Loyalty Truth

Although I’ve based my livelihood around CRM and loyalty programs, I’m not enthusiastic about most programs.  Points, discounts, and monthly promotions don’t do much for me.  Sure, I get my car washed free after 10 trips, I hunger for that free sandwich after I’ve bought 8 before it and free shipping is always nice.

I know these all build repeat business, and I’ve recommended them to clients, too.  But they don’t build true loyalty — just preference.  Take away the points, discounts and free shipping and chances are you’ll feel little towards the brand because it feels little towards you.

American Express is now doing something that really caught my attention, though.  It’s called My Offers and it was recently launched as part of the American Express mobile app.  Whats different about My Offers?  By looking at my purchase history, it puts together a list of offers that have real meaning to me.  When I log into the app, I’m shown restaurant discounts, some retail offers, Ticketmaster and other deals that make sense for me based upon what I like to do, or at least what I’ve done in the past.  My wife gets a different list.  My friends see something else.  (And I’m a sucker for the greeting on the app that says “Gary’s Offers.”)

My Offers ties together my social media hangouts by linking the various platforms I use and letting me view all my offers in one place.  In the future, AmEx will even notify me when offers are about to expire.  In total, My Offers is a big leap forward in relevance.  And relevance is where it’s at.  Instead of pushing offers to me that I don’t want, are puzzling or just plain frivolous, these offers are ones I might actually use because they reflect me.  A simple premise, but surprisingly absent from many loyalty programs.

Mulu.me takes this a step further by letting me post my favorite items on the mulu.me website (similar to Pinterest).  Friends and other buyers then make purchase selections based on my (and others) picks, and mulu.me then donates part of its affiliates fee to charity or back to me (not similar to Pinterest).  The list of charities to choose from is 50 and counting, including many well-known ones, from helping animals to saving the planet.

This is a novel twist on the “give-to-charity” option that other programs offer, where the list is very narrow and I have little say in where the money goes.  I now have a real say in where my purchased-based donations go, even into my own pocket if I choose.

So the trend toward more personalized and relevant programs is positive, and that’s a good thing for building true loyalty.  But if you’ll pardon me, I’ve got to go to the car wash now.  I’ve got ten hole punches, and the next wash is free.