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Rather than merely offering 'daily deal' discounts, the idea of 'expectation matching' based on voice of the customer (VOC) initiatives has been identified as the key to customer retention and driving sustainable brand growth, according to research by loyalty marketing association Loyalty 360.

Each brand's customers have similar yet distinct interests and expectations, and long-term customer loyalty is dependent upon the brand's ability to understand them, not only when they're acquired but also to use a data-centric marketing strategy to drive brand engagement and make them into loyal brand advocates...

Traditionally, telecommunication companies (telcos) have been focusing their customer lifecycle management in acquisition and churn prevention. Today, an increasing number of telcos realise that price wars and tactical promotions only offer a temporary solution to churn, according to Alexander Meili, European strategy director for ICLP, who feels the time is right for loyalty programmes to take centre stage in the telecoms sector.

According to Meili's latest blog article, research by both ICLP and other companies has shown that 30%-40% of telcos have a loyalty programme of some kind in place, although there are regional differences (e.g. 60% in the Americas compared to 25% in Europe). And there is a growing trend toward implementing advanced...

The world is arguably undergoing one of the greatest media transformations in history. While the internet has been an evolutionary and revolutionary step, thanks largely to Apple, the mobile device has turned into a personal computer in the consumer's pocket - and one which is always available and always turned on - offering marketers a whole new gateway to new and stronger customer relationships, according to Garret Ippolito of MasterCard.

We live a mobile lifestyle. This lifestyle has been fuelled by the near ubiquitous penetration of messaging devices. You can't escape it. Video screens are talking to you in the elevator, when pumping petrol or riding in a city taxi. How we consume media has fundamentally changed. Marketers have been treading slowly into the mobile pool. But we are at a point where it is critical to engage customers via the mobile device, creating whole new ways to experience your loyalty programme and enhance its value.

The number of global mobile subscribers is now at least double the number of global internet users and, as mobile internet usage penetration increases, these figures are starting to converge. In Western Europe and North America, the market has already hit a 3G penetration inflection point (3G being the technology backbone upon which smart phones operate). As such, the mobile era has truly arrived. The key question, then, becomes whether or not marketers can risk others solidifying customer relationships, or should they do it themselves?

World demographics are also rapidly changing. In East Asia, up to 60% of some country's populations are under the age of 30. In the US, the second fastest growing age segment is under 35. Much of the online usage changes we are witnessing are being driven by the younger generation (for example, Twitter, Hulu, Shop Savvy, and FourSquare). This demographic is also the most mobile savvy. On Facebook alone, there are more than 65 million active mobile users (incredibly, 1 million users commented on their friends' status changes via mobile handsets within the first 24 hours of this feature's launch). This is a testament to the power of the mobile channel. But no one in the loyalty arena has yet locked in their relationship with this up-and-coming, mobile-savvy demographic. This is clearly an opportunity for loyalty practitioners.

So, in venturing into the mobile realm, it is critical not to have your mobile strategy dictated by the technology itself. Many mobile strategies go astray as companies do not fully understand how their customers use their mobile devices, instead adopting tactics merely because they want to be first, because their competitors are active in the space, or because it is seen as being 'trendy'. Rather choose a strategy and tactics that support your business goal of solidifying customer relationships.

Answering some step-by-step questions will help frame a successful mobile engagement strategy. For example:
·  Who is your audience?
·  What is your goal?
·  What outcome do you expect?

This is not a case of "if you build it, they will come". Customers need and expect value, more so than at any other time in the past. They also expect real-time news, updates and personalisation. As such, any mobile applications developed for a loyalty programme should, at the very least, address these consumer expectations.

Beyond that, to be successful, marketers will have to go with their instincts. Given that so many loyalty marketers are of a practical and scientific disposition, this may be uncomfortable territory. The natural urge may be to research whether or not consumers want a mobile application, and what they want that mobile application to do.

But marketers may be disappointed with the answer because that kind of research is simply not conducive to exploring the consumer's imagination. The marketer's job actually lies in turning the mobile channel into an experience.

We are truly in an era of transformation, both economically and technologically, and the mobile is exactly the vehicle we need to solidify our valuable customer relationships.

This article is an extract from the 30 chapters of detailed coverage in 'The Loyalty Guide 4', which is The Wise Marketer's latest 1,000+ page global guide to customer loyalty and engagement techniques, best practices, models, metrics, practical advice, market data and research. The report provides hundreds of detailed case studies, forecasts, trends, tables and visual materials to support new initiatives, presentations and proposals. See how customer data can increase profits, reduce churn, and increase frequency, spending, and share of wallet, and find out where your competitors are succeeding or failing, and why.

For only £1095 the electronic (PDF) edition of The Loyalty Guide 4 gives you a complete, portable reference library of customer loyalty, engagement and marketing strategy. A free 50-page Executive Summary, chapter samples, table of contents, text searching, licensing and ordering details are online now at http://www.theloyaltyguide.com

PointsPay, a subsidiary of loyalty technology provider Loylogic, has unveiled its new global mobile phone-based payment system for the loyalty industry, offering consumers the option to use loyalty points and miles as valid currency at almost any point of sale in the world.

By instantly converting miles or points into usable point-of-sale (POS) currency, PointsPay allows members of loyalty programmes to redeem their points or miles at millions of merchants worldwide. The loyalty industry has always needed more ways to enable quick and easy redemption of loyalty points, but the 'holy grail' is...

Consumers are now more engaged with their supermarket of choice than they are with their bank or their mobile phone service provider, according to a study of British consumer attitudes toward supermarket marketing by business analytics firm SAS and the Cranfield School of Management.

The majority of participants in the study (91%) said they had some engagement with their supermarket in a single month (be it via broadcast, personal experience, word of mouth, etc.) compared to only 88% for their main bank, and 82% for their mobile phone service providers. But, the study warned, supermarkets still...

Most consumers (84%) said their online shopping experience during the 2011 holiday shopping season was either 'good' or 'excellent', up from 78% in 2010, according to the 'Holiday Online Shopping Experience Survey' by e-commerce personalisation solutions firm Baynote.

The attributes that consumers said were most important for a positive online shopping experience included: a smooth checkout process, effective on-site navigation and search, informative user reviews and comments, and personalised product recommendations - although consumers indicated there is room for improvement...

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So keep well, and market wisely.

Until next week,

Pete Clark
Editor