Optimizing Loyalty Across Multiple Channels

Providing a consistent retail experience across multiple channels is still a relatively elusive reality in shopper opinions. But it’s not just customers who are feeling this way. In an informal poll at the Customer Relationship Management Conference in Chicago this year, over 65% of loyalty leaders admitted they felt unable to deliver a consistent cross-channel experience to their members. Customers and loyalty leaders are aligned on the goal, so why does there seem to be such a wide gap between those expectations and delivery? The key reasons are the complexity of managing customer interactions across expanding numbers of channels, non-aligned internal corporate priorities and insufficient investment within loyalty program support functions.

The Channel Explosion
Aligning experiences across channels used to be simpler when it only involved the call center, direct mail and in-store experiences. Social media, website and email expanded the channels, and also the need for state-of-the-art customer management technology. As customers’ access to product content has multiplied, so too have their expectations, growing exponentially over the past five to10 years. Throughout this growth, customers have given retailers some fairly clear and simple feedback regarding their expectations:

* They want differentiated treatment and incremental rewards that reflect customer loyalty.

* They want member communication that is personalized to both the customer and the channel, with a message that is relevant.

* And finally, they want consistency of experience across purchase channels.

Spend 10 minutes critiquing your program against each of these areas. Does your program truly deliver against what are no longer “best-in-class” practices, but rather “table stakes” for loyalty programs in the 21st century?

Quick Win Opportunities Exist
Common mistakes that we see retail loyalty programs continue to make can easily be turned into opportunities for optimal cross- channel experience development. For example:

1. Differentiating members’ web experience. Retail websites tend to provide a similar experience for each customer whether they spend $10 annually, or $10,000. This is mainly because many sites bury the link to their program, which is usually small, under a “Credit Card” tab. Instead, put the loyalty login in the top row and make it very visible. Include access to special merchandise, instant online support service, and other corresponding benefits that customers are familiar with receiving in-store. Check out the websites for Hilton Hotels, American Airlines or Continental for examples of more prominent program placement that makes it clear that program membership is meaningful and valued.

2. Aligning leadership by optimizing knowledge sharing throughout the organization. Cross-channel experiences for customers are rarely consistent if there is no alignment at the senior leadership team level in defining how these experiences should be delivered. It’s helpful to start with some tactical accomplishments (an e-commerce group sharing browsing behavior throughout the organization, systems for floor associates to share customer preferences with the call center, etc.) and build to strategic recommendations (program data influencing merchandise selection, new retail models, etc.). Given the current proliferation of locked and inflexible data models and systems, we find addressing this area to be extremely powerful in terms of building organizational support for programs’ efforts.

3. Incorporating front-line staff into program planning and delivery. Front-line employees typically are under-utilized within loyalty programs, creating an environment where they deliver customer experiences that vary greatly across channels. We find that there is a large push to involve associates in training when programs are launched or refreshed, but ongoing front-line employee support and training is often a prime target for cost cutting. At the very least, your training schedule should reflect your employee turnover trends. Program training every two years is not terribly helpful if your average associate tenure is one year.

4. Enhancing call center experiences. Preferential queuing is great for call center support, but imagine your best customers raving about the service they received via this channel. Look to Saks Fifth Avenue for inspiration; their special services number for Diamond members delivers an exemplary relationship building experience that is a competitive advantage when compared to faceless CSR experiences that can be common within the industry.

Best Foot Forward: Reset Your Program and Communicate
The key to success is to start with an initial program design well steeped within your company’s brand differentiators. An audit of your current customer experiences can easily illustrate your performance to senior management. Companies consistently over- estimate member understanding of their benefits. Communicate with your members to set their expectations; this will ensure they understand what experience to expect in each of your channels and will serve to put your best foot forward for all other strategies and processes you put in place.

Fred Thompson is partner, retail practice lead for LoyaltyOne Consulting. He can be reached at [email protected].