In a world of rapidly changing consumer preferences, brands are struggling to retain customers in the face of increasing competition. Despite the undeniable importance of customer retention, which costs 5 to 7 times less than acquiring new customers, traditional loyalty programs are losing their effectiveness. Customers are weary of these often similar programs based on transactional rewards. A new emotion-based approach is emerging, where engagement takes precedence over simple loyalty.
By improving the customer experience and strengthening emotional bonds, brands can encourage consumers to return more frequently. This article explores the 5 key pillars of an innovative customer engagement program.
P.1 Community
Sharing and communication are crucial to engagement. Brands need to create a space for exchanges between consumers too, forming a "community". These users, identifying with the brand, become actors in its evolution. According to the Harvard Business Review, community programs outperform transactional programs in terms of brand loyalty and attachment, turning customers into ambassadors.
However, moving from a "Consumer Centric" to a "Community Centric" approach requires sustained effort over the long term.
You will access :
👉 The 5 essential elements (Rituals, emotional connection, ...) to effectively integrate your customers into your community.
👉 Co-creation as a community gas pedal.
P.2 Personalization
ACCORDING TO A STUDY CONDUCTED BY AUDIREP: 65% OF CONSUMERS FEEL THAT LOYALTY PROGRAMS ARE NOT SUFFICIENTLY TARGETED, AND 79% WANT BENEFITS THAT MATCH THEIR CONSUMPTION PROFILE.
Brands are therefore faced with a dilemma. They need to understand customers' preferences while respecting their personal data rights. With the decline of third-party data and the elimination of third-party cookies by Google and Apple, brands must turn to respectful first-party data. Analyzing this data is crucial to building customer loyalty. With an in-depth understanding of habits and preferences, it becomes easier to create meaningful experiences that encourage engagement.
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Download the complete guide To discover the secret ingredient of personalization that hits the bull's eye!
P.3 Edutainment
Mixing play and education is an effective customer loyalty strategy. Starbucks illustrated this with its Odyssey program, which combines educational coffee quests with game dynamics. Today, rewarding a purchase is no longer enough. Brands need to add value to customer interactions, awarding rewards with high emotional value to strengthen the bond with them.
Integrating gamification into loyalty programs encourages these interactions and engagement. Offering badges for certain actions or stimulating competition via rankings are effective strategies. Rewarding User Generated Content can turn customers into brand ambassadors. The key is to offer engaging experiences that are less costly for brands than expensive rewards, while ensuring ownership of earnings and traceability of actions.
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Download the full guide And access our analysis of Starbucks' Odyssey program!
P.4 Ownership & traceability
Voluntary opt-in is crucial for future loyalty. One way to achieve this is to reinforce a sense of ownership among your customers, aligning their interests with those of your brand to increase loyalty. This involves allowing customers to collect, exchange, and utilize their benefits, even outside your platform. As the value of these benefits and membership increases, so does the value of your brand, creating a virtuous circle. The feeling of ownership fosters loyalty, referrals and willingness to pay.
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Find out how to cultivate this sense of ownership in 3 areas.
P.5 Collaboration
Establishing multi-brand partnerships enriches the customer experience and offers added value that transcends your brand. Airline frequent flyer programs illustrate this: by partnering with hotels, car rental companies and credit institutions, they offer diversified and enriching services, responding to customer expectations for a richer offer.
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To understand the concepts of interoperability and the associated technological challenges.
Momentum
Brands that innovate to deliver the best customer experience will build lasting relationships. The challenges of emotional engagement can be overcome thanks to new technologies, such as Web3 and blockchain in particular, which promote personalization, community and gamification.
NFTs allow consumers to own loyalty benefits, enhancing their experience. There's no need to completely overhaul your program: you can experiment and take it to the next level with this type of digital asset. The aim is to create rich, engaging experiences to satisfy customers' desire for novelty. The future of loyalty is here, ready to be seized.
Cohort
You and your team don't have the technical knowledge or resources? Cohort is a solution that makes it easy for brands to build these new-generation engagement programs, centered on emotion and customer experience.
experience. Harnessing these new levers, Cohort helps you create exciting customer experiences in just a few clicks to achieve unprecedented levels of engagement. Incorporated into your ecosystem, our platform seamlessly brings the full potential of Web3 to your marketing teams. Deliver seamless, integrated customer journeys across all your channels: no code, no wallet, no cryptocurrency.
