, ,

Blockchain Loyalty Program: Considering multiples sides of the conversation

WM Circle Logo

By: Mike Giambattista, CLMP |

Posted on May 8, 2018

Loyalty Salvation through Blockchain?  Maybe.

We monitor the world of loyalty fairly closely on a day-to-day basis and from this corner of the world, some of the most exciting developments in this realm are coming from blockchain loyalty programs.

The promise of self-validating transactions, of true platform-agnostic utility, of near realtime settlement, etc. is beginning to exhaust the list of superlatives used to describe them.

Just for context, we’re not just casual observers either, we interact with both the players and the platforms on a regular basis, listening to some of the brightest minds in marketing, loyalty and blockchain technology talk & think through what this all could mean.

Also Read: Loyalty Newswire - May 20, 2019

Here is a list of our current takeaways from those sessions. Please note the use of the word “current” as this list will most assuredly change over time.

 

 

 

 

 

To be sure, there are a multitude of factors to consider when thinking through your blockchain “go / no-go” decisions. Howard Schneider, VP of loyalty strategy at Kobie Marketing makes a valid point. “The kind of universal marketplace that is being proposed by (blockchain loyalty providers) runs counter to the core reason why a brand launches a loyalty program in the first place. “A brand’s loyalty program, he pointed out, is designed so that consumers get a benefit from shopping with the brand. But the benefit, he noted, only helps the brand if it is redeemed at the brand.

Mike Giambattista is Editor in Chief at The Wise Marketer and is a Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP).