differentiating your engagement by perceived positive empowerment

All of us are part of so many ‘similar’ loyalty programs, that not only is it difficult to keep a track , but we also tend to shrug off by the thought of joining another similar program offerings. The problem lies in the design coz they all look the same, behave in the same way and more or less offer similar rewards. It is very hard to differentiate one program from the other and hence a key point of ‘differentiation’ comes here.

Here, I am referring about the differentiation that can happen at a program level and not at a brand or offerings level. 2 similar category stores can differentiate themselves in many ways but when it comes to program-level dynamics, they all ‘seem’ the same. There is very little engagement or interaction with members (customers) and the reason for being loyal to the store is never because of the program.

I would like to highlight the need for DEEP to be integrated with every program – differentiation, engagement, empowerment and perception (DEEP, for short)

* The program needs to be different..
* It should engage customers, accurately and appropriately..
* Customers should perceive being empowered by the brand – to choose the way they want to get treated / communicated.. (one example of the same is given below – empowering customers)

CMO & CTO - any possible convergence

There are very few instances when there is coordination between the CTO and CMO. Both are busy working from their ivory towers and people below keep fighting for a piece of action. So much so, that they are deeply drawn into their respective fields of study and prefer to live in intellectual isolation. When will we see this as a common trend where both of them share a vision to achieve that common ‘organizational’ goal.

In the past week, I came across a person who is designated as CTO (or Head – IT), but has a much broader role in the organization. Not only does he take care of IT related stuff – integrations, software and application development, loyalty programs (back-end), payment gateways, he also handles marketing alliances, uses technology to achieve numbers or push sales through innovations, also pitches for selling in-house media properties etc.

This combination is rare to find but an organization which believes the efficacy of integrating the two teams will always deliver better results or more so, an organization empowering an individual for something like this. The benefits that accrue to the above organization could be summed up –
* Convergence between technology and business
* Applying technology to enhance value proposition (internal or external)
* Result-oriented practical innovations
* Efficient technology spends
* ‘Technology function’ looked as primary business-driver function
* Greater accountability from technology function (marketing also is no longer a cost centre)

Data Collection - junk or useful, practise or opportunity

Every time we go to a restaurant or a pub, we are given a form to capture our feedback and some personal details. As a rule, my wife religiously fills the form (as I am paying for the bill). My guess is she does this to pass the billing time or is probably expecting something.

Most of the places just increase their junk and do it because it is done as a practice, everywhere. The live data collected is gone to thrash as soon as you leave the place. I want to quote 2 interesting incidences –
1. We went to a restaurant on our anniversary. Like always, she filled the form (with the date), while I was paying the money. We tipped and left. What have they done with the feedback. I guess no one even saw what we wrote – forget positive or negative comments. No one from the waiter to the manger even wished us (leave giving us a complimentary dessert). Did they miss an opportunity to connect on an emotional level with us?
2. This just happened a week back; she filled the form, we paid and we left. After about 2 days, I received a mail from the restaurant thanking us for our visit and also giving a touchdown on events like karaoke night, happy hours, etc. Now this was superb coz I (or for that matter, anyone) did not expect it. They could have done more but let’s leave that for further debate.

The point I am making is – how many of them who collect data, make real use of it. Now data comes at a price and using at a much bigger price. But, there are simple things one can do (without huge cost implications or heavy infrastructure) to –
* make an emotional connect
* look at ways to attract repeat visits
* helps to build relationship with your customer
* basic: acknowledging a customer’s visit

Running fancy loyalty programs, rich data analytics software or spamming sms’s is not what I want to propose. Generally, that is not the answer to some basic questions or concerns. I think – It always pays to treat a customer like the way they would like to get treated.