Photo: AP
Americans love loyalty. They’ll argue for hours about their Pepsi or Coke preference, show NFL tattoos off proudly in public and nearly 90% participate in some type of loyalty rewards program (BusinessWeek). But while loyalty is hardwired into our culture, when it comes to brand loyalty, the competition for consumers’ attention is fierce. With over 2.5 billion loyalty memberships in the U.S. (Colloquy), getting a slice of a potential or returning customer’s purchase consideration is a challenge. While most of these programs attach loyalty to repeat purchases, some brands are calling loyalty what it is: a human quality and emotion. This new wave of thinking is allowing brands to build on their relationships with their customers that not only drives purchase but also inspires advocacy.
The Digital Storefront
When a customer walks into a store, their experience will largely determine whether or not they make a purchase, return, or tell a friend about it (for better or worse). Excellent customer service leaves an impression on consumers because they feel that their personal needs are met and time is important. In the digital space, a brandss social media profiles become their brick and mortar shops – a place the customer can go to interact and have a brand experience. Here, an attentive brand has the ability to touch consumers every day with even the smallest action. A like on a Facebook post, a timely answer to a tweet, or offering an unsolicited thanks with a random surprise or reward can all help grow brand love, drive repeat engagement and eventually drive purchase. With brands beginning to reward behavior in customers’ daily and digital lives in addition to their purchases, the ground is shifting from driving loyalty to building advocacy. The more opportunities brands give their customers to earn rewards, the more rewarding data they will receive on their customers. The digital space is a great place to do exactly that.
Lancôme Offers Points For Social Media Engagement
Photo: Lancome-USA.com
In late April, Lancôme launched its Elite Rewards program. Customers enroll at no charge and earn points by buying products and engaging with Lancôme USA on its social media channels. Members earn points for the following interactions:
Up to 25 points for sharing products on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Up to 50 for connecting with the brand on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Foursquare
10 points for every dollar spent
Accrue points for watching makeup tutorials and other branded content online
Vice President of Lancôme digital marketing Alessio Rossi explained that, “Brands tend to look into how can I monetize this today. Instead, it’s about building a relationship with a human being. You don’t do it overnight. We had to take a longer horizon.” This model is one that will become more and more popular as brands turn interest into lifelong relationships with consumers instead of equating loyalty solely based on sales data.
Walgreens Rewards Wellness
Photo: Walgreens.com
Walgreens and Duane Reed have started offering non-transactional points through its Balance Rewards Program. In addition to purchases made in their stores and online, customers can earn points, badges and discounts in exchange for healthy behavior like working out, low cholesterol and immunizations. Participants connect the program with health and fitness apps like Jawbone and Fitbit to participate in these rewards and in return, their daily activity will incentivize them to spend their earned points in Walgreens or Duane Reed. In a market where 54% of loyalty memberships are inactive (almost all within the first year) (Colloquy), this keeps participants earning even when they aren’t shopping, which keeps Walgreens top of mind. The program leaves customers feeling like their pharmacy truly cares and gives the brands insight into who their customers are when they leave their stores.
As customers have higher expectations of brands looking to earn their loyalty, brands must make advocacy a higher priority. Customers enrolled in loyalty programs are great customers, visiting establishments 2 times more often and spending 4 times more (Deloitte).
For this reason, keeping them active is essential to growing a thriving business. It’s time brands stop looking at loyalty as an obstacle and start seeing it as an opportunity. Loyalty is a human quality and the more time a brand spends treating its customers that way, the more time those customers spend advocating for that brand.