What does the future of brand loyalty look like?

Shep Hyken sits down with Patrick Reynolds, Chief Marketing Officer for SessionM (https://www.sessionm.com/), to discuss how technology is transforming traditional customer loyalty programs into a dynamic and personalized customer experience.

Top Takeaways:

- In the past, it was enough for loyalty programs to offer a “punch card” with a buy-nine-get-one-free approach. Now, the quid pro quo is that in exchange for personal data, the customer receives experiences they might not otherwise. You can't get keyless hotel entry or automated coffee pickups if you aren't willing to share your “data,” which many times is just basic information such as an email or phone number.
- If you are part of the Nike loyalty program, you won’t get a discount coupon, you get access to content and materials that others don't. That's what makes brands so “sticky” and so compelling for so many years. With Nike, if you buy a pair of tennis sneakers, you may receive content that shows how Roger Federer works out on the off season to achieve greatness, which fuses product and content into an experience that you can only get through their loyalty program. It makes customers feel like they’re getting a peek under the tent that they can't get any other way and makes for extremely compelling content. Another example is the ability to purchase new sneakers in advance of anyone else.
- You're looking to drive incremental behavior, transforming a single purchase into a second and third purchase. If you’re coming into my coffeehouse every day, why would I you a free coffee every other Friday? Don’t give a discount to someone who would otherwise pay full price. Instead, give an offer that rewards that customer for coming in later in the same day when they don't normally go.
- The future of brand loyalty is going to look like everybody interacting with the same brand, but very differently based off their ambitions, purchase behavior, how they want to interact, and so on. It’s like how there is one Netflix, but we all have our own personalized Netflix.
- Any loyalty program is a defining opportunity for a business to demonstrate its loyalty to its customers by delivering amazing experiences, not the other way around.
About:

Patrick Reynolds is Chief Marketing Officer at SessionM, and has over two decades of experience in various businesses, media, and creative leadership positions at multiple top-tier advertising agencies.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio.
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