Does the CX industry need to be “saved”? What we can learn from Amazon, Hospitality loyalty steps up, Convenience needs to, and lots of new loyalty program news. Here is what we’re following …
CX
Survey Reveals State of Mobile Customer Loyalty
Quotable: “Consumers don’t necessarily feel well-informed from their favorite brands about where their status is. They can’t always remember their login number, that sort of thing. They really want easy access. They want to be able to text into a brand and say, ‘How many points do I have that I can use?’ They want to be able to get an easy answer back, rather than having to login into an app or login to a website.”
Bots Slash Costs, but Humans Build Brand Loyalty
Quotable: “Technology can taint the customer experience when it fails -- or at least delays -- customer gratification. American consumers said slow apps (39%), having to make multiple attempts to resolve a problem (38%), a company ignoring data preferences (34%) and having to repeat information all would push them to a competitor.”
Could a “Customer Success” Mindset Save the CX Industry?
Quotable: “CX execution hasn’t matched CX proclamations. I’m now thinking that business leaders would be wise to organize their CX efforts around the concept of “customer success.” That’s really what being customer-centric is all about.”
Is Social Media the Next Frontier for Improving CX?
Quotable: “… one thing that is certain is that we are seeing the consumerization of the B2B space and that means that we are not seeing that many differences in the strategies that are being executed by B2C and B2B marketers.”
What Customer Experience do Consumers REALLY Want?
Quotable: “69 percent surveyed felt that companies ask for data for the brand’s own gain, rather than to improve CX (62 percent surveyed in APAC; 71 percent in US and 74 percent in Europe). 67 percent surveyed cited discounts and promotions as being among the top three pay-backs they would expect in return for their data, followed by 40 percent flagging one-click log-in and transaction tools, and 39 percent desiring more exclusive experiences.”
CONSUMER DATA
GDPR and the Transparency Revolution
Quotable: “Updating a company’s privacy policy is a great start, but capturing consent by adding clear and concise language to every lead form, chat box, and email opt-in is ideal. Individuals should know exactly what they’re signing up for, and companies that give them the option to do so are taking a step in the right direction towards data transparency and accountability.”
Data Breaches are Taking a Toll on Customer Loyalty
Quotable: “1.9 billion data records worldwide were compromised during the first half of 2017 due to 918 data breaches. The number of lost, stolen or compromised records increased by an overwhelming 164 percent compared to the last six months of 2016.”
HOSPITALITY
How Amazon’s Customer-Centric Framework Can Boost Hotel Loyalty
Quotable: “There is a huge convergence of loyalty, digital transformation, and customer experience initiatives, and as that happens the traditional boundaries of loyalty are blurring quite a bit. While the loyalty programs still exist, there are now a lot more places where we can go and impact the experience” said Guy Cierzan, managing partner at ICF Next.”
Hotel C-suite Buzz
Quotable: “We’ve created and are rolling out something called Emma that’s a PMS/loyalty/revenue/reservation platform all in one. So it allows us to use that data to deliver an experience real time to the guest. So communicating within an ecosystem that is all in one, that allows the data to communicate with speed and delivers a great experience”
RETAIL
Retail Execs Offer Insights into the Industry's Future
Quotable: “I used to think Amazon is the devil. And it may still be, but I don’t really care. We have to be there. I can’t take the risk of not being there if she is on there and can’t buy from us. It’s not an Amazon consideration, but a marketplace consideration. We have to be there because that’s where she is. There's price parity by playing the shipping game. Products on Amazon need to be Prime eligible [to qualify for free shipping], so you have to bake that cost of shipping into the price.”
Also Read: What does a “retail apocalypse” look like?
Solving the In-Store Personalization Challenge
Quotable: “Step one to personalizing any retail experience is to identify the customer. So it’s not surprising shopper tracking (41%) was named the No. 1 technology for 2021. In-store shopper tracking specifically was named by 36% of retailers as a top retail technology.”
CONVENIENCE
Convenience Stores are Not Maximizing Their Loyalty Programs
Quotable: “While 72 percent of c-store operators collect customer data, they don't necessarily use or take advantage of the information to improve their loyalty programs, according to the report. Some of the opportunities that are within reach for retailers upon collecting data are: encouraging participating in a loyalty program, personalizing messaging and communications, and developing and deploying customized offers and promotions.”
AIRLINES
Air France-KLM and Accor Announce New Rewards Program Partnership
Quotable: “Beginning immediately, members of either rewards program will earn points and miles towards both loyalty programs each time they book a night at a participating Le Club AccorHotels property or fly on a flight operated and marketed by Air France and/or KLM.”
LOYALTY STRATEGY
Global Loyalty Now a $323B Investment
Quotable: “Nearly half of all companies (47 percent) invest 2 percent to 3 percent of their annual revenue in loyalty propositions. That would shake out to as much as $18 billion among U.S. supermarkets alone, based on projected 2019 revenue of $605 billion.”
Data Will Drive Future of Retail Sector
Quotable: “People are tired of having wallets full of loyalty cards and getting endless emails from companies looking to sell them things they don’t want. We need to be helping people reduce the noise in their lives which is why a data-driven mobile first approach is key.”
LOYALTY TECHNOLOGY
Survey Reveals Consumer Attitudes Toward Tech
Quotable: “Consumers are interested in technologies that show whether a product is in stock (55%), help them compare prices or read reviews (49%), make it easier to find a product or its location (47%) or try an item before buying it (38%).”
How Humans can Shape the Future of Artificial Intelligence
Quotable: “… artificial intelligence could provide an opportunity to change the way we think about productivity by favoring quality of work over quantity. It is not just about the jobs that humans can do better than machines, he said, but those that are also beneficial for wellbeing and social cohesion.”
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Trax Buys Shopping Rewards App Shopkick
Quotable: “Retail and consumer goods image recognition and analytics firm Trax has acquired US shopping rewards app Shopkick for $200m. The deal combines Trax's shelf and shopper data with Shopkick's data, which tracks how shoppers enter stores and how they can be guided to certain products.”
Leal, the Colombian Loyalty Startup, Raises US USD 3 Million
Quotable: “Online transactions in the retail industry in Latin America only represent 1% of total transactions. This means that brands don't have any visibility on 99% of their transactions.”
LOYALTY PROGRAM LAUNCHES
StubHub Reveals New Loyalty Program ‘StubHub Beyond’
Quotable: “Dubbed “StubHub Beyond,” the program is an auto-enrollment program for customers who have spent $10,000 or more on ticket purchases within a 12-month period. Members who hit the “beyond” category will receive a few perks, including early VIP access to select discount event promotions like Lollapalooza, the PGA Masters, and various MLB events; the first loyalty offering includes a private tour and batting cage practice at Yankee Stadium.”
Trip.com, Garuda Indonesia Form Partnership for Loyalty Program
Quotable: “The partnership would allow travelers to book hotels and earn GarudaMiles across all Trip.com platforms, including its website and mobile app. Trip.com boasts offering accommodations in about 1.2 million hotels worldwide on its platform.”
The Loyalty Newswire is compiled and edited by the staff at The Wise Marketer.
