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Tag: ICLP

  • The study, commissioned by ICLP's parent company Collinson Group, examined affluent consumers' attitudes towards brand loyalty

    ICLP survey reveals main loyalty drivers in retail amongst affluent consumers

    By A Correspondent

     

    Global loyalty marketing agency ICLP reveals that the desire for innovative loyalty programmes is high on the agenda for consumers when considering their preferred retailers. This is particularly true of Millennials, with 46 per cent saying they would be encouraged to spend with a brand that has a loyalty programme. This compares with 39 per cent of those in Generation X, and 40 per cent of Baby Boomers, demonstrating that while there is plenty of appetite for loyalty programmes, brands must do more in order to continue to engage audiences. The study, commissioned by ICLP’s parent company Collinson Group, examined affluent consumers’ attitudes towards brand loyalty.

     

    Anurag Saxena, General Manager at ICLP said: “Retail continues to evolve at a rapid rate, with brands both online and offline battling for loyalty in an increasingly crowded space. Gone are the days when a loyalty card alone would encourage consumers to choose a particular retailer above all others – the stakes are much higher now. Effective loyalty programmes need to recognise and cater to what customers value, such as being greeted by name when entering a store, personalised offers or VIP events, in order to drive brand engagement and devotion.”

     

    The survey found that while consumer interest in loyalty programmes is high, as 42 per cent of shoppers stated they would be encouraged to shop more with a brand if it had a loyalty programme, retailers need to look beyond traditional points-based programmes to find ways to inspire higher or more frequent spend from shoppers.

     

    • 58 per cent of affluent consumers expect offers that are personalised and relevant to them when they walk into a store, showing that many expect retailers to use data insights to create a more valuable, customer-centric relationship

    • 53 per cent of all shoppers would be encouraged to shop more frequently or spend more with a brand if they received discounts on future purchases

    • 42 per cent of Indian shoppers said that they would be more loyal to brands that offer a stylist to advise them on purchases, and 39% claim suggestions based on past purchases drive their loyalty

    • 42 per cent of consumers are likely to spend more in a retail store where they are greeted by name and made to feel like a valued customer

    • Companies that are able to send receipts via email get more repeat visits from consumers, as this is something 39 per cent of those questioned stated would lead them to shop more frequently with a retailer

    • Increasingly, consumers will choose retailers that offer money-can’t-buy experiences (16 per cent) or invitations to special VIP events (21 per cent) over those that offer generic, points-based rewards. This shows the need for loyalty programmes that offer unique and exclusive experiences.

     

  • In a world driven by Volume, Velocity and Variety, loyalty assumes a fair degree of importance, writes Mark Spicer

    Loyalty, Social Media & Data

     

    Guest Column/By Mark Spicer

     

    We live in a data-driven world: A world of “3 V’s of data” (volume, velocity, variety). As per IBM estimates, around 2.5 quintillion bytes of new data are created every day. These large set of unstructured data available through various mediums and channels like social media, mobile devices and myriad of other sources are filed away in massive databases. The trick to navigating through these massive tracts of information is to know how to look for the ‘right data’ which drives an understanding of your customer.

     

    This data explosion has taken many marketers as well as loyalty marketers by surprise. Relationship marketing has always been a very data-centric activity, and for a long time the data that drove loyalty programmes was structured transactional and customer profile data, held in relational databases. Today, progressive loyalty managers are harnessing social media and web data to enhance their understanding of customer behaviour and their sentiment. If an organisation’s highest value customers are referring to them in blogs or on social media sites, then loyalty practitioners have an interest in that data footprint both from a customer service perspective but also from an analytical sense.

     

    The challenge for loyalty marketing is how to incorporate these new data sources into the traditional Single Customer View (SCV) approach to organising and centralising all that is known about each individual member. A true SCV model for the modern day ideally should encompass some, if notall of the new universe of available data and integrate them seamlessly; alongside traditional transactional and profile data, individual-level views of social media sentiment and mobile device engagement should be available, for example. This in turn should be able to drive marketing across traditional direct channels but also through digital and mobile personalisation. This is no small task and in order to deliver on this vision, a number of issues need to be fully understood and addressed:

     

    Scale. The sheer volume of data and the number of different sources is potentially overwhelming. Even within the sphere of social media, different channels (e.g. Facebook vs. Twitter) may require different approaches. Added to this there is web data and mobile data each requiring understanding and a bespoke approach.

     

    Matching. How to match the ‘new’ data sources with the ‘old’ is fundamental. The existing SCV approach requires the capture of a unique reference number, email/physical address or some other identifier. It is unlikely that these will always be present amongst mobile, social media or web data. However, cookies, URL’s, tagging, social media ‘handles’ and other identifiers may provide a solution here.

     

    Technology. What, if any, technology is required to support a ‘New SCV’ proposition. Do existing IT and database platforms provide some or even all of what is required or are there IT solutions in the market that can help support the achievement of objectives? The existing traditional relational database/SQL server based platforms and BI tools of many organisations will not offer sufficient capacity or speed for today’s data volumes. Cloud-based services and tools created to scale exponentially are likely to play some part here.

     

    ROI – Most crucial of all, how do organisations investing in new data ventures make a return on this investment? Actionability is fundamental. Data needs to be delivered to marketers in a commercially-useful form to drive targeted, personalised customer experiences and communications, as well as adding value across other disciplines such as product development.

     

    Mark Spicer is General Manager, ICLP, a customer loyalty consulting firm. He is based in London and Mumbai