RESOURCE CENTER

The Reimagined Loyalty Playbook

Your guide to building a more engaging, dynamic, and personalized customer loyalty program

September 2021

6.5 Minute Read

Timery Crawford
Senior Content Marketing Manager

Today’s consumer is exposed to more brands than ever before. And people, swayed by availability and better value, are ready and willing to try something new. Seventy-one percent of consumers switched brands at least once in the past year. This makes it more important than ever for companies to focus on fostering loyalty and nurturing lifelong customer relationships.

Customer expectations are shifting. A good loyalty strategy involves adapting to, meeting, and predicting those shifts. Today’s consumer looks for brands to meet them with what they want, wherever, and whenever they want it. They also want friction-free, personalized service. Meeting these expectations demands that you not only know who your customer is but that you understand them as well.

Loyalty is a valuable part of an organization’s business strategy. Loyalty programs go a long way toward increasing purchase frequency, retention, customer lifetime value, and access to first-party data. In fact, 56% of consumers report they are more likely to buy from a brand that has one. However, it’s not just about a loyalty program. It’s about brands that personalize and cater to customers' wants and needs. Building a program that can foster loyalty while delivering on customers expectations requires that you redefine loyalty and reimagine your strategy.

Redefining Loyalty

Your ability to foster brand loyalty is more complex than it was even just a few years ago. For a business to truly find success, it needs to have a holistic loyalty program that goes beyond simple transactional relationships. Brands need to harness what they already know about their customers to spark meaningful, memorable moments.

People aren't just looking for a deal or a discount. They want something deeper. They want experiences and, oftentimes, a commitment to shared values. It’s no longer just about what people buy, but about who they support and how they see themselves. Building a loyalty program that speaks to these desires requires engaging customers and surfacing opportunities to truly get to know them.

Today’s customer loyalty is twofold. Brands need to reward loyal behavior with things like points, discounts, and freebies, while also inspiring an emotional connection through empathy, understanding, and shared values. Consumers (especially younger generations) are drawn to rewards that emphasize exclusivity, community, and personalized attention. However, despite 73% of customers expecting companies to understand their unique needs, only 44% of brands are delivering. In fact, many businesses are falling short because they’re focusing on traditional points programs.

This playbook will show you how to build and execute a more personalized and experiential loyalty program that is in line with your customers’ wants and needs.