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The Loyalty Newswire - October 29, 2018

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By: Mike Giambattista, CLMP |

Posted on October 29, 2018

Today's Loyalty Newswire is filled with headlines that will likely surprise no one.  But the stories behind the announcements are some of the most interesting and thought provoking developments we've seen in a while. Please pay particular attention to the second-to-last item if you're in the airline world.  Please pay attention to the last item if you're in the U.S. - Texas, spcifically.  Here's what we're following:

Half of retailers’ loyalty programs are ‘in their infancy’, study finds

Infant programs can be defined in any number of ways but that’s not real news.  The real news happens in the 2nd paragraph: “two-thirds of decisions makers do not understand why customers are loyal or have a strategy to strengthen customer relationships”.  Kudos to both Forrester and Collinson for getting the retail “decision makers” to admit it.

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Loyalty Is Dead, Long Live Loyalty!

Or at least so sayeth Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.  But if there is some learning from this statement its probably this: that loyalty is changing and is now more associated with a customer’s whole journey, their experience and, in some cases, dependent on being part of a community. For deeper reading on this topic, you can download a report we published jointly with Maritz Loyalty earlier this year.

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Blockchain in Retail Market to Grow at a Staggering CAGR of 96.4% by 2023

We’re committed to covering the explosion of blockchain technology and its ever-expanding impact on loyalty and retail business models.  This research is but one small drop in the ocean of data that supports our decision. Quotable: “Loyalty and rewards management segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period".

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GM, Ford incentive programs put premium on loyalty

With Ford stock trading at $8.00 and change, it’s not surprising to see the company looking at all of its options for enhancing customer retention. GM launched their program about 6 months ago. Let’s pay close attention to the effects of their efforts.

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Artificial Intelligence - Enemy Of The People Or Friend Of The Lazy And Inept?

There is a very good chance that you’ve been interacting with Ai already and may not even have known it.  We’re not sure though that it necessarily points to Stephen Hawkings’ outlook.  From our perspective (and from one of the presenters at this year’s Loyalty Academy Conference), we’re ushering in an era of unprecedented business intelligence and efficiency.

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New Study Reveals Why Some Customers Are Frustrated With Shopping Experiences Right Now

The people at Footwear News have pointed their pumps at some of the pain points that are tripping up retailers in their world.  We’re including it here because those pain points affect more than the footwear world.

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Turkish Airlines signs a Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) Agreement with the Brazilian-based Azul Brazilian Airlines

Miles & Smiles” expands its alliance to include Brazil’s Azul Airlines.

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SEC Filing Shows American Airlines Loses Money Flying, All Profit Comes From Frequent Flyer Miles

Let’s open up a conversation among loyalty practitioners to dissect this news. Mainstream business media has reported on the facts but our readers are uniquely qualified to understand the dynamic here.  Look for more in coming days here in The Wise Marketer.

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Hotel Ella Rewards Early Voters With Free Beer

American politics are inspiring all manner of creative motivational tactics.  Through Nov. 2, early voters showing up with the “I Voted” sticker can get a free tap beer at Hotel Ella. Does this qualify as a loyalty program?  Apparently it does if you live in Texas, USA.