Posts Tagged ‘Loyalty Marketing’

Loyalty: More Than Just Points

by on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

In a recent post, Bill Hanifin observes a trend in loyalty marketing to develop programs that keep score “as much by social behaviors as by transactional.” What Bill is saying, I believe, is that marketers can and should look beyond points-based programs that are oriented solely toward attracting one more customer, one more sale and one more item in the basket.

Nurses at Veterans Hospital, 1951

Social behaviors can include writing a review, posting a video or playing an online game. All of these behaviors are evidence of increased customer engagement with the brand, all can result directly in increased sales and profitability, and all can be measured and evaluated. Some of these behaviors, especially recommendations and user-generated content, can leverage social media channels to result in astonishing ROI. For example, who could even guess at the value of the Old Spice social media campaign?

Marketers should not lose sight, however, of the benefits of old-fashioned “surprise and delight”. I recently had several of these experiences, all in unusual contexts. As readers are aware, my house caught fire last week and was saved by the alertness of our central station alarm company and the skill and bravery of our volunteer firefighters. As I mentioned in a post about the fire, the firefighters used tarps to cover furniture that was directly below the fire (and the water). That makes me “loyal”: our vollies are getting as big a check as I can afford this year – more than if they had just focused on the fire and ignored the contents, which the insurance adjuster fully expected.

My exciting couple of weeks also included a serious automobile accident, courtesy of a very drunk driver. I spent a few days in the hospital, where the doctors and staff did everything possible to make my stay easier. I’m not naming the hospital because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but I know I was bumped up in line for several procedures, had more visitors (and at later hours) than the rules allowed and generally was made to feel as much like a guest as a patient. And I’ll be happy to recommend the hospital in a private conversation.

The Zavee takeaway:

  • The most effective loyalty programs track behavior as well as transactions.
  • You don’t need a loyalty program to increase consumer loyalty.
  • Don’t forget to surprise and delight.