Last year, we gathered 30 highlights from 2019 to guide your customer loyalty strategy in 2020 — and then COVID happened. So this year, rather than doing a compilation of just the most watched videos or most read articles from 2020, we've put together a hand-picked compilation of the most relevant insights, predictions, opinions, and research to help you navigate the crosswinds and continue to push forward and adapt to change. Though not every item here may have been written in a post-COVID-world — or even mention COVID — we guarantee that the thoughts, strategies, and values within persist. And in many cases, they have only become even more important now than ever because loyalty best practices haven’t changed, they just have a spotlight on them now.
Let's kick it off with a deep dive into loyalty strategy commentary:
- Loyalty Trends in 2020: How Will This Year Be Different? — This article was written shortly before COVID, but the message within is ripe.
- Loyalty Marketing in a Post COVID-19 World: Insights From a Panel of Customer Loyalty Experts — Perspective from a trio of bold leaders in loyalty.
- Redefining Loyalty: 6 Strategies to Shift Priorities During a Global Disruption — Bindu Gupta shares thoughtful, strategic commentary on how marketers can be "responsible humans".
- Are Loyalty Programmes Even More Important in These Challenging COVID-19 Times? — Perspective from Charlie Hills, our UK correspondent and a featured contributor.
- COVID-19 Will Change the Concept of Loyalty — Ric Neely, a veteran B2B marketer, shares his thoughts which transcend both B2B and B2C loyalty.
- The 4 Pillars of Loyalty Campaigns During COVID-19 — A mantra to consider when developing loyalty campaigns.
- Is Your Loyalty Program the Key to Reaffirm Customer Commitment During COVID-19? — Guidance for loyalty managers backed by behavioral science research.
- International Roundtable: How Has Loyalty Changed Due To COVID-19? — Insights from Customer Strategy Network (CSN), a global panel of veteran loyalty practitioners.
- Customer Loyalty in 2021: Trends and Future Predictions — Predictions from Pavel Los, a senior loyalty executive, and Professor Liu-Thompkins of Old Dominion University and Loyalty Science Lab.
- 4 Global Predictions for Loyalty Marketing in 2021 — Further insights and predictions from CSN.
Airline and Travel:
- Business Travel After COVID-19 — Commentary from Collinson on considerations for employers, business travelers, and the travel industry in response to COVID-19.
- Top Concerns for Frequent Flyer Programs in Today’s Landscape — Concerns within airline loyalty persisted well before COVID-19 upended the industry.
- Loyalty Management Tales of Woe During COVID-19 — A tale of how not to treat your loyal customers.
- The Future of the Global Airline Industry — What does recovery look like for airlines? What does the flying public want? Ravindra Bhagwanani opines.
Restaurant and Dining:
- 5 Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on the Restaurant Industry — Some of this may be unwanted, so how do we mitigate the effects or improvise the solutions to create the best possible dining experience?
- Could COVID-19 be the Undoing of Third-Party Delivery? — Are 3rd party delivery services here to help? Or will they deliver the food and take the customer?
Times are tough; consider gifting, social good, and employee happiness:
- Should Companies Give Gifts to Customers and Employees? — Take the time to thank those that are most important to your business.
- Gift Experiences Can Create an Emotional Connection With Customers — Dig into the neuroscience of gratitude and employee engagement.
- Loyalty Empowered: Reward Programs Supporting Social Justice — Does your loyalty program reward those that need it the most?
- 8 Ways Employee Happiness Can Impact Your Customer’s Experience — The young workforce is demanding it, plus it will benefit your customers, so what are you waiting for?
Research:
- The 2019 Delphi Report™: Why Loyalty Programs Fail — The lessons learned and documented in the 2019 Delphi Report hold true in a post-COVID-19 loyalty marketing world.
And to close out the compilation, here is a four-part series on Contactless Loyalty from Epsilon:
At Wise Marketer, our mission is to provide loyalty professionals with the best, unbiased loyalty commentary in the world, and true to our mission, we hope you found this compilation from diverse global loyalty leaders useful and actionable as you steer your loyalty strategy forward.
