What will happen to Loyalty Programs?
Current retail loyalty programs were copied from the airline frequent flier programs long ago. Most retailers with loyalty programs have had them installed and integrated into the store and marketing for decades. During this time the consumer has changed constantly and the loyalty programs have not. The consumer is not loyal to a retailer program if all retailers have the same type of program. Its not enough to just give discounts to select customers. How can we evolve the Loyalty programs into communities that provide a sense of belonging and sharing? There are hundreds of things a retailer can do to make a customer feel accepted and part of the family. We need to look to the on-line communities to see what the consumer is responding to and adapt it to work in all retail channels – on-line, on the phone, in media and in the store. How should retail communicate with the loyal customer? We only need to look as far as our Cell phone. The Cell phone will be the primary contact point for t
