Celebrating the turn of the calendar to a new year takes on a life of its own. The days and weeks leading up to January 1 each year holds the promise of renewal and change. Some people make laundry lists of new year’s resolutions or subscribe to programs meant to sharpen focus and organize for success. Others choose just three words to guide their lives in the coming year.
During this holiday season, I gave thought to how a “loyalty marketer” should make plans for the new year. We can start by evaluating our progress and accomplishments, akin to reviewing our own personal dashboard loaded with Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). We can then evolve our strategy and plan campaigns that will help us achieve our objectives.
Whatever technique you adopt, there’s one pitfall we should all avoid.
Don’t over-subscribe to the “new year, new you” philosophy, where you feel compelled to rip off the rear-view mirror, toss out the past, and totally reinvent yourself. That could work for some people, but most of us would be missing the opportunity to build on the assets we already have. As Jocko Willink urges in this Instagram post, a better option is to “work with what you have and make that into what you want.”
In loyalty marketing, building value in customer groups is a long-term play. Retaining and increasing value among the customers you have on file is the most efficient path to added profitability. You should never lose focus on making the most of the customer data you have accumulated over time. If you cease to exercise the customer data you have accumulated, you might be sending an unwanted signal to your best customers that you’re not paying attention to them.
This message of retention, development, and growth is resonating in the market. Even the most traditionally acquisition-focused companies – AT&T Wireless among them – are advertising this season to make the point that offers and deals have to be available equally to new and existing customers.
The message that growth and profitability are accessible to you no matter who or where you are is made eloquently by Russell Conwell, the first President of Temple University and the principal founder of the college. Conwell was elected to his position at Temple in 1887 and served through the date of his death, December 6, 1924. He is well-known for his Acres of Diamonds speech, one that he gave approximately 6,152 times as documented by Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
The speech morphed into a book that conveys an allegorical tale of a person who searches the world looking for riches only to ultimately discover that everything needed for success was right in his backyard. Conwell’s tale emphasized that opportunities are endless if you simply use the resources you have. You can check out his book here (not an affiliate link).
What better advice could a loyalty marketing professional seek?
From all of us at the Wise Marketer Group, we wish you an adventurous, profitable, and happy 2023!
