Let's Talk Loyalty

Loyalty programmes inevitably require considerable investment to build, manage and optimise, and with so much money and time being spent, it's essential to know what's working and what's not!

Mike Atkin, affectionately known as the "Loyalty Guru", has developed a framework that he uses to expertly assess any loyalty programme against industry best practise, giving the type of expert support that so many loyalty marketers say they need.

Known as the "Loyality Check", Mike and his colleagues assess every aspect of any programme's design, operations, technology infrastructure and financial performance, to help you understand what's working, and what's not.

Listen to this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" to learn how you can avail of Mike's expert assistance if you're not sure if your loyalty programme is working as powerfully as it should!

Show Notes:

1) Mike Atkin - The Loyalty Guru

2) Customer Strategy Network

In this episode of “Let’s Talk Loyalty”, I summarise the great conversation I had in 2020 with Phil Hawkins, Operations Director for Flybuys - Australia's most popular loyalty programme.

Phil has spent much of his career supporting its incredible success and he shared the 5 top lessons he has learned about loyalty marketing along the way.

Listen to this short episode to learn Phil's lessons on truly building loyalty, and how Flybuys Australia is evolving for the future.

Show Notes:

1) Phil Hawkins - Chief Operations Officer at flybuys

2) Flybuys coalition programme

With over fourteen years in loyalty and consulting roles from a technology perspective, Bart Demczuk is today leading the Middle East region for Comarch, who power loyalty programmes around the world for brands like BP, Old Mutual and Puntos Colombia, as well as regionally for industry leaders like ADNOC and ENOC.

Bart shares his strategic view on some of the current key challenges for loyalty professionals, firstly to ensure they measure truly commercial metrics to ensure they are running a successful loyalty programme.

He shares his views on the risks posed by industry disruptors offering short term marketing channels for restaurants and retailers, but at the expense of creating and owning long term direct relationships with their customers.

He also highlights the risk of "excessive personalisation" - a trend which has become increasingly prevalent on social media channels, and the importance of balancing privacy and personalisation in a way that customers truly value.

Listen to this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" for a helicopter view of insights from the Middle East from this leader in loyalty.

This episode is sponsored by Comarch.

Show Notes:

1) Bartosz Demczuk - Senior Vice President at Comarch Middle East

2) Comarch Loyalty Marketing Solutions

As one of the largest airlines in the world, Emirates Airline last year celebrated the 20th anniversary of its loyalty programme Skywards, which had just passed a global membership base of over 27 million members, many in International markets.

Just two shorts weeks before the global pandemic forced an almost total shutdown of the world's aviation industry, I had a fascinating conversation with Dr Nejib Ben Khedher who has led the digital transformation of Skywards in recent years.

This short show summarises his incredible insights on what was working so well for Skywards already and some exciting new ideas emerging in the industry.

For me, Skywards and Emirates are inspiring brands given their premium position in the global aviation market, and my own fond memories of working in the same company many years ago.

Listen to this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" for a truly exciting perspective on what's possible when a global brand invests in its loyalty strategy with a clear intention of delighting its members.

Show Notes:

1) Emirates Skywards

2) Dr Nejib Ben Kheder

"For Love or Money 2021" is a powerful, independent and comprehensive research report on customer views of loyalty marketing programmes that operate in Australia and New Zealand.

Hot off the presses, Adam Posner, the loyalty brains behind the report, talks me through the lessons learned from this year's panel of customers - from the surprising (plastic card anyone?) to the delightful (here's looking at you Woolworth's Rewards) and one result that's downright disappointing!

Listen to this episode to understand the highlights of this latest loyalty research that includes insights and comparisons on Covid-related behaviour changes, and find out more about how you can access your own copy of the 2021 report.

Show Notes:

1) Adam Posner

2) For Love or Money 2021 Reports

In this short episode, I showcase my partnership with my friends in "The Wise Marketer™" - the world's most widely read source of news, and insights for loyalty marketing professionals.

The guys in The Wise Marketer and I are equally passionate about sharing loyalty knowledge so this content partnership is the perfect way to do that.

In this five minute episode, I summarise key insights from the CEO of The Wise Marketer, Bill Hanifin, and how proud I am to be working with The Wise Marketer group, adding my "voice" to be part of the world's biggest loyalty community.

Show Notes:

1) Bill Hanifin

2) TheWiseMarketer

3) The Loyalty Academy

4) Full interview with Bill Hanifin - episode #24

As Australia's top online pure-play beauty retailer, Adore Beauty has had incredible growth and success in recent years, even throughout the pandemic.

Not only did the company successfully go public in 2020, but it also launched an innovative non points-based loyalty programme called the Adore Society.

With a goal of education, a clear set of benefits for each loyalty tier based on member's spend, and simple yet exciting rewards, Miranda Bliss is the brains behind this compelling customer-focused loyalty programme that's already proving incredibly successful.

In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, Miranda explains the programme proposition, the focus on education and entertainment for customers, as well as their powerful content strategy - together which are driving incredible growth and loyalty for this inspiring business.

Show Notes:

1) Miranda Bliss

2) Adore Beauty

3) Adore Society

4) Beauty IQ Podcast

5) Skincare School Podcast

My favourite loyalty stories are programs or platforms that serve a higher purpose that benefit us as people as well as the companies we are customers of.

In episode 23 of LetsTalkLoyalty, I was thrilled to meet Dan Gipple, who is the founder of a loyalty platform called “Better Points” that uses loyalty psychology and mechanics to change consumer behaviour such as improving their health.

I had met Dan through an inspiring story that the BBC did on a loyalty programme in Italy called Bella Mossa – a programme designed by the city of Bologna to address the problem of pollution.

Listen to learn a summary of key insights on human behaviour & the psychology of consumer loyalty and some fascinating programmes that serve an even "higher purpose".

Show Notes:

Episode #23 of Let's Talk Loyalty

BBC News - Clip featuring the city of Bologna's loyalty programme.

Bella Mossa - Using Rewards to incentivise citizens of Bologna to drive less frequently,

Dan Gipple.

Better Points Platform.

South Africa is famous for the innovative "shared value" business model that has created extraordinary loyalty within the insurance industry for more than twenty years.

So how does a financial services firm like Old Mutual compete against the market leader?

The answer is innovation, a clear intention to add value and be loyal TO members, enhancing their financial understanding, while ensuring their products and loyalty programme are accessible to customers in every segment of society.

In this show, Brett Cameron, Head of Rewards at Old Mutual in South Africa, shares the ideas and insights that are driving growth, connection and financial wellbeing with Old Mutual's members and customers.

This episode is sponsored by Comarch.

Show Notes:

1) Brett Cameron - Head of Rewards, Old Mutual

2) Old Mutual

This short show is an introduction to CX – or “customer experience” - a field that has exploded in recent years as a powerful way to drive customer loyalty.

I'm summarising my episode featuring Michael Killeen, founder of the “CX Academy” to figure out what customers expect from brands, why so many companies are appointing CX professionals, and how loyalty professionals can lead CX initiatives.

Show Notes:

1) Episode 22 of Let's Talk Loyalty

2) CX Academy

3) Michael Killeen