What can loyalty programmes learn from social media?

Whether they need to cut through the noise or re-engage with clients weary of the pandemic, marketers are under great pressure to explore new methodologies

Although sectors such as retail and hospitality are facing rather different challenges in a post-pandemic market, they share a sense of urgency to reposition themselves on a landscape that is undergoing the most dramatic shift in decades. Shopping behaviour is becoming increasingly unpredictable as consumers try to reconcile their impulses for instant gratification with socially and environmentally responsible attitudes.

Loyalty programmes can build strategic partnerships between consumers and a brand, but static schemes segmenting customers based on demographics and previous purchases are not agile enough to capture the dynamic nature of customer behaviour. Bad targeting or ill-timed engagements with customers can ruin the loyalty that may have taken years to build.

But how can loyalty marketers achieve the kind of laser-sharp segmentation that ensures relevant messages reach individual loyalty sub-groups at the right time? The larger the company and the number of customers, the more likely it is that the answer will involve the deployment of AI. Only AI solutions can provide the granularity of data that allows marketing professionals to break down their customers into so-called ‘tribes’, which share the same affinities, personal interests, passions or ideas. These tribes can then be regarded as social media groups whose members have not only a direct relationship with the brand but also form a network between themselves.

This social media segmentation allows marketers to step beyond the economic incentives of transactional loyalty, such as discounts and exclusive perks, by offering information and social contacts to the community or organising events and activities that bring them together. AI tools can also empower brands to reach out to independent social media groups that advocate causes or support sustainability issues that are in line with the brand’s environmental, social and governance goals.

Although AI solutions are often seen as the linchpin of tribal segmentation programmes, they are no panacea. Organisations need to clarify what their goals, sector- and size-specific pain points are before they seek out a loyalty platform. It’s also important for them to consider how important various functionalities such as fraud and data protection are for their specific use cases.

IT and software service provider Comarch’s online roundtable is a great opportunity for brands of all sizes to hear seasoned experts talk about the current state of affairs in loyalty marketing. Guest speaker Mary Pilecki, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, has been helping marketers navigate the continually changing landscape of loyalty technology and services for decades in her various capacities. Bartosz Demczuk, Managing Director at Comarch Middle East, will share best business practices collected from over 100 loyalty programmes on six continents, while marketing automation and loyalty solution expert, Comarch’s Alexandra Sliwinski, has a deep understanding of the opportunities that loyalty programmes present in B2B marketing, where their potential has been traditionally underestimated.

Comarch’s Experts’ Roundtable 2021 is free to attend. Register here to watch it live or on demand