When speaking with brands on loyalty program strategy, it’s clear companies know they should be gaining consumer insight and personalizing the user experience, but there is often a barrier of hesitation to openly treat customers differently. This hesitancy is rooted in the fear of ostracizing a portion of their consumers who are deemed “less valuable”. Why can’t we simply strive to provide every customer the same high-end treatment that they deserve? Well, because they don’t deserve it.
Not all customers are created equal.
A successful loyalty program strategy allows a brand to:
Focus on Best Customers
New friends are great, but old friends are invaluable. Your brand's best, loyal customers will celebrate triumphs and help carry the business through rough times. They are different from the impulse purchase crowd and should be revered with your attention.
Make Customers Feel Important
Customers expect special treatment. Research conducted by Forrester indicates that 59% of US online adults who belong to a customer loyalty program say that getting special offers or treatment that isn’t available to other customers is important to them.
Reward Good Behavior
When customers exhibit positive engagement behavior with your brand, recognize it. Furthermore, let them know they will be rewarded for being good. SWA’s “Companion Pass” and Sephora’s “Rouge” are examples of how implementing aspirational status tiers with meaningful rewards can drive fierce loyalty.
Maximize Promotional Budget
Offering all customers the same discounts, rewards, and communications can get expensive – and boring. Segmenting customers within a loyalty program will allow you to track the types of products they buy, how often they redeem, and how well they respond to communications, allowing companies to track the progression of a consumer’s journey with their brand - ideally even leading to predictive analysis.
Of course, there are instances where treating every customer the same does work. Take Publix, for example. At the end of last year, Loyalty360 published a post about Publix & how their “treat every customer the same” mindset has helped them retain brand loyalty over many generations. The grocery-chain doesn’t necessarily have a traditional loyalty program strategy, but they do have many loyal customers. Their belief is that every customer should be treated to the same superior customer service and they attribute their long-term brand loyalty to this consistent treatment of customers. So how has this strategy worked so well for Publix?
First, they emphasize their core principles – remaining true to providing competitive prices, quality products, and customer experience. This ties directly back to their slogan “Where Shopping is a Pleasure” – an easy to digest value prop which they ensure is carried out by their eager-to-help, positive associates.
Next, they deliver consistency while also adapting to the industry surrounding them. Customers return week after week because their in-store experience is a positive, known commodity. For consumers with more evolving needs, Publix has several online ordering options, including the increasingly popular home delivery powered by Instacart.
While this informal loyalty approach has worked for Publix, this wouldn’t work for every company seeking to achieve brand loyalty. Publix has the distinct advantage of being a “ritual vendor” (The average US household made 1.5 trips to the grocery store per week in 2017) and usually consumers repeat at the same store due to proximity and familiarity – two inputs that make a habit hard to shift once engrained. Publix also has a long history of superior customer service, and unfortunately brands looking to retain and engage customers in the here and now can’t afford to wait 80 years to build up that kind of reputation.
Before dismissing the Publix case study as irrelevant to your company’s situation there are aspects of the Publix secret sauce which every brand should aim to replicate, namely creating a resonating value prop + delivering your core product well. Without these key foundation blocks, a brand will not succeed no matter how clever their loyalty program strategy is.
So how do you determine which strategy is right for you?
As you can see, no loyalty program is one-size fits all. Loyalty Program strategy must be unique and tailored to the brand’s needs and more importantly, their customer’s wants and needs. And while Publix doesn’t operate on a formal loyalty program, their initiatives over the last 87 years have formed loyal customers who stay away from competitors.
Ready to learn more about customer loyalty? Read our guide to help you master the basics of loyalty and avoid the pitfalls to creating a successful loyalty program.
