Loyalty schemes require more relevancy and personalization

Almost all consumers in the UK have, at some point, joined a loyalty program. However, according to new research from 3radical, consumers want those programs to understand them better and provide more relevant rewards and promotions.

by Helen Leggatt

Ninety-three percent of Brits have joined a loyalty scheme at some point. In fact, a third of all UK consumers have five or more loyalty cards although 61% favor only one or two, using them on a regular basis. When they find a loyalty scheme they like, three-quarters of UK consumers (75%) remain active members for more than a year.

While active users are a brand's main goal, it's a struggle to create a sustained interest in their loyalty program, found 3radical.

"Organizations nowadays are struggling to capture and bottle loyalty and retaining customers is consistently cited as a number one challenge for today's marketers," says David Eldridge, CEO at 3radical. "The brutal truth is that consumer behavior has changed. Today it's quite easy for a customer to ignore brand messaging, and once they no longer care what you have to say, re-engaging them with marketing can be nigh on impossible."

3radical's survey uncovered what it is that would encourage consumers in the UK to use loyalty schemes more often, and the overwhelming answer is that they want "more personalized and interactive loyalty schemes that encompass more of their relationship with brand".

Consumers want brands to acknowledge, and respond to, their personal likes and dislikes. Three-quarters want schemes that provide relevant rewards based on their purchase history while more than half (59%) said a scheme could be made more attractive by "including the ability for them to earn rewards for activities leading up to a purchase, such as researching the brands products".

"The most successful programs are those that help to develop more of an emotional connection with the brand rather than a transactional one, by creating interesting ways to interact across the customer journey and therefore offering plenty of ways to re-engage with them multiple times," added Eldridge.

The UK findings echo somewhat those of the 2016 Bond Brand Loyalty report conducted in the U.S. This, too, found consumers dissatisfied with loyalty schemes' level of personalization and a desire to be rewarded for activities other than purchases, such as social mentions or profile updates.

Tags: loyalty and rewards, loyalty marketing, loyalty shoppers, research, UK