Credit card loyalty programs aren’t always a streamlined experience. Especially when it comes to redeeming rewards, customers aren’t looking to engage with the program more than once every few months to make big point redemptions. Bond Brand Loyalty’s newest mobile loyalty app, SynapzeINSTANT, is the latest from the Synapze platform and takes aim at clearing up the often-confusing world of credit card loyalty programs.
Loyalty360 spoke with Carlo Pirillo, Bond Brand Loyalty’s EVP of Digital Solutions, and discussed how the new app is upping engagement for banking loyalty programs.
When looking at credit card loyalty programs, one of the big issues we see is that customers aren’t clear about how to receive the maximum rewards available. How does SynapzeINSTANT clarify these programs?
Pirillo: A lot of that confusion stems from two primary factors, both of which are addressed by SynapzeINSTANT. The first is that the cost of these programs continues to go up, things like communication and member engagement have been sacrificed in favor of investing into other components of the program. A big focus of our app is reducing the cost per point of these programs so that it creates a drive to invest back into customer engagement.
Also, the mobile platform puts us right into the pocket of the consumers, and gives them a reason to re-engage with the program on a regular basis. If we can give the customer a reason to connect with the program when they’re out and about in the real world, we’re able to engage them at ideal moments and improve redemption rates.
Speaking of engaging the customer in the real world, your product goes so far as to utilize location-based push notifications to inform customers of when they’re in a points-eligible store. How do you see this kind of technology changing loyalty programs overall?
Pirillo: In some programs, the credit card companies will text you after making a purchase, asking if you want to use points to retroactively receive a discount for the product. These programs are great, but they create a situation in which the loyalty program had no effect on your shopping habits; you’re not entering the store because you have points to redeem, you’re just receiving a discount after the fact.
One reason for including the location technology in the app is to continually remind members that they have points to redeem at a nearby retailer. This drives shopper behavior and increases the incentives for retailers to participate in the program. As we continue to update the app, we’ll also be adding the ability for retailers to push out special offers available to SynapzeINSTANT users in the form of a points currency.
What are some of the metrics you use to measure the efficacy of these loyalty programs?
Pirillo: We certainly have focused in on a select few measurements that have proven useful in determining loyalty program effectiveness. We look a lot at CPP (cost per point) and reducing that as much as we can. That’s been a big focus for our product, and we consider it a big win when we’re able to work with our partners to alleviate some of the financial stress that comes from a loyalty program.
We also keep an eye on engagement, because the banking relationship is an interesting one. There needs to be a high level of trust between a bank and its customers, but the consumer usually isn’t looking for too many touchpoints with their bank. We’re always looking for ways to create new and exciting touchpoints for customers to interact with these banks, and we think SynapzeINSTANT is a big step toward doing that.