesses, Edible Arrangements struggled when COVID...Read More

Let’s Talk About Brand Loyalty And CVML Programs That Help To Build Long-Term Relationships  In marketing, brand loyalty consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase products or services and thus to continue to use a brand.It can be demonstrated by actions like repeated...Read More

Everyone loves moments when a family member or friend remembers something about you and shares that with you, like a birthday, anniversary, or memory. Those moments are meaningful ways to connect authentically, inspire, and create positive energy.For a marketer, it isn’t any different. The...Read More

A new year is always a good time to make a resolution and deliver on it.As 2020 slowly fades in everyone’s collective memory, the impact from it is real.From a customer loyalty perspective, you want your brand to leave a sea of sameness and emerge with something unique and memorable for...Read More

Giving your loyal customers the experience they deserveWith a shifting global commerce climate, flexible returns policies are no longer the exception, but the rule. Merchant returns policies help determine how and where customers shop.With the volume of new online shoppers at 2x greater than...Read More

We live in a world of clickbait and algorithms that favor the most extreme titles, opinions and content. Add in the real challenges individuals and corporations faced over the last 12 months, and we may be tempted to ignore certain big stories in the news. But sometimes a “chicken little...Read More

This #loyaltyexpertsvoice episode features Bartosz Demczuk, Comarch's Consulting Director for the Middle East & Asia markets, explaining why collecting #customerdata is so important these days. Additionally, Bart reveals what you can learn by analyzing non-transactional customer behaviors...Read More

At Cheetah Digital, we’re fortunate to work with some of the biggest and most respected names in the travel and hospitality industry, including brands located all across the seven seas.   One of our favorites, Norwegian Cruise Line, recently invited us to speak at their &ldquo...Read More

As early as the 1700s, retailers started implementing programs to create loyal customers. Today, technology has empowered the customer with more information, choice, and flexibility than ever before, and created a retail climate in which customers demand more than just “perks” to...Read More

Customers interact with merchants in numerous ways – through websites, mobile apps, and brick and mortar stores.Today, the purchasing journey spans across devices, platforms, and locations as more consumers demand omnichannel options from merchants. With the huge demand for...Read More

Brands spend a tremendous amount of time and money on differentiation.From product to price point to marketing to customer experience, it’s one of the biggest topics in retail.So, what about your loyalty program?In a world where nearly 70% of consumers agree their loyalty is more...Read More

The coronavirus pandemic has changed businesses forever. Companies have been pushed to the brink of crisis, resorting to cutting staff and budgets if they were unable to adapt to the new digital-first environment quickly enough. Consumer expectations and behaviors have also been...Read More

The Unilever U.S. team had identity challenges: For years customers received emails and visited the website, but not always by clicking through Unilever’s emails. Those website visits were being read as net-new interactions with the brand, even though many were from loyal customers across...Read More

In this week’s episode of #loyaltyexpertsvoice, Katarzyna Włodarczyk, Business Development Manager at Comarch Spain, explains how you can build personalized customer journeys. Not only does she provide some thought-provoking stats along the way, but she also reveals what tools can be used...Read More

If you want to embed loyalty into your brand as a standard behavior the first step isn’t simply the fine-tuning of your existing Customer Value and Loyalty programs.That would amount to flying blind, albeit with good intentions. Rather, it’s breaking down loyalty into its component...Read More

Let me recap the last 20 years of evolution in the European Supermarket Loyalty sector for you:2000: Swipe/scan a card, get some points, redeem them for a voucher you can use in-store.2020: Swipe a card/scan a mobile barcode, get some points, redeem them for a voucher you can use in...Read More

Premium loyalty programs aren’t new, but they’ve been on the rise for the past few years, and for good reason.Customer loyalty is harder than ever, and many traditional loyalty programs aren’t differentiated enough.This is an especially important point as retailers get proactive...Read More

Going Digital and Thriving During COVIDForter Chief Marketing Officer Angela Whiteford recently sat down with Christina Callas EVP, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) from Total Wine & More, to discuss how Total Wine has shifted their business approach amid COVID and positioned themselves,...Read More

Starbucks and Chipotle have created millions of brand advocates through their respective loyalty programs.Starbucks Rewards has nearly 20 million members while Chipotle Rewards has nearly the same amount.Now, two of the largest fast-food chains in the U.S. – McDonald’s and Burger King...Read More

The heightened expectation for a safe + clean experience has left brands across industries questioning: Do customers still want in-person assistance?Recent SMG research confirms: Yes, they do—but with one major factor. Assistance must be delivered in the safest way possible...Read More

In this week’s episode of #loyaltyexpertsvoice​, @Jakub Dembiński, Head of Business Development at Comarch, talks about “the loyalty effect,” specifically how today’s companies can generate revenue using immersive, personalized loyalty programs. Also in this video, Jakub...Read More

When customers are passionate about you, they’re more likely to choose you over competitors and stick with you (in good times and bad). If you offer them personalized, individualized messaging and loyalty offers based on each customer’s unique needs, desires and preferences, you can...Read More

Earning customer loyalty has gotten harder for retailers.Consider that nearly two-thirds of consumers say their loyalty is more difficult for retailers to maintain than ever before.COVID-19 has changed consumer behavior significantly in the past 11 months and, maybe, forever.The task of...Read More

When a global pandemic made the world wary of being indoors amongst strangers in 2020, merchants everywhere took stock and reassessed how to get their goods to consumers.Once thriving brick-and-mortar restaurants became gourmet food purveyors, adding free and contactless delivery, curbside pickup...Read More

The outdoor sports and recreation vertical is an ultra-competitive space. Leading brands typically spend millions on "feature wars" to differentiate their products and services from their rivals. However, fundamentally, it’s a vertical hallmarked with brands using similar...Read More

As of last June, 81% of Americans owned a smartphone. In the throes of this convenience revolution—as more consumers turn to their phones for research and to make purchases—the pressure for brands to provide a seamless and simple mobile experience has never been higher.This trend...Read More

No one could have predicted that the marketing strategies presented in January 2020 would become obsolete in March as businesses executed a quick pivot to digital experiences due to COVID-19.Retailers had to quickly adapt to the accelerated trend of e-commerce that the pandemic brought on.Loyalty...Read More

For marketers, there’s no bigger bet than a Super Bowl ad.This year, advertisers will reportedly pay $5.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime, a massive investment justified by an audience that’s many times larger than that of the next biggest live event. Not only is the audience huge...Read More

With the added impact of the pandemic, consumers today are looking to manage everything digitally if they can, including their finances. Bank marketers need to rapidly transition to a digital-first mindset to grow deposits—both with existing and net-new customers.Bank marketers are ...Read More

As we enter into a new phase of the pandemic—one of colder temperatures, a potential third wave, and the added threat of cold + flu season—businesses relying on outside service will once again have to adjust operational procedures. This is especially pertinent to the restaurant...Read More

Being a material girl was much easier in 1985; the recent global pandemic has steered people away from brick-and-mortar shops and into the socially distanced eCommerce arms, and the Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2) has challenged online payments, adding friction, decreasing conversion...Read More

The pandemic drastically changed retail and consumer behavior last year and, maybe, forever.Those new behaviors, along with magnified expectations, have led to a laser focus on loyalty.What does the loyalty landscape look like in 2021?How do current loyalty programs stand up to new consumer...Read More

Customer behavioral data has become a high-value asset to marketing teams, brands and companies large and small. But what exactly are they all doing with this data? One common use is behavioral segmentation, a segmentation strategy that enables marketing to customers based on their...Read More

How can organizations stay nimble while making sense of all the latest products, methodologies, and technologies?Our Web Hosting Maturity Scale can help you determine where you are today, where you want to go, and what the value is to all parties involved. It provides a single purpose—and...Read More

While most brands understand the importance of customer + employee feedback and have some sort of experience management (XM) solution in place, many lack the actionable insights necessary to create meaningful, system-wide change. For large organizations, this is often due to an XM provider...Read More

The eCommerce world is increasingly competitive, especially as more and more consumers turn to online shopping due to Covid-19 and the need to socially distance.Businesses that want to maintain a competitive advantage during this time are investing heavily to understand their customers&rsquo...Read More

You heard it here first: 2021 will be the year email marketing steps back into the spotlight.In a report released in November 2020, eMarketer shared that “there is ample evidence that the pandemic actually grew email’s prominence as a touchpoint between brands and their...Read More

This interview is part of a series where we ask different thought leaders in the loyalty and retail space to get their perspectives on where we are, where things are headed, and what you should be thinking about next.The purpose is to provide you with many different perspectives that can help you...Read More

What is love? (…baby don’t hurt me…) But really, what is showing or receiving love for a marketer?We won’t pretend that brand love can ever replace actual human love, although I’m sure some could argue their relationship to a brand is healthier and longer-lasting...Read More

From the emphasis on contactless experiences to the mass migration to new-and-evolving digital channels, it’s impossible to overstate the magnitude of change that took place in 2020. To help brands ensure their experience management (XM) strategies were keeping pace, SMG fielded more than...Read More

Loyalty has long been an industry that shifts based on business trends, new technologies and market disruptions. But one thing remains the same, consumer loyalty relies on a seamless customer experience. Multiple industries inform and teach others how to keep pace with the expectations and needs...Read More

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the early months of 2020, the world has gone through one of the most dramatic shake-ups in recent memory. Global panic, government-enforced lockdowns, combined with social distancing practices, have resulted in drastic changes to the global economy and...Read More

2021 is the year to focus on the ways that broadening your loyalty aperture can drive COVID-19 business recovery.Now that we’re a few weeks into 2021, you’ve probably had your fill of predictions from marketing experts, consultants, and agencies. I’ll confess I enjoy these posts...Read More

There's no doubt that 2020 threw some curveballs at your marketing efforts. First there was the global pandemic that changed how and where people buy. Then came an economic crisis that made consumers more cautious about who they purchase from, and how much they're willing to spend...Read More

It’s the time of year when people are thinking about cutting carbs, reading more books, and trying to become the best versions of themselves – But have you thought about your 2021 loyalty resolutions?Loyalty is becoming a lot harder.Two-thirds of consumers agree their loyalty is more...Read More

While the curveball that was 2020 is behind us, many of us in the experience management (XM) space are still getting our arms around the magnitude of change in our programs as we rapidly adapted to meet evolving customer, patient, and employee behaviors and expectations.I’m very proud to...Read More

Forter Director of Customer Marketing, David Coates, recently sat down with Janelle Spatz, Director of Digital Operations, PVH as part of the NRF 2021 Conference to discuss how one of the world’s leading apparel companies adapted to the dynamic conditions of 2020 and how they plan to...Read More

Now, more than ever, it’s important to connect with your customers with timely, personalized content. And to think about how your marketing strategy will support the objectives of your company in the months ahead. So if someone told you that you were ignoring a $42 billion...Read More

In this #loyaltyexpertsvoice episode, Katarzyna Kulczycka, Senior Strategy & Loyalty Consultant at Comarch, takes the virtual stage to discuss the most common mistake #loyaltyprogram owners make when they design their #rewardsstrategy, namely, setting the threshold for receiving a reward way...Read More

You may be thinking, “age restricted products, don’t those items sell themselves?” And while it may seem as though items such as cigarettes and beer sell themselves at your convenience store, it’s important to find ways to keep them in front of your consumer’s eyes...Read More

I’m not the first person to be ecstatic about leaving 2020 behind us and moving forward to brighter days in 2021. The global pandemic tested our will, forced us to change how we work and live, and really opened up new opportunities to focus on digital transformation and re-write the...Read More

For many of you, 2020 posed never-before-seen challenges that impacted almost every aspect of life.Retail included.Due to the pandemic, consumer behavior significantly shifted which led to increased online spending.From a loyalty perspective, in the fourth quarter we saw:The first-ever Prime Day...Read More

Understanding and messaging who is quarantining versus not is vastly important and doable. Simply put, pairing behavioral patterns with personalized messaging, typically observes 200% - 300% lift in response. That’s a number you don’t want to overlook!  At...Read More

Beginning in March 2020, rather than driving to the grocery store, families loaded up their online carts with bananas and bagels, and waited for delivery. Instead of heading to their favorite big box outdoor retailer, those in search of backyard relaxation hopped online and ordered the best...Read More

Most retailers have adapted to the most pressing challenges of COVID-19, finding impressive ways to pivot and stay afloat. However, not every business is adapting to the changed state of the market, or they’re focusing on acquisition and forgetting about current customer retention.Despite...Read More

These premium loyalty stats may come as a surprise, but this recent trend isn’t a new concept.People have been paying to be members of Amazon Prime since 2005. And they’ve loved the special benefits that come with membership.Although Amazon started the trend, premium loyalty...Read More

Artificial intelligence (AI) is growing in importance in the digital advertising world. According to Forbes, in 2019, the majority of marketers either planned to or used AI in their audience targeting (81%) and in their audience segmentation (80%). And for good reason: AI-supported media...Read More

Going into 2021, B2C companies are aware of the importance of using data to inform their marketing decisions, but might not know how to go about doing this. One of the first steps needs to be measuring the success of current marketing programs. Even this initial step can be daunting, which is why...Read More

The Internet of Things (IoT), at the heart of which sits any number of connected devices, presents new revenue opportunities for the telecoms industry. This presents a new challenge because capitalizing on it is exclusively a matter of generating revenue from data.While this isn’t complex...Read More

For over half a century, Les Mills has been on a mission to create a fitter planet. Yet rather than shaming people into fitness, its ethos is about helping people fall in love with activity and movement. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant treadmills have been turned off, spin bikes...Read More

It makes sense that we would want to understand who is out shopping versus who are quarantining and message them accordingly, but it’s not enough to have the data to do that. Follow these four tips to help ensure your campaign is COVID proof: Use Recent Data: First...Read More

For many of you, 2020 posed never-before-seen challenges that impacted almost every aspect of life.Retail included.Due to the pandemic, consumer behavior significantly shifted which led to increased online spending.From a loyalty perspective, in the fourth quarter we saw:The first-ever Prime Day...Read More

Last year we launched a Moving Forward Blog Series, where we asked major brands how they adapted to changing consumer expectations and how it impacted their perspective on customer loyalty during the pandemic.Here are the biggest takeaways from brands like The Giant Company, 1-800...Read More

To remain afloat in the midst of COVID-19, companies had no other choice but to make significant changes. This included accelerating their digital transformation so they could better address the needs of the market. As dramatic as these initial moves may have been, for many companies they...Read More

Forter Chief Marketing Officer Angela Whiteford recently sat down with Christina Callas, EVP, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) from Total Wine & More, to discuss how Total Wine has shifted their business approach amid COVID and positioned themselves, with help from Forter, for continued...Read More

Customer acquisition is all about getting as many high-value, in-market consumers in the door as possible and is arguably one of the most important initiatives for any business. It allows brands to build a client base, enable customer loyalty programs and minimize costs to increase...Read More

The idea of AIDA was immortalized by E. St. Elmo Lewis sometime in 1898. It was in that year that this Advertising Hall of Fame inductee first drew the world’s attention to the four fundamental mind-states that most buyers experience as they travel down marketing’s most sacrosanct...Read More

It's time to reflect on an unexpected year. Find highlights from 2020 below and here's looking forward to 2021!Read More

Even in the best of times, customers are capricious. Then throw in a pandemic to the mix…As restrictions waver and realities change, what an individual felt comfortable doing in the summer may not be an option now. Consequently, marketers have had to pivot on a moment’s notice...Read More

Fueled by accelerated digital transformation, the COVID-19 crisis has shifted CMOs’ focus on customer loyalty into overdrive. While Forrester predicts that spending on loyalty and retention marketing will increase by 30% in 2021.But the environment in which CMOs operate...Read More

Why is it so difficult to toss that dress or the shirt that you know you are not going to wear? Or give away that book that has been on the shelf forever, and you haven’t read? Why is it not easy to give up that job that you absolutely hate doing? Though you know that giving them up is the...Read More

By all accounts, it would make sense that when online shopping increases—as it’s currently doing at an exponential rate—so would ecommerce fraud.As online shopping continues to accelerate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts predict that retail sales will reach...Read More

If you’re like a lot of people, your morning doesn’t really start until you stop at your favorite coffee shop. You fumble around to find your customer loyalty punch card that gets you one purchase closer to a free drink. Or, maybe it’s managed through the shop’s app and...Read More

Consumer priorities are evolving and have done so faster and less predictively in 2020 than ever before. They are spending less time in physical venues such as stores, restaurants, and stadiums, avoiding crowds, and relying on digital channels to get what they need from a brand. These changing...Read More

2020 has been a year unlike any other.COVID-19 has changed people’s routines, habits, and most of all, our expectations.As a result, this paradigm has impacted retailers of all sizes.And as a retailer, it’s important that you identify these changes and adapt your go-to-market loyalty...Read More

As we approach 2021, it’s inevitable that third-party cookie deprecation and IDFA will fundamentally change the marketing ecosystem—for better or worse.But what do marketers think of these changes? And, more importantly, how are they preparing?Epsilon’s new research...Read More

Here to open this year’s #loyaltyexperts series is Bindu Gupta, Head of the Loyalty Strategy Consulting Team at Comarch. In the episode, not only does Bindu talk about the importance of instant gratification and how it’s different from constant gratification, but she so reveals why...Read More

Curbside pickup and contactless handoff have surged around the world. Find out how retailers can evolve their contactless experiences to create contactless loyalty. In the retail world, consumer behavior has drastically changed. Brick-and-mortar stores have...Read More

What a year!I think we’d all agree 2020 has thrown us for a loop.We use the term ‘disruption’ in business all the time, but I don’t think that term has ever been more relevant.From the shopping experience, to the supply chain, to the fulfillment, and the delivery, every...Read More

Consumers don’t just want personalized experiences when they engage with a brand; they expect them every time, regardless of the touchpoint or reason. If done well, highly personalized experiences lead to increased engagement and loyalty by delivering content and messages that connect every...Read More

Market research has proven to be the most crucial weapon in the product life-cycle. From the product’s birth to its last breath, it’s the people’s opinion that shapes its fate. Market research through a survey panel has become a common avenue for marketers and product managers...Read More

Consumers are fiercely loyal to their favorite brands. But it's just not the name or logo that matters. What's most important today is a brand’s ability to engage with relevant offers that appeal to consumers on a personal level.But unfortunately, there's a good chance your...Read More

With the holidays right around the corner, marketers are putting the final touches on their holiday campaigns. During Halloween, we learned that consumer spending in home décor greatly increased, as consumers were looking for ways to create holiday excitement with the modified celebrations and...Read More

You’re probably tired of reading about the negative impacts of 2020.Well, this isn’t about 2020!This is about 2021, which is on the horizon and we’re all hoping for it to be prosperous … personally and professionally.Retailers have absorbed revenue hits in 2020 and will...Read More

Curbside pickup and contactless delivery have surged around the world.  Find out how restaurants can evolve from contactless experiences to increased loyalty.  It’s an understatement to say the restaurant industry has been rocked by COVID-19. Typically relying on...Read More

Pandemic or not, customer loyalty comes first at Chipotle.Chipotle’s digital sales exceeded $1 billion for fiscal 2019, marking a 90% increase from fiscal 2018.Earlier this year, the Chipotle Rewards loyalty program had about 8.5 million members. That figure is noteworthy since Chipotle...Read More

In this time of third-party cookie deprecation, future-proof publisher identity solutions are crucial.Knowing this, we made the exciting decision to transfer ownership of our PubCommon ID’s technology to Prebid.org—an open-source community that helps publishers implement header...Read More

As an incredibly challenging 2020 draws to a close, retailers are looking ahead to 2021 with renewed hope for strengthening customer relationships and retaining loyalty.If you want to continue building loyalty post-pandemic, it’s going to take a new mindset to emerge stronger.So, what about...Read More

When the economy is foundering, companies look at short-term fixes of cutting budgets to save valuable cash. Historically, the first areas to get the axe are marketing, since the C-Suite may not truly understand the impact of these activities on overall revenue growth.But this strategy is too...Read More

Consumer privacy in digital advertising remains a hot topic that seems to evolve every day. Consumers increasingly care more and more about how their data is collected by brands, publishers, and social media sites to create personalized ad experiences. They want to be sure they have full...Read More

2020 has been the year of the customer data platform (CDP), and it’s easy to see why.The CDP market is projected to grow to over $10 billion by 2025, and according to Gartner, CDP technology companies have received more than $1.8 billion in VC funding. Why does this category have...Read More

Premium loyalty is on the rise.Amazon was one of the first to launch a premium loyalty program, Prime, back in 2005.With more than 150 million global members, Prime is now, arguably, the best loyalty program of all time.Other leading retailers have jumped on board with premium...Read More

With the winter holidays quickly approaching, more customers could be relying on digital tools—from mobile apps to websites—to do their shopping. That’s especially true for convenience retailers, many of whom saw a change in customers’ purchase habits and preferred payment...Read More

Many loyalty marketers have made the strategic argument for keeping customers engaged with brands in between purchase transactions and have found ways to recognize those interactions within loyalty program earning. And at Kobie, we know in order to have a more holistic view of your customer&rsquo...Read More

Marketers need to start looking at the overall customer experience (CX) management to get to a real understanding of return on experience (ROX) investments.We’ve been told repeatedly in the last few years that—much like content—customer experience (CX) is everything. That by...Read More

Brands today need more than a deep understanding of their customers—they need a way to leverage that understanding and turn it into growth. This has become increasingly challenging in the last year as consumer behaviors have undergone rapid change. Companies have numerous ways to gather...Read More

Turkey, travel and time with family are the hallmarks of a typical Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. Yet, despite 2020 being an atypical year, millions of Americans took to the airways and highways this past week in what became one of the busiest travel periods since the COVID-19 outbreak brought...Read More

This year will be remembered for many things and, hopefully, we won’t experience another one like it.For retailers, most have experienced a negative impact to their revenue lines.Many are trying to recover and focus on the impending holiday season.If you’re a retailer, use this...Read More

As the days grow ever shorter, the temperature creeps downwards and eggnog lattes replace pumpkin-spiced on the menu, it’s almost the start of the holiday season. With little respite between Black Friday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, and digitally savvy consumers who know...Read More

With Epsilon client YTD email volume up 9% over 2019 and Forrester predicting a 40% lift in digital marketing messages in 2021, you may ask yourself: “How can I increase sales and grab more revenue share from my competitors this holiday season when inboxes are already flooding with...Read More

In light of recent mass layoffs—namely, Disney theme parks, Carnival Cruise Line and MGM Resorts—one might assume the guest experience should take a backseat to financial imperatives. But in an increasingly challenging travel and leisure environment, where the guest experience has...Read More

Digital channels have always been a way for people to stay connected but in the time of COVID-19, they have become a lifeline to gather information, exchange ideas, share feelings, and ultimately foster a sense of belonging. Online communities continue to be a key channel and will likely gain a...Read More

Here’s a rundown of what brands should consider as they approach annual planning for the year ahead.Remember the plan you wrote last year to execute in 2020? And when you had to throw it out in March and take on the year a week at a time? 2020 has obviously been a year of challenges that no...Read More

In light of recent mass layoffs—namely, Disney theme parks, Carnival Cruise Line and MGM Resorts—one might assume the guest experience should take a backseat to financial imperatives. But in an increasingly challenging travel and leisure environment, where the guest experience has...Read More

Most brands focus their marketing energy at driving transactions. From years of experience, they know how to nudge a customer down the sales funnel with a well-timed discount offer or well-placed retargeted ad. However, these techniques are not as effective anymore...Read More

Today’s consumer landscape is vast, and your existing and potential customers likely have their fair share of choices for whatever product or service you are offering. If you want to effectively target your ideal consumers, you need to fully understand their wants and needs. This is where...Read More

In an update to our August survey, American shoppers continue to shop more frequently and report increasing feelings that avoiding stores is not important in slowing the spread of the Coronavirus.Editor’s Note (10/26/2020): This article includes findings from ICF’s COVID-19 Monitor...Read More

Key Highlights:The majority of consumers are concerned about fake news / misinformation, and believe that social media platforms have a responsibility to screen their posts.Consumers feel more negatively towards Facebook than positively; 42% are either using Facebook less or not at all.42% of...Read More

You say “Thank you”. What they hear is “Please accept my standard, HR protocol-approved format for acknowledging your most recent activity that was intended to bring me value. The act of expressing these words are purely my own in a personal capacity and the organization may not...Read More

This year will be remembered for many things and, hopefully, we won’t experience another one like it.For retailers, most have experienced a negative impact to their revenue lines.Many are trying to recover and focus on the impending holiday season.If you’re a retailer, use this...Read More

As recovery continues, guest preferences are clear via their rapid adoption of contactless technologies. Find out how travel brands can connect with their guests and move from contactless experiences to contactless loyalty in the new travel landscape.  The travel industry has been upended by...Read More

Customer retention rate is one of the most critical metrics for measuring your company’s success and growth potential. We’ll explain how to calculate it, what other metrics to evaluate alongside it, and how to use those insights to maximize the retention rate of your brand. However...Read More

It’s been nearly 300 day since officials confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. In that time, the country has undergone shutdowns, reopenings, and everything in between as the government and health experts have grappled with how best to combat the novel coronavirus.PDI...Read More

Defining the segments for a campaign or promotional offer is one of the most fundamental marketing tasks. But the traditional approach to segmentation isn’t all that effective…It typically relies heavily on assumptions and trial-and-error. The marketer must determine – based on...Read More

Peter in sales closes more deals every month than his peers. What do you think can be the reason? Is it intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation, or is there some other reason behind this? As his supervisor, you may think it’s the incentive that’s doing the trick. But Peter&rsquo...Read More

Pressures stemming from COVID-19 have made consumers more selective in where they shop, as they put greater value on personal safety and face tighter budgets. In today's economy, loyalty will be a major deciding factor, since a majority of consumers say they're more selective and...Read More

With 79% of the world using contactless payments, now’s the time for Financial Services brands to explore how to build contactless loyalty. New fintech companies had been slowly eroding the necessity of in-person interactions at banks—but the...Read More

Since the pandemic hit the U.S. in March, there has been a massive shift toward e-commerce, which has turned the shopping pyramid on its head.According to data from IBM’s U.S. Retail Index, the pandemic has accelerated the shift away from physical stores to digital shopping by roughly...Read More

Did you know that you can have a conversation with &pizza? Not just about a support issue or to order a pizza — you can do those too — but you could just text them to say hi or see how they’re doing. It’s just one of the ways &pizza uses technology to connect with...Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shifted daily routines, forcing business leaders to react quickly to adapt engagement strategies and support for employees and customers. Almost immediately, hundreds of thousands of support agents and customer service representatives transitioned to working...Read More

New members are the lifeblood of a loyalty program. But getting a customer to enroll is just the first step in what should become a long and lucrative relationship. How are you leveraging your loyalty program and marketing tactics to encourage new members to return for a 2nd, 3rd or more...Read More

For brands, it’s a good time to have a mobile app. In Q3 this year alone, consumers spent $28 billion on apps and clocked more than 180 billion hours using apps each month in July, August, and September. A significant driver of the pandemic app surge is Apple’s App Store, which...Read More

Transactions start with online merchants but behind the scenes they flow through other parties including payment providers and banks. Each of these players uses a different fraud solution which pulls information from their own internal data sets. The decentralization and lack of comprehensive...Read More

Our latest webinar, Loyalty Marketing Strategies to Win More Customers in 2021, was held October 7, 2020. We didn’t have time to answer all of the questions from our audience, so we’re continuing the conversation and providing answers to some of these questions below. ...Read More

In the past decade, DTC brands have shaken up the rules of traditional retail—and to say DTC is continuing to gain momentum is nothing short of a gross understatement.Simply put, DTC is here to stay.  Source: Wall Street Journal The DTC movement, pioneered by brands...Read More

Loyalty programs attract more executive attention than almost any other marketing initiative. If you have a points program, liability will be an often-revisited conversation. If you include discounts or introductory offers, questions of margin erosion and cannibalization will follow. And, during...Read More

The marketing technology landscape has grown by a whopping 5233% over the last 9 years, according to website Chiefmartec.com.  Since 2011, the site has been annually releasing its MarTech landscape supergraphic, a visual representation of the thousands of marketing technology...Read More

As we (finally) barrel towards the end of 2020, marketers across industries are bracing for what’s to come of a pandemic-laden holiday season. In order to thrive, marketers need to get strategic and focused with their digital holiday campaigns.While industries like retail and travel are...Read More

  As the leading trade association dedicated to customer loyalty and engagement activities, Loyalty360 is always looking for ways to help its members refine their programs and activities. Mark Johnson, CEO of Loyalty360, asked various members how the Loyalty360 association can help in...Read More

Mobile Payments functionality allows users to store there their favorite form of payment and use it during the in-store journey or when they would like to pay for fuel directly at the pump. It's not easy to draw any positives from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, one of the...Read More

New members are the lifeblood of a loyalty program. But getting a customer to enroll is just the first step in what should become a long and lucrative relationship. How are you leveraging your loyalty program and marketing tactics to encourage new members to return for a 2nd, 3rd or more...Read More

It’s hard to believe it’s been six months since COVID-19 took center stage in our lives (although some days it feels like it’s been years, right?). Since March we’ve been tracking consumer opinion and brand sentiment from more than 35,000 respondents in an effort to...Read More

Krispy Kreme has been serving hand-crafted doughnuts and fresh coffee to UK shoppers since 2003, with over 118 standalone stores and 1,000 cabinets with retail partners. In July 2020, Krispy Kreme launched their redesigned and replatformed loyalty program using HTK’s Horizon PlusPoint...Read More

Loyalty360 is always looking for feedback from its members on what it can do from an association standpoint to help and assist its members in servicing customers. Mark Johnson, CEO of Loyalty360 recently spoke with various leaders in the industry and one of the questions he asked them was about...Read More

2020 has been marked by unprecedented global changes. The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has forever altered how individuals and businesses approach their day-to-day activities. For those in the commerce space, e-commerce activity has seen consumer volumes fluctuate considerably. Surges...Read More

We’re all talking about it. Digital Transformation.  The problem is, if you don’t take the time to talk about the end goals at the start of the digital transformation journey, you’re setting your business up for disappointment.  Businesses should approach ...Read More

Although membership loyalty seems like a new trend, the fact is it has been around for many years.In retail, warehouse clubs have been using membership models for years.Costco and BJ’s have built their respective businesses around charging their customers a fee for access to discounts and...Read More

Customer retention in marketing has long taken a back seat to acquisition. Now higher customer expectations, changing business objectives and a fluctuating economy are causing many brands to make it a priority. As marketers place a greater focus on their customer retention strategies, we’re...Read More

Apple’s recent iOS 14 IDFA announcement, which followed Google’s January third-party cookie deprecation announcement, has made industry waves. It is the latest change in the clear trend of identifier deprecation that started in 2017, and will likely accelerate in the coming...Read More

Loyalty360 is always looking for feedback from its members on what it can do from an association standpoint to help and assist its members in servicing customers. Mark Johnson, CEO of Loyalty360 recently spoke with various leaders in the industry and one of the questions he asked them was about...Read More

COVID-19 has changed retail in an unimaginable way.Loyalty was hard before, but consumer shopping behaviors have changed along with expectations.If your goal is to continue building loyalty post-pandemic, it’s going to take a new mindset to emerge stronger.   Read More

Somber piano music plays and the camera pan across empty streets.We see Zoom calls taking place in makeshift home offices. Virtual happy hours with family and friends.The voiceover begins.“In these uncertain times…” “For over 60 years, we have been with you...Read More

There are several compliance laws and regulations at the state and federal level that many businesses could be violating without knowing it. Issues surrounding Do Not Call, Do Not Email, Do Not Text and Do Not Mail are important topics of discussion among marketers as Telephone Consumer...Read More

Many retailers have increased their adoption of contactless checkout in an effort to follow social distancing guidelines, especially in sports stadiums across the United States. Joe Scioscia, vice president of sales at VAI, discusses why checkout-free and remote order entry systems are taking...Read More

The last several months have taught businesses that the current environment of remote work isn’t going away any time soon. While the initial move was swift and left a lot of companies to fix environmental and technology issues post-transition, many are now faced with the challenge of...Read More

We asked leaders in brand loyalty and customer experience, "If marketers (your clients) weren't tied to existing constraints (financial or situational), how should they consider customer loyalty going forward?" Thanks to our members from PK, Clarus Commerce, and Jebbit for...Read More

Some of the most effective marketing happens when consumers are so engaged that they don't realize they're being marketed to. That's why many successful brands have turned to gamification, or behavioral economics. It can better engage customers in fun ways, and in the process...Read More

In this week’s episode of the Red Shoes Living Podcast, Lonnie Mayne talks with former world record holder and Olympian, Willie Banks.  Willie talks with us about how to be a renaissance individual and leader. Every day starts with gratitude for Willie. His...Read More

2020 jolted us into reevaluating in-person interactions—from shopping to socializing to completely restructuring the workplace. Creating customer loyalty has always been a challenge for brands, even during face-to-face interactions. Absent of those interactions, what are brands left with? ...Read More

With many summer getaways put on hold due to ongoing restrictions and unclear travel booking advice, and another holiday season just around the corner, many people are asking the same question – when can we expect any sense of travel normality to return? There is both positive and negative...Read More

In your quest to target high-value customers, are you leaving a lot of potential revenue on the table? You may not think so, but our recent report, Brand Loyalty 2020: The Need for Hyper-Individualization, shows that there are some significant opportunities to better engage some overlooked...Read More

Customer experience (CX) can make or break an organizationCompetition among businesses for customers has never been fiercer, with customer loyalty as the top prize. A true focus on CX means involving many departments and teams – and without a unified, organization-wide approach, CX can...Read More

When the pandemic hit the US back in March, the world changed overnight. Industries that relied on in-person interaction needed to figure out how to navigate this new normal while retaining customers. One industry hit hard was retail, which had been experiencing a period of reinvention for some...Read More

We asked leaders in brand loyalty and customer experience two questions: 1. "What is coming up on your roadmap, and how are you developing the roadmap?" 2. "How do we continue to increase customer loyalty?" In this video, Loyalty360 features: Len Covello, Engage Todd...Read More

The launch of Walmart+ happened today, but Amazon was one of the first to launch a premium loyalty program, Prime, back in 2005.With more than 150 million members, Prime is now, arguably, the best loyalty program of all time.Since 2005 we’ve seen a steady trend of other...Read More

I recently had the chance to sit down with Gary Penn, Global VP of Digital and E-Commerce at Nixon, to discuss some of the lessons he and his team quickly learned over the last few months as the world of retail changed, and how they’re planning for the upcoming holiday shopping season....Read More

Defining success for any vision begins with asking, “What does success look like?” As with any good strategy, we begin the year with a clear set of objectives and key results to measure along the way. When change happens, whether through unforeseen circumstances like COVID-19 or...Read More

 Demand for telehealth set to soar 65%. $250b to shift to telehealth after COVID-19. Telehealth forecasted to grow sevenfold by 2025. Telehealth claim lines increased 4,347% nationally.These are just some of the headlines highlighting the dramatic change underway in healthcare. COVID-19 has...Read More

With today’s desire to create customer-obsessed, hyper-personalized experiences, it’s getting harder to deliver value to our best consumers. The challenge is in aligning customer needs to business objectives, which requires prioritizing a digital transformation from within and...Read More

Like it or not, customer loyalty is changingDue to heavy investment in the customer experience by a handful of market leaders, consumers have increasingly raised their expectations of brands over the past several years. Today, they expect more convenience, greater relevance and better value than...Read More

  From health alarms to adjusting to working from home to greater social awareness, we’re all seeing the impact of COVID-19 in both subtle and stark ways. Similarly, the way the world invests and moves money in our global capital markets will also see both nuanced and real...Read More

As a retailer, you want high customer retention rates and loyal customers who shop regularly.And your customers want your brand to recognize them in a personalized way. They want to feel a sense of belonging. They want to know that you understand them.But loyalty is harder than ever before.Nearly...Read More

Digital transformation goes hand in hand with a change in a company's thinking, culture, and leadership. It's about welcoming innovation and embracing technology, new business models, and working practices to deliver greater customer value.   Through digital transformation, you...Read More

To inspire Americans to help “flatten the curve,” public health officials can find support in surprising places.Changing behavior is not easy. ICF Next’s social marketing team tackles this challenge every day, developing and executing campaigns and programs that aim to help...Read More

We asked leaders in brand loyalty and customer experience, “How do you believe this crisis and uncertainty will impact overall customer experience and/or customer loyalty?” In this video, Loyalty360 features: Aaron Roy, Wami Rick Boubelik, Epsilon Rupa Rajopadhye, IRIS...Read More

The right social media management strategy has never been a bigger challenge for today’s brands. The human need for connection is especially critical when we are faced with a crisis such as the current health pandemic. Social media is one of the ways a brand’s customers can connect...Read More

From the way we get our hair cut to the way we shop to the way companies do business, COVID-19 has forced everyone to change the way they operate, including convenience retailers. In this video, Greg Phillips, vice president of account management for PDI Marketing Cloud Solutions, walks us...Read More

Using data is a great way to tell a story. Be careful it doesn’t tell the wrong one.In today’s world, data has become a critical component of our professional and personal daily lives. It helps us decide where to buy a home, what advice we give our children, and what location to visit...Read More

We asked leaders in brand loyalty and customer experience, "There is a great deal of focus on Zero (Declared) party data, how are you advising clients / prospective clients on best practices?" Thanks to our members from Jebbit, Clarus Commerce, PK, and Cheetah Digital for...Read More

Today’s consumers are fiercely loyal to their favorite brands, but the competition for that loyalty is just as fierce. In our recent survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers, we found that over half (58%) are more loyal to brands than they were five years ago. This consumer loyalty translates...Read More

Online e-commerce has become a mainstream part of life amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Every retailer has had to quickly adapt their business approach to find creative ways to meet the unforeseen challenges that the COVID-19 virus has presented.  Merchants have been forced to consider how...Read More

At first blush, quickly capturing important business information with data visualization seems like a clear-cut illustration of the phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words.” A well-designed visualization can show key insights at a glance that would take a page of prose in a report...Read More

In these unprecedented times, and as coronavirus prompts epic social and economic transformation, communication is more critical than ever. Not only what we communicate, but how we communicate can make the difference between understanding and chaos — between having our voices heard and...Read More

Leena Iyar is the chief brand officer at Moxtra, where she is responsible for all aspects of the company’s marketing efforts, including strategy, brand awareness, growth marketing, public relations and customer communications. She is a graduate of King’s College London and resides in...Read More

At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, consumer shopping behavior changed dramatically -- widespread ‘panic buying’ ensued, brand names became less important and more people turned to ecommerce. In fact, 76 percent of people said they were adjusting their shopping habits as the pandemic...Read More

As COVID-19 cases surge across the country, American frequent travelers recognize the importance of public health measures—but feel more pessimistic about future travel and the trajectory of the pandemic.Editor’s Note (8/24/2020): This article includes findings from ICF’s fifth...Read More

We asked leaders in brand loyalty and customer experience, “Can you give us an overview of your customer loyalty offering, and how it is unique to the market?” In this video, Loyalty360 features: Kim Welther, Baesman Carlos Dunlap-Beard, Clarus Commerce Martie Beller, Kobie Guy...Read More

Amid a changing global commerce climate where optimized omnichannel experiences are more important than ever, merchants must ensure that they have an efficient Buy Online Pickup In Store (BOPIS) / curbside pickup workflow in place. BOPIS and curbside pickups and returns have become critical...Read More

When was the last time you used your phone to make an in-store purchase? If you’re from the U.S., the likelihood that you are now using some form of contactless payment, such as tap-to-go credit cards and mobile wallets, has skyrocketed. Since the onset of COVID-19, half of all...Read More

Every customer you attract costs money, and getting the balance right between how much you pay to attract a customer, and how much that customer is worth to your business is one of the most important ones to get right. In this guide, we look at CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) and how you can...Read More

When I say, “government customer service,” what do you think of first? Standing in line at your local registry of motor vehicles? Waiting on hold to speak to someone about your unemployment payment? Or maybe it’s the ease with which you were able to file your taxes online this...Read More

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) climate has changed the retail landscape. Merchants that once had a store-first approach are in the middle of an accelerated process in which buyers are switching from purchasing both “essential” and “non-essential” products from physical...Read More

We asked, "What will Loyalty look like in 2025? How should we as an industry be looking at / making moves to get to what that envisioned future will be?." Thanks to our members from PK, Formation, Clarus Commerce, Red Shoes Living, and Brierley for participating! Loyalty360 is...Read More

The automotive industry has long maintained a complicated relationship with the internet. An acceleration of efforts to shift to digital retailing, due in part to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, is seeking to resolve the complications. That is the key finding of recent research, "...Read More

Companies across the world buttoned up their business plans and growth projections nearly a year ago in anticipation of the possibilities a new decade would bring for organizations, employees and clients. Entering the “roaring twenties” brought hope, but little did we know that many...Read More

No one can argue that the words “customer experience” have taken on a new definition among the challenges of COVID-19. We now live in a changed world where digital channels are no longer a choice, data is king and business models have been completely transformed. Trends and...Read More

Customer behavioral data has become a high-value asset to marketing teams, brands and companies large and small. But what exactly are they all doing with this data? One common use is behavioral segmentation, a segmentation strategy that enables marketing to customers based on their...Read More

Marketing organizations have been working for decades on personalization strategies that resonate with consumers and make them feel like valued individuals. For many B2C brands, classic personalization has been applying simple forms of data like email, name, address, or recent purchases into...Read More

Loyalty programs are exceptionally lucrative revenue channels for airlines. In fact, for some, they are the most profitable aspect of the business. The benefits of loyalty schemes are twofold for travel companies. Recognition is a powerful motivator for consumers, especially for frequent...Read More

Survey results, customer reviews, social media mentions, oh my. It’s a feedback-driven world, and our brands are just living in it.The days of relying on a great product or service to do your branding are behind us, which is why acquiring all types of feedback is important...Read More

Finding the perfect symbol for your business is a task worth doing well. Here’s what to consider as you design your first company logo.What is a logo?From the golden arches of McDonalds to the Mercedes-Benz three-point star, logos are ubiquitous in the modern world.Logos are symbols that...Read More

While we’ve all had a good laugh at the many memes illustrating the dumpster fire 2020 has become, the reality is that this year has brought a fundamental shift in consumer behavior that is here to stay.  With all of the chaos 2020 has brought us — a global...Read More

If you’re thinking about loyalty program design, these are some of the questions you’re considering:What should your program look like?Who should be involved in the process?How do you make sure your customers will like it?How can you ensure your organization can execute on it?Where...Read More

Having a robust digital presence is unquestionably critical for any consumer brand. As digital technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, consumer expectations of brands’ digital experiences evolve along with it. Those brands who invest in their mobile technology and focus on the...Read More

Welcome to Loyalty360’s Top 10 Leaders in Customer Loyalty Video Series! Loyalty360 is producing a video series where we seek timely insight, analysis, and best practices from recognized and well-respected thought leaders and Loyalty360 supplier members focused on customer, channel, and...Read More

Customers love high tech, but they sometimes don’t love their experiences with it. However, when tech companies get experience management (XM) right, they’re richly rewarded. Here’s what you need to know...  1. With XM, you’ll predict and resolve problems - not...Read More

Consumerism is rapidly becoming a driving force in healthcare. According to one survey, consumerism was second only to industry consolidation as most top of mind for healthcare professionals. While healthcare consumerism may be topical, there’s still a lack of consensus as to what it...Read More

In Texas, the state’s largest city is carefully getting back to business. And the responsibility for educating the public and helping slow the spread of the coronavirus falls to the Houston Health Department. Technology-enabled contact tracing is key to that effort.Tracking...Read More

Brands around the country, particularly those doing business in California, knew 2020 would be a challenging year long before the coronavirus pandemic ever hit American soil. The minute the clock struck midnight on January 1, marketing departments around the country were sent into a flurry of...Read More

Online food ordering and delivery have been gaining ground for years now but have witnessed a recent boom due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Many restaurants around the world are still closed, and even with terraces open, restauranteurs have to find additional business opportunities to survive...Read More

  In a recent 2020 study from Gartner, 68% of CMOs expect their investments in marketing technology to increase in the next 12 months. This is significant considering that marketing technology already captures a notable 26.2% of marketing budgets. So while we’re still riding the...Read More

If your business is competing on customer experience, chances are you’re collecting customer feedback. But how well is that feedback really serving your organisation and your customers?Feedback is hugely valuable – if you know what’s delighting your customers, you can double...Read More

Information around COVID-19 is a moving target with updates coming out several times a day. Once business travel starts up again, there will be restrictions and new procedures travelers will need to think about, and directives may vary depending on where the traveler is going to...Read More

In this episode of the Red Shoes Living podcast, Lonnie Mayne and Dr. Daisy Robinton discuss what it takes to navigate and to truly bear witness to what. We are all going through during these incredibly challenging times. Dr. Robinton talks about the science of what is happening to the human...Read More

We’re all consumers of service. It’s something that each of us can identify with – we have ALL had both good service experiences and some that weren’t as good. And for those of us in the customer service industry, we can empathize, because we know just how difficult it can...Read More

More than 60% of workers say they’d feel uncomfortable returning to a workplace right nowThree out of five people who switched to remote work during the pandemic said they prefer working at home to working in an officeAlmost 9 out of 10 employees want the flexibility to work from...Read More

The recession caused by the great lockdown is creeping into consumers' habits, and you might see its effects on your business everywhere. A sudden drop in purchases. Abysmal order numbers. Or your customers stopped using your service during the quarantine, and they just don’t seem to...Read More

In the fall of 1960, The Andy Griffith Show on CBS introduced Andy Taylor and his lovable sidekick Barney Fife to American audiences. Like many U.S. cities at the time, the tiny, fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina prominently featured a local market or general store called Crowley’s...Read More

Loyalty360’s Throwback Thursday video series brings together several of the best responses from Loyalty360 member thought leaders on recent topics, trends, and discussions. In this video, we asked, "If you could ask a competitor or brand one question about customer loyalty what...Read More

Some of you might remember that last year, in partnership with the Purpose Disruptors, Iris launched a project called 'Create and Strike'. Our aim was to bring the climate crisis to the forefront of our industry conversations. Since then, we've been working internally and with...Read More

Sebastian McClintock, Director of Customer Experience from Delivery Hero shares how customer insights are driving real-time shifts to business strategy during the current pandemic and setting the company up for the “new normal.”Delivery Hero, an online food delivery service...Read More

Loyalty programs should be one of the cornerstones of any effective marketing strategy. According to Accenture's recent study found that “members of loyalty programs generate between 12 to 18% [higher] incremental revenue growth per year than non-members.” But not all...Read More

Our latest webinar, The New Normal: Reinventing Grocery Retail Loyalty Programs, was held May 27, 2020. We received such a large number of questions from the audience that we didn’t have time to answer them all – so we’re continuing the conversation and providing...Read More

Most marketers see data as the primary impediment to targeted marketing -- and with good reason. Data can be unwieldy, challenging to collect and even more difficult to organize across channels.Data presents very real challenges to marketers, but a recent survey by Iterable. found that...Read More

Welcome to Loyalty360’s Top 10 Leaders in Customer Loyalty Video Series! Loyalty360 is producing a video series where we seek timely insight, analysis, and best practices from recognized and well-respected thought leaders and Loyalty360 supplier members focused on customer, channel, and...Read More

We’ve talked at length about how to do better email marketing. We have white papers on improving deliverability and sender reputation. Granular data reports in conjunction with industry thought leaders surveying thousands of consumers on what encourages them to engage. All supplemented...Read More

Prefer to watch instead? Diva shares how to engage employees in this video.Recently I’ve been ideating with a couple of enterprise brands around how to engage their internal audience. With entire workforces working remotely and some consumer-focused efforts being put on hold, these...Read More

Does anyone recognize the image above? This is the Tibet Road on the border of Tibet and China, one of the most treacherous roads in the world. It represents the traditional customer journey map brands try to create with their customers. Long and winding, it’s a grind to make it to the...Read More

Amazon just announced that Prime Day is delayed to October.Since 2015, Amazon Prime Day has served as a holiday in July for millions of consumers who want great deals and are members of the company’s premium loyalty program.Prime Day serves as the summer equivalent of Black Friday and...Read More

One of the most important actions Beiersdorf Australia made in response to COVID-19 was to quickly deploy a customer sentiment tracker to understand how people are feeling and behaving during the pandemic. Two months later the international skincare company, which includes brands like NIVEA...Read More

Chad Warren, VP of Marketing at MRM shares how B2B brands can shift from a traditional to a digital business model, including how to rethink the B2B buyer's journey.Chad was joined by Clay Warren, Head of Digital CX at Qualtrics.  Hear the full interview Digital leaders achieve 5x...Read More

Millions of customers use messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to keep in touch with friends and family, yet when it comes to customer service and support, their first instinct is still to pick up the phone. Part of this has to do with long ingrained behavior, but the other part...Read More

The recipe for loyalty success seems simple enough: Identify customer pain points and address them in a way that makes their lives better.AMC is a brand that executes against this method extremely well. Here’s a look at AMC Theatres’ loyalty program and why it’s such a hit with...Read More

Steve Gustavson, Chief Creative Director from Adobe shares insights from how Adobe transformed their 20,000 in-person marketing summit in Las Vegas to a 100% virtual event and how brands can prepare for virtual events while maintaining a great customer experience in the “new...Read More

Did you know that a loyalty increase of 7% can boost lifetime profits per customer by as much as 85%?It’s no wonder that loyalty management is such a hot topic among retailers today.If you’re in retail, you’re thinking about it. But loyalty management is also a complex...Read More

Loyalty360’s Throwback Thursday video series brings together several of the best responses from Loyalty360 member thought leaders on recent topics, trends, and discussions. In this video, we asked, "What are you hearing from your loyalty clients as their concerns around some of...Read More

As companies across industries face unique challenges from the pandemic, there’s a common theme in their response: embrace digital. In this rapidly changing environment, just about every organization and industry has needed to ramp up its digital capabilities. For instance, we found a...Read More

As COVID-19 continues its path of destruction and disruption across the United States, how can agencies best serve constituents in their time of need?The COVID-19 pandemic has tested and amplified the public sector’s preparedness for a public health crisis. Public sector agencies whose...Read More

How “house of brands” loyalty programs can create marketing efficiency while fostering deeper customer relationships.It’s no secret that consolidation has been the name of the game for players in a number of industries over the past decade. Airlines, hotel brands, restaurants...Read More

Welcome to Loyalty360’s Top 10 Leaders in Customer Loyalty Video Series! Loyalty360 is producing a video series where we seek timely insight, analysis, and best practices from recognized and well-respected thought leaders and Loyalty360 supplier members focused on customer, channel, and...Read More

What does modern marketing look like?There are few people - if any - in the world better placed to answer this question than Seth Godin. As the author of 19 best-sellers - including This is Marketing - and pioneer of commercial email, when Seth Godin talks people listen.According...Read More

In an unprecedented time, the travel industry has no option but to look to the future to re-emerge.  As marketers, why do we always look to the past to inform our future, seeking out precedents and playbooks to help us accelerate out of a trough and avoid stepping on landmines? For a start,...Read More

Keeping your existing customers engaged - let alone reaching new ones - is one of the biggest challenges facing many brands in today’s uncertain times. Traditional engagement channels are limited, or have disappeared entirely, while customer behaviors, preferences, and...Read More

In the Loyalty360 Thought Leadership series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel, and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Carlos Dunlap-Beard, VP of...Read More

Welcome to Loyalty360’s Top 10 Leaders in Customer Loyalty Video Series! Loyalty360 is producing a video series where we seek timely insight, analysis, and best practices from recognized and well-respected thought leaders and Loyalty360 supplier members focused on customer, channel, and...Read More

As the world faces new challenges created by an unprecedented global crisis, many businesses are waking up to the reality that business change can happen anywhere, at any time. And while organizations may not be able to control crises, what they can do is ensure they’re prepared to...Read More

Loyalty360’s Throwback Thursday video series brings together several of the best responses from Loyalty360 member thought leaders on recent topics, trends, and discussions. In this video, we asked, "What do you think is the next big thing for customer loyalty/customer experience?"...Read More

The following article was originally published in Adweek here The novel coronavirus pandemic has ravaged many retailers in the U.S., leaving some legacy organizations announcing bankruptcies and others reeling from layoffs.However, some consumers are starting to feel as though we&rsquo...Read More

How much do you feel supported during the crisis? That’s the customer data every company needs during the crisis, but very few have. With its own customers feeling pressure, and with traditional interactions scrambled, enterprise software leader Red Hat needed a metric it could act on:...Read More

In the Loyalty360 Thought Leadership series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Melissa West, Director of...Read More

Even though some states are reopening, many consumers are still taking a wait and see approach to getting on with life as we used to know it. Shopping habits have likely been changed forever. Consumers are shopping less but more in bulk and, neighborhood c-stores have become the go-to place for...Read More

Originally published on Forbes.As many parts of the U.S. loosen their COVID-19 restrictions, many businesses are heading into the Explore phase, the first of three phases of recovery that I’ve previously defined. To understand the consumer mindset entering into this new phase...Read More

Welcome to our Top 10 Leaders Series! Loyalty360 is producing a video series where we seek timely insight, analysis, and best practices from recognized and well-respected thought leaders in customer, channel, and brand loyalty. These responses will address the challenges and opportunities...Read More

In the Loyalty360 Thought Leadership series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel, and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Rupa Rajopadhye, VP of...Read More

Flashback to 1978. A group of friends gathered around a Space Invaders machine, accidentally spilling Pepsi on the floor due to excitement.Their buddy is about to get those last few points that will let him enter his three initials on screen. There it will be known that he is the best in town...Read More

Loyalty360’s Throwback Thursday video series brings together several of the best responses from Loyalty360 member thought leaders on recent topics, trends, and discussions. In this episode we asked, “How do you define customer loyalty? Do you think that definition is consistent to...Read More

As we continue our content series on how brands are managing the business curve of COVID-19, we explore how leading CPG brands are seizing the opportunity to emerge from COVID-19’s disruption more relevant—and more human—than ever before.A “walk the talk&rdquo...Read More

Financial institutions were in a unique position at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis. Here’s how they responded and what the implications are for an industry slow to change.The COVID-19 crisis has brought about a uniquely devastating mix of challenges for the global consumer, ...Read More

When COVID-19 hit, many Vancity employees saw their workload skyrocket, said Tony Xu, Research Consultant for the Canadian credit union.The global pandemic affected not only Vancity employees — many of whom were suddenly working from home while simultaneously caring for children and elderly...Read More

Building customer loyalty has always been challenging. And with today’s uncertain environment, strategies for forging loyal bonds with current and future customers are more critical than ever.  Businesses that have had to temporarily shut their doors must focus on winning back...Read More

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel and tourism industry faces an unprecedented crisis. Like any unforeseen situation, the challenge is not the circumstance itself, but how brands navigate their way out of it. The industry will re-enter into a different world from the one it left behind only...Read More

Welcome to our Top 10 Leaders Series! Loyalty360 is producing a video series where we seek timely insight, analysis, and best practices from recognized and well-respected thought leaders in customer, channel, and brand loyalty. In this week's episode, we asked, "If you could give one or...Read More

Adobe Target is a marketer’s dream, enabling users to deliver tests and personalization without complex and costly code changes. But many organizations fail to use Target to its full potential. They struggle with not knowing where to start, internal politics, or not seeing improved...Read More

Loyalty360’s Throwback Thursday video series brings together several of the best responses from Loyalty360 member thought leaders on recent topics, trends, and discussions. In this episode we asked, “What is the biggest challenge and/or opportunity you are seeing regarding customer...Read More

She had never seen numbers like this before. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit and businesses were increasingly locking down, longtime customer experience leader Laura Messerschmitt, GoDaddy’s VP of Customer Experience, was responsible for gauging the impact on GoDaddy’s 19M...Read More

In recent years, there has been a growing need for companies to design digital experiences that are accessible and inclusive for all audiences. Join ICF Next Partners Anne Catherine Feeney and Jane Motz Hayes for pro advice on how to exceed project expectations while navigating accessibility from...Read More

As organizations adapt to the ‘new normal’, page through these books to inspire you with ideas on how to bounce back stronger.1. Grit: The Power of Passion and PerseveranceBy Angela DuckworthThis New York Times bestseller follows on from Duckworth’s viral TED Talk. In its pages...Read More

Welcome to our Top 10 Leaders Series! Loyalty360 is producing a video series where we seek timely insight, analysis, and best practices from recognized and well-respected thought leaders in customer, channel, and brand loyalty. In this week's episode, we asked, "How are you helping your...Read More

Welcome to our Top 10 Leaders Series! Loyalty360 is producing a video series where we seek timely insight, analysis, and best practices from recognized and well-respected thought leaders in customer, channel, and brand loyalty. These responses will address the challenges and opportunities...Read More

Urgent actions are required in a post COVID-19 marketing environment   In a study conducted by Voice of the Customer, LLC, consumer perceptions of retail brands are directly compared to those of the brand’s loyalty program, uncovering a highly discriminant basis for prediction of...Read More

In a study on identity resolution from Forrester Consulting commissioned by Epsilon, Forrester found that, at best, only half of brands are capable of fundamental identity resolution capabilities, like finding customers across devices, controlling messaging frequency and building a unified...Read More

COVID-19 has only served to spotlight the impact that digital experiences have on all aspects of our lives, especially when it comes to building out customer experiences with loyalty in mind. The current business reality, stemming from unprecedented global events, is forcing companies that...Read More

Seemingly every day, digital marketplaces create both new challenges and opportunities to connect with customers on a meaningful level. This goes the same for B2B customers as it does for B2C consumers, as more and more of today’s B2B buyers expect the same experience whether shopping for...Read More

Growing customer expectations are forcing businesses to “up their game” regarding how they might facilitate a more fluid and interactive communication cadence with their customers. It is now more important than ever for a business to consider how they can digitally streamline...Read More

Most U.S. states are making plans to reopen as the country struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But as governments and businesses move forward, the question remains: Are Americans ready?And perhaps more importantly: What do they need to feel ready?  We asked more than 2,000 U.S....Read More

In order to be successful and effective, companies must design digital experiences that are accessible, and inclusive of all audiences.  Inclusivity drives participationAccessibility has become high on the priority list for many companies in 2020. Why? Because so many corporations before...Read More

The sudden emergence and threat of COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we live and the way we do business. In some cases, organizations have been able to shift online, but many others have had to close their doors. No matter where companies fall on this spectrum, there are safe and...Read More

In the last few weeks we have seen that a lot of what we did in physical spaces can be done online: exercising, visiting museums, watching concerts, and wandering around national parks to name a few. Most of it for free too. But when we eventually get over this surreal moment, will we want to go...Read More

We don’t know the exact timetable, but if we believe recovery is closer rather than further away, these key considerations might help us prepare for the hard decisions ahead.As COVID-19 and its impacts on businesses continues to take center-stage, executives and key decision-makers across...Read More

The COVID-19 crisis abruptly changed our buying behaviors and attitudes as we adjusted to new routines. With many areas of the country seeing a lift in restrictions, Social Media Link asked 5,800 consumers as part of our ongoing research series (Index 1, Index 2) to share their current brand...Read More

I’ve studied human behavior for decades, examining how people respond to their environment as customers, employees, and leaders. Humans are amazingly resilient—for the good and bad. Even after facing disruptive events such as an epidemic or a recession, people tend to revert to their...Read More

Mitigating the customer impact of COVID-19 will require steady brand leadership and empathy – learn what it takes to weather the storm and come out ahead on the other side. For brands and customers, we are living through an extraordinary moment of change and disruption. We all feel it...Read More

Given the current situation with COVID-19, businesses are facing uncertainty and have more questions than ever around the pricing of existing and new products. Typically, companies would engage in research (i.e. surveys, interviews and focus groups) with their customers to help answer...Read More

In this rapidly changing environment, opinions, attitudes, and behaviors are evolving almost daily. Social Media Link has tapped our direct access to millions of consumers to keep a pulse on consumer sentiment throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Our second wave of data emphasizes changing trends that...Read More

How do you stand out in the crowded insurance market? It’s a question that brands across the world are asking themselves, including Scandinavian giant Tryg.The rise of comparison sites in the last 5 years has seen the industry often reduced to a single number: how much are your premiums...Read More

“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages.&rdquo...Read More

Customer Care Managers are used to dealing with regular surges in demand. Most customer care centers (also referred to as contact centers) have an established process, planned months in advance to ensure they cope adequately and maintain the customer experience. The stakes are high...Read More

What is happening now in retail will determine the rules of the “New Normal.”Perhaps more than any other segment, retail brands came into the COVID-19 crisis in a particularly difficult position. Despite a decade-long economic surge in the U.S. and across the globe, retail has been...Read More

Anytime we encounter events like volcanos, hurricanes, earthquakes and even pandemics like COVID-19, there’s a moment of pause. For many, it’s in our nature to want to assess the situation, gather information and then take decisive actions. However, if that pause turns into more of a...Read More

Brands around the world have found themselves having to ramp up their digital efforts seemingly overnight. Here’s how brands can ready themselves for long-term success online...The sudden emergence and threat of COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we live. Social distancing, self...Read More

Social Media Link has tapped our direct access to millions of consumers to gather real-time sentiment in this fast-moving crisis. The below highlights reflect the first wave of an evolving data project dedicated to helping the marketing community make time-sensitive decisions with the most...Read More

The current COVID-19 crisis has hit our economy hard.  With loyalty members representing your best customers, your loyalty program is more important than ever.  Now is the time to look at actions and changes that can be made to help members feel safer not only about their brand...Read More

A pandemic allows companies to take stock of their loyalty programs—making sure they’re being loyal to their consumers during stressful times.  In the loyalty business, companies provide the best value they can in exchange for earning the loyalty of consumers. They enlist their...Read More

Treat your members like friends Do your members want you to treat them like friends? If you’re the type of friend that has meaningful, caring relationships, then the answer is, “yes.” Members want and expect much more from loyalty programs—they want you—the program...Read More

Great personalization doesn’t happen overnight We all know personalization is at the forefront of creating deeper customer relationships and brand-bonding customer experiences. Study after study has shown that consumers want relevant, customized offers and experiences from the brands they...Read More

In the Loyalty360 Thought Leadership series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Rick Boubelik, Senior...Read More

The Cloud is a major driving force of the current digital revolution. There is no question about that. Providing instant access and high availability of systems and services, it has become a refined tool desired by companies from all industries. According to Forbes, 83% of enterprise IT...Read More

In the Loyalty360 Thought Leadership series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Christian, Selchau-Hansen...Read More

We know the expected role of government and health officials, but what about brands?It has been over 70 days since the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the United States. Since late-January, the definition of “normalcy” has changed daily. Depending on where you live, daily...Read More

When everything around us changes overnight, we’re left wondering how to navigate new realities. In the moment, we sometimes forget that we can lean on old business principles, like old friends. One of the basic principles of business remains true: “It’s a lot harder to get a...Read More

Last year we saw many retailers focus on revamping or reinventing their loyalty programs.This trend has continued into early 2020 with several top companies like Panera, Walmart, and Publix.They are in very different verticals but continue to make a big splash with new (or improved...Read More

In the Loyalty360 Thought Leadership series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Aaron Roy, Co-founder and CEO...Read More

In these unprecedented times, businesses across the world are scrambling to adapt to new ways of working. And while change might seem uncomfortable, the global outbreak and spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) gives organizations no option but to show customers, colleagues, and clients what...Read More

In order to flatten the curve of COVID-19, restaurants have been ordered to close their doors to customers. While we hope businesses will reopen safely in due time, we’re left to navigate these unchartered waters. Yes, some guests are choosing to staying home completely, but many can still...Read More

To manage the business curve of COVID-19, start by understanding the three phases of this crisis: Panic and Disruption, Fear and Isolation, and Recovery and the New Normal.Today we are publishing our first thoughts on how organizations should respond—and are responding—to the...Read More

To keep customers active in your loyalty program, it’s essential to reward members beyond discounts and demonstrate the value of continuous participation. Research featured in the International Journal of Hospitality Management found that “providing social rewards [e.g., a...Read More

Sometimes a single B2B/ B2C brand can have multiple, disconnected loyalty reward programs to drive different business objectives. The most recent example of such situation which had everyone talking was the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. This was a huge undertaking for the brands involved and...Read More

As I write this, 223 million Americans have been ordered to stay home; by the time you read this, many more are likely to be sheltering in place.In an amazingly short period of time, our work and home lives have been transformed. Home must now serve myriad purposes — including...Read More

In the Loyalty360 Thought Leadership series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Marti Beller, President of...Read More

Think about the way you watch TV. Who wants to wait a week for a new episode to come out?Now, instead of having to wait for episodes to come out, you can binge watch most shows by streaming them instantly.Instant gratification isn’t just a media phenomenon – technology has caused this...Read More

Mitigating the customer impact of COVID-19 will require steady brand leadership and empathy – learn what it takes to weather the storm and come out ahead on the other side.For brands and customers, we are living through an extraordinary moment of change and disruption. We all feel it, with...Read More

This is the third article in our series focusing on the importance of customer loyalty and retention during an economic crisis. Our first article spoke about enhancing your tactics to increase your customer retention rates, which you can read here. Our second post addressed the...Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a new reality for brands and everyone is feeling the impact.In mid-March, as the crisis began spreading in the U.S., just over 70% of U.S. consumers indicated that coronavirus was impacting their day-to-day lives. Fast-forward one week later and that number...Read More

During global pandemics like the coronavirus crisis, travel brands that are flexible and transparent with their customers—while finding ways to lessen their anxiety—are well-positioned for the future. Empty shelves at Target stores. Purchase limits on bottled water at Costco. Third...Read More

Our new normal is something nobody expected in their wildest dreams. As the world is continuously preparing to combat COVID-19, customers are facing a huge slew of challenges including longer customer service wait times, shortages of products, delayed deliveries and a copious amount of COVID-19...Read More

Five Steps Loyalty Programs Need to Take to Remain Relevant in a Post COVID-19 World   The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis with significant impacts on our everyday lives, as governments move to control it while fundamentally reshaping consumer behavior. From limiting...Read More

Every Loyalty Program Has an Engagement Loop Every loyalty program has an engagement loop of behaviors and actions that members repeat as they rise to become your most valued customer. At a minimum, that loop is likely: spend to earn, spend to earn, spend to earn, and, finally, redeem. Then...Read More

The COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented and the road map for the year ahead has been ripped up. What matters is how you act in the here and now.We’re highlighting some of the leading examples of brands adapting to the situation by providing experiences that make a difference to their customers...Read More

In these uncertain times, many restaurants are quickly adapting their delivery and takeout model to bolster sales. But, how can they continue to drive awareness and adoption of these channels when customers are conditioned to eating out? In the wake of social distancing, necessity is driving the...Read More

If your brand has a loyalty program, there’s a good chance that it was created initially to get more customers in the door… and keep them coming back to buy more. These programs were intended to offer savings and make consumers feel more connected to your brand because they were...Read More

In the Loyalty360 Thought Leadership series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Guy Cierzan, Managing Partner...Read More

We’re living in a time of great disruption for brands and customers, with our day-to-day lives and routines, relationships and financial well-being being upended by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions, lockdowns and “social distancing.” For some brands...Read More

We know that at least 1 in 2 consumers is willing to spend more to buy from a company that drives positive environmental impact (Nielsen). More specifically, members of Gen Z are willing to pay up to an extra 10-15% for certain sustainable products (NDP Group).   Fortunately for the planet...Read More

If your brand doesn’t earn active participation through experiences that make customers feel appreciated and understood in a human way, they’ll find a new brand that does. When we ask customers about the brands they are most loyal to, there’s often an interesting disconnect...Read More

Navigating the COVID-19 crisis is uncharted territory for everyone. Companies are drastically changing their operations as cities and states respond to the outbreak. Many Americans find themselves sheltering in place and millions are working from home. We’re entering a world where consumers...Read More

As much as a business will rely on its internal sales team to advance its commercial direction, many businesses utilise external channel partnerships to drive sales. Brands will commonly use a re-seller or distributor network to drive uplift in easy customer reach. This is a particularly way the...Read More

While marketers, academics and the broader business community focus the bulk of discussion on customer loyalty to B2C applications, there’s no debate that customer loyalty is at least equally important for B2B enterprises. The sheer size and ubiquity of consumer loyalty programs contributes...Read More

Companies around the globe are rethinking the mantra, “The show must go on.” As coronavirus numbers continue to grow, so does the number of events and conferences being cancelled. With travel restrictions, concerns about large gatherings and work-from-home policies being put into...Read More

This article was originally published in the “How to Overcome the 5 Biggest Retail Challenges of 2020 with Premium Loyalty” eBook. The strategy for many companies in recent times has been fast growth at all costs – including putting profitability at the back of the...Read More

In this Loyalty360 Thought Leadership video, we sit down with Susan Frech, Co-Founder and CEO of Social Media Link. In this series, we talk to the leaders in customer, channel and brand loyalty about the technology that impacts brands' ability to drive unique experiences and engagement. Our...Read More

Even having spent the past 20+ years working in the automotive industry, the global scale and reach of the industry on consumers’ lives never ceases to amaze me. In fact, over 77 million new automobiles were sold worldwide last year. With an average length of new-vehicle ownership...Read More

Will the new cloud-native Adobe Experience Manager revolutionize the way brands manage and deliver digital experiences? Here’s our breakdown of the benefits, considerations, and impact of the announcement.  Adobe Experience Manager is already well-recognized as the most powerful and...Read More

Given the spread of Coronavirus and the downturn in the economy, every organization needs to rethink how it operates. As Experience Management (XM) professionals, you can play an important role in helping your company weather the storm. How? By enhancing the capability to continuously learn...Read More

Today’s customers expect supreme services and an easy way to achieve their goals. When I go shopping, for example, I expect the store to have all the goods I need, I don't want to wait in line at the checkout, I want the convenience of paying with my smartphone, and so on. It should be...Read More

The average consumer lives in a world inundated with digital touchpoints. This barrage of digital communication is what makes receiving a handwritten note feel so special. It’s something different, something that can be felt, touched and appreciated in a way that email will never be able to...Read More

Where do you start searching for a new product?Did you know that nearly 50% of new searches start on Amazon?While that’s a huge number by itself, Google accounts for almost 35%.So, if roughly 85% of new product searches start on Amazon and Google, shouldn’t that be where you sell your...Read More

Just over a decade ago, Facebook became the most popular social media platform in the world. It hasn’t let go of the reins yet, but a quick glance of apps on any given cell phone will show that Facebook has a lot more competition these days. While social media started as a way to connect...Read More

Unlike most fortune tellers I can predict with near 100% accuracy that your company is going through a digital transformation. Digital transformations are big. Digital transformations are complex. Digital transformations are long, multi-year programs. You and your competitors are in...Read More

The world of motion pictures changed forever in 1977 with the release of "Star Wars". It continues to this day in the form of motion pictures, television series, and other media. It should come as no surprise that a great deal has changed in movie-making, technology, and society over...Read More

Consumer expectations are evolving — and they are impacting every step of the customer journey. From digital interactions to in-store experiences, brands must meet these expectations to not just earn a customer’s initial business, but to earn their lifelong loyalty. Now more than ever...Read More

Brands, manufacturers, retailers and distributors are all very mindful of the Amazon effect.  The e-commerce giant controls almost half of all e-commerce sales in the US. Further to this concern is the fact that most people use Amazon to search and find products.  The search engines...Read More

The last few years have produced major evolutionary shifts in customer loyalty with increased focus on customer experience, engagement, and emotional loyalty. With all this activity in the loyalty landscape you’ve probably asked, do I need to rebrand my loyalty program? Here are some key...Read More

Text message marketing isn’t new or groundbreaking, but it’s highly effective when utilized correctly. Here’s how. A phone number is personal. It’s given out to close friends, family, neighbors, people you trust, and those you want and expect to hear from. If a brand has...Read More

Truly progressive brands have evolved to look at ALL of their customers through a loyalty lens; not only those who are enrolled in their loyalty program. These innovators practice “Big L” loyalty, using their loyalty strategies and tactics to create exceptional customer experiences...Read More