Let's Talk Loyalty

Statisticians are familiar with the concept of “self-selection” but it’s rarely discussed, understood or accounted for when determining your “return on loyalty”.Simply because your most loyal customers have joined your programme, does not mean your programme improved or caused them to become more loyalty. In today’s fascinating discussion around the challenge of “self-selection”, my two guests who co-founded the "customer science" firm Ellipsis, discuss how they isolate, measure and define the levers within a loyalty program to understand what’s working, what’s not and why! Listen for a masterclass on the concept of “return on loyalty”, NPS and how to separate correlation from causation using data insights.Show Notes:1) Tim Tyler – Managing Partner at Ellipsis & Company2) Adam Schaffer -  Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Ellipsis & Company3) Return on Loyalty - https://www.returnonloyalty.com.au/4) Whitepaper – Return on Loyalty https://www.ellipsisandco.com/perspectives/measuring-return-on-loyalty 5) Whitepaper - Your Loyalty Strategy Depends on Your Program Age  6) https://www.ellipsisandco.com/7) The Mismanagement of Customer Loyalty – Harvard Business Review articleLet me know when you have one hour done and I'll review those episodes

With over 15 million members, Rakuten Rewards is one the world’s largest cashback programs, and to date it has paid out over $2 billion to members across online and offline retail stores in the United States! In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, I interview Kristen Gall, President of Rakuten Rewards, to understand the power of affiliate marketing, their partnerships with American Express and Live Nation - as well as their global sponsorships with FC Barcelona, The National Basketball Association (NBA) and The Golden State Warriors. Listen also for some fascinating insights on exactly what retail trends are emerging amid Covid-19 and the categories consumers are slowly beginning to spend on again.Show Notes: 1) Kristen Gall - President, Rakuten Rewards 2) www.Rakuten.com – leading Cash Back service in the US3) www.rakuten.us – Rakuten Americas corporate site4) global.rakuten.com/corp – Rakuten global site5) Rakuten Optimism Conference6) Marketplace 3.0 - by Hiroshi Mikitani (Author)

Loyalty Managers around the world often look to the UK for inspiration and exciting new ideas and trends. YouGov is the UK’s “most quoted research agency” on consumer opinion, and earlier this year, together with Mando Connect, they again turned their attention to understanding what British consumers really want from loyalty programmes. Listen to this week’s episode of “Let’s Talk Loyalty” to hear us discuss the 2020 UK loyalty whitepaper, including some exciting new innovative UK loyalty programmes – and also some concerns on how much more we need to do before our loyalty programmes appeal to younger consumers.Show Notes:1) YouGov.com2) Mando Connect 3) Charlie Hills4) Joe Flagg5) UK Loyalty Whitepaper - What the Brits Want from Loyalty6) Are Loyalty Programmes Even More Important in These Challenging COVID-19 Times? Article on The Wise Marketer

On 20th March 2020, Adam Posner posted a call to action on LinkedIn asking loyalty and business professionals worldwide to collaborate and contribute ‘119 customer loyalty ideas to beat COVID-19'. By the 7th of April 2020, the target of 119 ideas was achieved and an eBook was compiled featuring expert insights from 63 loyalty experts around the world. In this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" I interview Adam for his favourite ideas and share my own. A super useful eBook at this unusual time of challenge yet with some emerging opportunities to evolve. Show Notes: 1) Adam Posner2) The Point of Loyalty3) 119 Ideas to Beat Covid-194) "For Love or Money" - Report on 2020 trends in the Australian Loyalty Market 5) Australian Shoe Shop Goes Digital First6) For Good Causes UK

As the loyalty platform partner for brands like Dell, Dunkin' and Walgreens, Epsilon powers customer conversations and communications for some of the best brands in the world. In this episode, I interview their Vice President of International Operations, Joseph Taylor who shares his insights on key opportunities for loyalty program managers around the world.With a background running customer programmes and platforms for leading brands like Adidas and Nokia, Joseph explains how best to manage complex global data privacy requirements, programme design evolution and even the sensitive but important area of managing programme liability in the current challenging climate of Covid-19.We discuss how loyalty programmes are becoming an even more critical tool for brands to build trust and relationships - beyond just transactions and rewards.With fascinating insights on loyalty preferences around the world, Joseph shares his experience how members have vastly different expectations of brands and their loyalty programmes in countries such as China, Japan and France. A truly global perspective with plenty of ideas for programme managers worldwide.This episode is sponsored by Epsilon.Show Notes:1) Epsilon EMEA 2) Privacy Article by Joseph Taylor 3) Nielsen4) IRI Research5) You Gov6) Kantar    7) Ipsos 

As President of the AAdvantage Program and Vice-President of Customer Loyalty and Insights at American Airlines, Bridget Blaise-Shamai leads a team of over 700 loyalty and customer service professionals running one of the world's most popular loyalty programs.Founded in 1981, the American Airlines Advantage program boasts almost 40 years of expertise with a clear intention to continually delight customers - even during this current quarantine when so many of us cannot travel.Bridget (who I am delighted has Irish heritage) shares how American Airlines is focusing on destination inspiration, exciting options to enjoy ground-based rewards as well as an innovative "lifetime status"  opportunities in order to keep customers engaged, and also some of the key lessons she and her team have learned along the way.Show Notes: 1) Bridget Blaise-Shamai 2) AAdvantage Program 3) Ted.com4) Simon Sinek 5) Shelly Palmer

In today's episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty", I chat to Simon Rowles, a fellow Customer Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP) and CSN consultant for Australia.Simon has a unique background in technology development which gives him a fascinating perspective on emerging technology in the loyalty industry and how disruptive platforms can offer innovative ideas that truly drive increased customer engagement and retention.Led by some great loyalty statistics, Simon discusses how Australia is responding to Covid19 and talks through some exciting ideas that will appeal to loyalty programme managers worldwide.Show Notes: 1) Simon Rowles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonrowles/2) Beyonde 3) www.Bink.com 4) www.UpgradePack.com5) www.FlyBits.com6) Ben Evans – newsletter - https://www.ben-evans.com/7) Mark Ritson - https://www.marketingweek.com/mark-ritson/8) Bob Hoffman - https://www.bobhoffmanswebsite.com/9) Wise Marketer - https://thewisemarketer.com/

This episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" was recorded in early March 2020 - some weeks before all of our lives were consumed by the very real threat of the Corona Virus. I had written an article about the key UK Trends predicted in 2020 for my colleagues in Liquid Barcodes - and wanted to share these ideas with my own audience as well as theirs.The UK market is a dominant influence on marketing worldwide and one of my favourite resources to stay up to date on how technology, communications and UK culture are evolving is published by Mindshare. Every year, they publish a report on UK trends which is useful and insightful, so this article discusses their conclusions on the top five trends for 2020 - and indeed for the decade to come! From 5G, through to adoption of innovative technologies such as 5G, and the insatiable demand for quality content, this episode summarises how consumers are feeling about emerging trends - ideas and insights that loyalty marketers need to consider as we plan and manage our programmes.With thanks to Liquid Barcodes.Show Notes:1) Mindshare UK2) Mindshare UK Trends Report.3)  Liquid Barcodes - Loyalty Marketing Platform for Convenience Retailers

The Chalhoub Group is the largest retailer for luxury across the Middle East since 1955 with over 12,000 employees and a portfolio of some of the most exclusive brands in the world. With over 700 stores, the Group has spent the last two years defining and developing a unique loyalty programme proposition to appeal to premium customers and the luxury brands themselves. In this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty", I interview Nida Unas, Head of Group Loyalty at Chalhoub Group who tells us about MUSE - the programme that has been developed to reward premium Chalhoub customers with luxury experiences. She shares with us some of the new ideas and solutions emerging through the programme as malls in the Middle East remain closed for now.Show Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nidaunas/https://www.experience-muse.com/

With much of the world locked down for the forseeable future, the conversations around loyalty are changing. Safeguarding our customers, our staff and ourselves has become our biggest concern.  While businesses adapt and loyalty programmes evolve, agile retailers who may never have needed to allow their customers to "pre-order and pre-pay" are now recognising the power of digital platforms to support social distancing, particularly in convenience retail. As a consultant to the convenience industry, working with Liquid Barcodes, this episode unapologetically promotes a unique online solution and a tool that can be implemented by any retailer in just one week, in order to help retailers protect their customers and staff, and further build trust and loyalty long-term. Show Notes: Bob SteinThe (pre) "Order and Pay" solution from Liquid Barcodes (loyalty platform for convenience retail)