Loyalty Truth

While Tom Rapsas was in New Jersey buying wiper blades at Pep Boys, I was buying shoes for my son at DSW.

The difference in our experience with the respective rewards programs at each company boils down to an essential and often overlooked element of the loyalty marketing value chain – associate training.

You can read about Tom’s experience here and see that he was drilled into signing up for Pep Boys Rewards by a front-line associate probably just doing their job and striving to meet an assigned quota. The story reminded me of the “old days” when retailers instructed their people to ask for customer telephone numbers during the check out process, a tactic made famous by Radio Shack and eventually neutralized when the rules around “reverse append” of telephone numbers were changed.

I used to enjoy answering the question with “sure, if you let me know what you need it for”.  Way too many associates had no idea why they were asking for phone numbers, and were left to mutter something about offers while uncomfortably trying to wrap up the transaction. None of this is meant to ping associates, who are generally asked to multi-task (before it became popular) while residing near the lower end of the pay bands.

The responsibility falls to the business and marketing people who design rewards programs. After investing heavily in planning, data segmentation, technology, and marketing materials, the last mile of associate training can be seen as “whatever”. Failing to educate and equip the associate with enough information to enthusiastically promote the program creates a potentially monstrous pothole on the road to success.

How was my experience with DSW Rewards?  Surprisingly fantastic, as a matter of fact.

I was taken off guard when asked if I was a member of the program, but before I was able to fully respond, the energetic cashier outlined the simple way the program functions and made it clear to me that “if my wife ever shops at DSW”, the program is a no-brainer to pay back. I didn’t need to hear much else.

The associate quickly entered a few data points (not my email, you get a bonus for that) into the ePOS screen and I was off with a follow-up marketing piece in my hand.  DSW’s program was easy to understand, showed good value, and even if it’s not “my” store, I knew that our family would benefit. I gave up the same information as Tom did in the Pep Boys store but left feeling like I just made a good deal.

Isn’t that the way loyalty marketing is supposed to work?