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Technology has transformed loyalty programs by creating a more seamless and personalized experience. In the US, a typical consumer might be a member of around 15 loyalty programs. However, what truly matters is the customers’ active participation in these loyalty programs, which is crucial to its success.
At Customers for Life, a recent Vision Critical event in Hong Kong, we immediately felt the grandeur, magnificent presence and ambience of the flagship Mandarin Oriental (MO) hotel in Central Hong Kong as soon as we stepped in. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group: Not all customers are created equal.
If you’re like me, you have loyalty cards for three different supermarkets, a half dozen airlines, several hotels, a dozen or so assorted retailers and the local frozen yogurt shop. As I’ll discuss later, most consumers are a lot like me. grocery chain Kroger has used its rewardsprogram to mine data for years.
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Amy Jackson, Senior Director of Brand Strategy and Consumer Marketing for TripIt from Concur while I was at the South By Southwest Interactive festival in Austin, Texas back in March. I am a huge fan since it has saved me more than once.
Are Hotel Loyalty and RewardsPrograms Enough to Keep Customers Loyal to the Brand? Travel consumers are buried under an avalanche of options and offers, and if they repeatedly choose your brand over the competing alternatives, obviously your brand has an appeal above and beyond the competition. by Max Starkov.
For airlines, hotels, resorts and other companies in the travel and hospitality industry, this presents new challenges in terms of managing their reputation. Personalization and memorization deal with the fact that airlines or hotel brands should already know something about who I am and what I like.”.
Even though Plenti failed[i], Amex’s effort showed belief in the coalition model by one of the biggest names in rewardprograms. Powerful consumer brands, meanwhile, are building their own coalitions. The “Marriott More” program allows its members to earn and redeem points on everyday retail purchases[iii].
With buyer satisfaction levels plummeting to a 17-year low, and less than 35% of consumers completely satisfied with their brand relationship, there is huge stakes resting on your ability to provide satisfying experiences. Jolie Fleming, SVP Guest Products & Platforms, IHG Hotels & Resorts. Find out more here!
Many retailers have recognition and rewardprograms. Of course the rewardprograms were started to collect customer data and track spending habits, but don’t we all get tired of our key fobs full of little plastic attachments we need to scan at every store? So how does a business show customers they really care?
Many consumers now ‘multibank’[iii], keeping their traditional provider on-hand for the same reasons they always did, but branching out in search of enhanced value. In 2000, UK consumer bank Halifax launched a fairly successful marketing slogan: the people that give you extra [iv]. Actually, they do. Extra what?
Their rewardsprogram provides 2 points for every dollar spent at Nordstrom’s and provides for 1 point when I use the card elsewhere. I can also convert points to miles on many different airlines, and use the points and redeem them at various hotels and Hertz car rentals. has extended the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.
Tourism, hospitality, and leisure companies have been extremely touched by the Covid pandemic, with thousands of canceled flights, hotel bookings, and more. TravelClub is the leader rewardprogram in Spain with over 6 million subscribers. Chatbot examples in the travel & leisure industry. TravelClub.
Rewardprograms still have an important part to play in this effort; but they are only part of the picture. YouGov data from the UK shows that even the youth demographic – supposedly disloyal – thinks that points programs “are a good way for brands to reward customers and 59% think all brands should offer one.”.
Enormous budget airline brands and luxury hotel chains alike are seeing increased competition. Power reported higher consumer satisfaction than ever – largely due to increased seat sizes and cheaper fares. At a hotel check-in, there is almost always a look-up-and-confirm process before checking them in.
It may include everything from answering phones at a hotel to providing social media support for a large corporation. In these places, no matter how great the product is, the service affects the consumer’s view of the company. Customer service is a broad term that covers a large number of tasks.
An example of effective alignment of strategy with tactics include Australia’s Coles Supermarket chain and its flybuys rewardprogram. This past summer, the supermarket decided to offer reward points to customers who bring their own re-usable carrier bags. Choice Hotels’ Smart Privilege scheme is another good example.
It allows guests to see wait times for attractions, order food, and even unlock their hotel room, ensuring a hassle-free experience at their parks. Tesla Sector: Automotive Tesla has completely revolutionized the car-buying experience with their direct-to-consumer sales model. The Disney app provides a perfect example of this effort.
Hotels need to get rid of tiny plastic shampoo bottles (or prove that they are better than alternatives). People are increasingly aware of ‘greenwashing’ brands, which claim environmental credibility without acting, so it’s critical that operating practices and program design are fully aligned with messaging. CEO Glenn Fogel said….
Many loyalty program members will now be accustomed to similar liquidity enhancements, such as exchanging your American Express Membership Rewards Points into Avios or Bonvoy. Remember, your loyalty goal is not to issue the maximum number of points, but for the maximum number of customers to see joining your program as worthwhile.
The following quote baffles my mind: According to IRI Worldwide, 74% of consumers globally choose a store based on its effective loyalty programme.[i]. If 74% of consumers choose a store based on their loyalty program, then why do few loyalty programs have more than 25% of their customers participating? They may be worth.5
From the customer perspective, it amounts to a Revolution – where brands are finally giving into what has been a ‘peaceful demonstration’ gaining momentum for several years – namely that it is too difficult to accumulate much value among so many incompatible loyalty point currencies/programs – so consumers quit.
The anecdotes revealed some interesting themes, and they should make for useful learnings for airline and hotel brands. During the past 20 years, I´ve stayed in hundreds of IHG hotels and amassed hundreds of thousands of loyalty points. Since then, over 200 hotels that were not IHG have had my custom instead. Travel-Sick. “I
Responsys , a cloud-based Campaign Management platform particularly prevalent in the airline industry, has been adopted by the Landmark Group of consumer brands to avoid this problem. For example, a hotel chain could define a rule that granted 2% of a customer’s total spend in the form of points. Maintain competitive edge.
Life as we knew it before COVID-19 will take time to return, and even when it does we’re likely to be in a ‘new normal’, as the crisis impacts consumer behaviors going forward. Food and beverage companies, cruise lines, airlines, and hotels are facing some unique challenges as people are forced to stay home.
While travel and retail brands have made a lot of progress in the last 24 months, the bulk of innovation has come from other consumer sectors – including media businesses, entertainment, and telecoms providers, which in recent years appeared to regard loyalty as a lost cause. What really stood out is which brands were pulling off these feats.
Broadly speaking, most of the chains’ loyalty efforts have been in proprietary, albeit digitalized versions of the original S&H program: collecting in order to redeem for rewards, some digital couponing, and pushing out offers via a mobile app. Town Lodge Hotels. consumer goods (Fitbit). Musica (entertainment).
When I last converted a hotel currency into United Airlines MileagePlus, it took three or four business days. Vast sums of reward value were issued at a blanket rate of 1-3% – but because many of the points would never be redeemed, the projected cost was considered minimal. This is a huge problem for the consumer.
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