Chris Cobb and Carlos Dunlap-Beard of Clarus Commerce discuss some of the hotter topics from this year's CRMC conference as well as some of the ways Clarus is differentiating themselves from other loyalty providers.
TheWiseMarketer: Why aren’t people talking about premium loyalty?
Carlos Dunlap-Beard: A lot of traditional loyalty players looking to “add-on” a premium loyalty program but what a lot of retailers don’t know is how it can deliver directly to the bottom line.
Chris Cobb: Most of our clients are realizing that once someone is really invested in their brand – ie. paying to be a part of it – they’re seeing a more active participation and exponential rewards & benefits. Everybody has seen the stats behind Amazon’s prime and non-prime members and we’re seeing similar results. Paying members are far more engaged and buy more than non-members.
TWM: Are retailers scared of premium loyalty? What do you think is behind the hesitation when the statistics show it to be valuable and viable?
Also Read: The 5 Most Common Premium Loyalty Questions Asked by Loyalty Marketers
CDB: It’s easy to do the little things – the baby steps in adding incremental value to members. But a premium loyalty program is a bolder move to prove something to customers. It’s a big step to showing customer love.
TWM: It seems that doing premium loyalty well changes the psychology of the relationship between member and brand that now is inclusive as well as exclusive. And as one of our most popular courses at the Loyalty Academy (The Psychology of Loyalty) points out, a sense of belonging is one very powerful motivator. Does that line up with your view?
CC: Absolutely. If, at its core, loyalty marketing is about changing customer behaviors, then that sense of belonging, as you said, can be a very powerful emotion. It’s important that we, as marketers, treat that emotion correctly and delicately but when we have aligned the brand values and purpose with what we know customers care about, we know we can strengthen those bonds which, in turn, build bottom lines.
NOTE: Upcoming Webinar on the Value of Premium Loyalty
