Data is the
handshake that enables marketers to truly understand their customers and forge stronger relationships that will drive
the next generation of loyalty. We now have the means to understand the behavior of our customers on a deeper level but marketers must take it a step further and innovate with data. Imagine having a view into the transactional behavior of your customers as it relates to other merchants? The insight lies in the power of data.
Data is a key driver of next generation loyalty as loyalty shifts away from the ‘recency, frequency and monetary’ relationship to a one-to-one, emotionally established relationship between a consumer and a brand. Once a consumer is in your marketing database, the loyalty treatment plan is “always on”. Each marketing message, delivered through every medium and device, can be driven by personalized marketing vehicles and strategies. This
real-time readiness gives businesses an advantage to fulfill on both short-term and long-term needs. Having data that allows you to recommend the next best product, service, or offer helps you align with corporate objectives, while also successfully delivering on customer relationships.
We recently completed a project for a home furnishings retailer whose objective was to maintain their brand image, customer satisfaction ratings and increase purchase rates. The retailer understood in today’s marketplace every company is at risk of losing market share to a competitor. By infusing their plans with
MarketView data, the retailer was able to identify their customers most at risk and message to them appropriately. Additionally, from leveraging MarketView’s share of wallet data, the retailer was prepared to respond with a two-for-one offer to their customers who recently shopped at a competing brand. This approach helped the retailer work towards their long term objective of increasing their customer base by reaching a broader audience of consumers with planned, targeted and strategic marketing communications.
Data is the key component in establishing and growing a one-to-one relationship with consumers. Loyalty programs today need to take into account more than just amount spent and frequency of spend. Marketers need to augment these programs with an understanding of their customers’ favorite merchants and degree or concentration of brand loyalty. Additionally, they can now leverage share of wallet data to better understand which customers are spending deeply with other merchants versus their own merchant. And, they can track how spending habits change over time, and apply these changes to shift share from their competition.
So it’s no longer just about knowing
how your customer invests with you. It’s about understanding your customers holistically with insights into their shopping behaviors and then personalizing your messaging to them. Measurement tools may be used to evaluate if spend patterns change by consumer segment – loyalists versus one time users – as a result of campaign efforts. And, comprehensive spend data may be used to fine tune online promotions and increase relevancy. For example, ads with call to actions can be effectively timed when loyalists are “in the market”. Analytics may be used to enhance the level of knowledge about single time purchasers– especially when the goal is to engage various segments of customers to increase their loyalty to a given merchant. That’s how data provides a marketing handshake in next generation loyalty.