A strong customer loyalty technology platform facilitates your entire end-to-end solution. At this point in our six-part series on the components of a successful customer loyalty program, we’ve covered how each of the following elements contributes to a cohesive approach:
The right technology enables all the above. It’s the engine moving your program forward. A configurable loyalty platform brings many benefits.
- Offers an intuitive back-end tool for managing day-to-day operations
- Brings program strategy to life by facilitating the earning rules—allowing for quickly created promotions and offers.
- Connects to a flexible award solution
- Generates powerful analytics
- Facilitates an omnichannel communication experience
A scalable and fully integrated technology makes memorable emotional connections with your customers possible. It can recoup precious team time and increase each customer's lifetime value. According to Forrester, investments in consumer loyalty and technology solutions remain the best way to encourage customer engagement and generate lasting loyalty.
Customer loyalty technology benefits create seamless E2E loyalty program execution
Unlike cobbled-together, multi-vendor programs, E2E partners support administrators across all aspects of customer loyalty program design, delivery and evolution. This can involve re-platforming to an all-in-one technology solution that anchors the program and addresses common pain points. The right platform should do the following.
1. Unify customer data within a single, holistic view
This provides the benefit of unlocking a 360-degree understanding of customer behavior and program performance. Multi-dimensional loyalty measurements look beyond transactional data to encourage stronger relationships with your brands’ biggest fans.
2. Extract hidden insights
Pattern recognition technology helps predict customer behavior and deliver personalized experiences in moments that matter.
3. Identify the most valuable customers with real-time scoring on needs and behaviors
This helps brands focus on customer segments that deliver the strongest return. Tiered awards, point systems and exclusive member benefits encourage long-term customer relationships.
4. Strengthen emotional connections
Customizable loyalty programs nurture brand advocates and increase customer lifetime value. Nimble systems help loyalty teams boost conversions with relevant offers tailored for each audience.
5. Orchestrate campaigns
Customers receive relevant communications in their preferred channels. Automated campaigns, personalized journeys and actionable analytics combine to yield impressive results.
6. Manage the day-to-day of promotions
Predictive tools help personalize offers, matching customer motivations and needs in the moments they’re most likely to buy.
7. Connect to flexible award offerings
Relevant choices, including experiential options, create a deeper emotional connection between customers and your brand.
Related: Read how streamlining program data offered customers a convenient, personalized earning and redemption experience.
If your organization has an existing solution, a platform audit will ensure your brand stays ahead of industry competition. Here are some simple questions to ask.
- Can your platform enable integrations and serve as a single source for all customer data and touchpoints?
- Does it use AI and machine-learning tools to help you develop highly personalized campaigns?
- Is it flexible enough to run the varied offers and promotions you need in the market to connect with today’s customers?
- Is it quick to configure or a manual nightmare?
- When you weigh features with your investment, do you feel like your current platform is delivering the necessary value for your business?
Answering no to any question is a red flag. These functions are key to personalizing the customer experience and standing out among the competition.
Related: How to compare standalone customer loyalty technology platforms against E2E loyalty providers.
E2E program results prove customer loyalty technology ROI
Configurable loyalty technology can streamline marketing efforts and boost a program’s profitability.
This approach paid off at the pump for the world’s largest independent petroleum refiner and international distributor of transportation fuels. Leaders turned to ITA Group to develop a contactless, mobile-first strategy. Customers instantly earned points and could redeem their digital fuel vouchers on the spot. The results were astounding.
“We’ve seen loyalty increase to the point where we can see customers will now buy a small quantity of petrol at a competitor just to keep them going until they get to [our brand] to fill up. Some people in our database, such as small businesses, are going out of their way to come back to our locations to redeem their loyalty points.” —Marketing manager
Streamlining customer loyalty technology at another retailer led to a
37% increase in member vs. non-member spending across channels following a program relaunch. The organization’s retail manager highlighted:
“[The platform] has been a key piece of the puzzle as we move towards a more 1-to-1 approach to our marketing communications. Creating and overlaying customer segments is so much faster, meaning we get personalized messages to our members far more easily.” —Retail manager
The results show how a technology platform can make or break a customer loyalty program. The right solution helps brands challenged with:
- Getting actionable customer data (or taking limited actions on existing data)
- Producing ineffective (or worse, boring) marketing and sales campaigns
- Creating cohesive, not fragmented, customer experiences
- Attracting and retaining customers
- Proving return on investment for loyalty marketing spend
Leaders looking for the best customer loyalty results should recognize that a technology platform is the linchpin of an E2E solution, facilitating all other components. Download our white paper to discover how integrated customer loyalty technology connects a comprehensive strategic solution.