The industry is still reeling from what has been the biggest shock to physical retail in 50 years. Almost overnight, consumers were forced to make all non-grocery purchases online, as centres and stores rightfully closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The effect of the closures, and the precautions needed to ensure shoppers’ safety, will be felt throughout 2020, and for many years to come as companies recover from lost sales.
IMA Europe invited Ben Chesser, Coniq’s CEO, to participate in a webinar on the 1st July to discuss loyalty, customer engagement and rewards in light of the new landscape. This article discusses our thoughts on the topics.
The webinar recording is available to watch here.
We, at Coniq, believe the future of loyalty lies in tailored, personalised communications based on the collection and analysis of total engagement data sourced from multiple customer touch points. Customers are no longer satisfied with broadcast loyalty where everyone gets the same treatment. Infact, only 25% of loyalty program members are satisfied with the level of program personalisation (Brand Keys). Marketers need to build a long term relationship with their shoppers and incentivise the immediate behaviours they desire, which can only be done using the right technology to listen to and engage customers at the right time.
The famous quote by Wanamaker that “half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half” is no longer the case. With fully tracked loyalty programs, marketers can now see exactly which marketing investments generate which behaviour. Results can be seen in real-time, while AI and automation allows for both segmentation into distinct audiences, and immediate communication, reaching the consumer while they are still in or near the shopping destination.
Many centres and retailers collect shopper data but they do not use it to its fullest potential, continuing to send out generic and untrackable Above The Line messages. The ability to segment a customer database for multi-channel communication provides a huge return on investment as it allows marketers to prioritise high-value shoppers based on shopping behaviour, preferences and location .
Programmes can be designed to directly target the most desirable shoppers and drive their behaviour using appropriate rewards. The best information comes from those who deal directly with your shoppers – retail staff, live chat operators on an ecommerce site, etc, and are a vital resource for marketers.
Ben, and other retail industry executives, expand upon these points in the webinar recording.
