Without insight into the complex web of motivators that change customer behavior, retailers will struggle to achieve desired measurable results on loyalty initiatives. According to a presentation at the National Retail Federation 2015 Big Show in New York sponsored by LoyaltyOne, retail sales and profits can surge with the deployment of a comprehensive loyalty strategy that uses customer data to define and optimize motivators affecting behavioral change.
Titled, "Motivating Behavioral Change with A Loyalty Strategy", the session was presented by Caroline Papadatos, Senior Vice President of International, Corporate Marketing, Research & Development for LoyaltyOne, and David Zychinski
“What Walgreens and other retailers are finding is that offering good products, competitive prices and efficient service have become table stakes. With customers now demanding personalization and relevant experiences, Walgreens’ Balance Rewards platform is a best-in-class example of applying customer information to transform experiences. Loyalty is merely not a card or a strategy, it is the net result of all the efforts a retailer puts into customer engagement. An engaged customer is a loyal one,” said LoyaltyOne’s Caroline Papadatos.
The marketplace is generally not generating ROI at same pace as its investing. In many cases activation/engagement of a customer base is flat. “To understand today’s multi-dimensional customer, retailers must identify which motivators, such as privileges, points or discounts, are most appealing to customers in a way that enhances and accelerates customer behavior. To drive sustainable behavior change, retailers must understand the net effect of each motivator, and how they can be used individually or in combination to drive optimal promotional performance,” Papadatos explained. “With the right data and a means of measuring program effectiveness, marketers and merchandisers do less guessing and estimating because they know precisely what is motivating their customers.”
Experts agree that retailers need to engage customers by understanding how to meet customer needs through analytics and by accepting the fact that more than one loyalty tactic is needed to address the diversity in the customer base.
“The retail marketplace is incredibly competitive and that competition is constantly increasing with new formats, products and technology. Companies that don’t follow a customer-centric strategy and don’t work to understand the multiple motivators that drive shopping behavior won’t be around in the future,” said John L. Stanton, Ph.D., Professor of Food Marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Source: LoyaltyOne
