Loyalty Truth

I almost hit the delete button on yet another promotional email from Office Depot today. The title read “Your coupon + Free Case Paper with Purchase”. Not only did that resemble a message from Office Depot that is often repeated, but the messy title made me want to write to my favorite online source of “good grammar” tips Daily Writing Tips to see how they might correct the mix of upper and lower case letters.

Probably because I was sitting in a restaurant waiting for someone to join me for breakfast, I opened the email and, as I scrolled down, tripped across something more interesting. Sandwiched in between a “$20 off $100 purchase” offer and a “20% Back in Rewards” offer on toner was a one-liner that stated “Your rewards program is changing soon”.

If you’re a rewards geek, the indecision implied in this message can mean good or bad news. The program is being cancelled, the value is being halved, some significant changes are taking place to program rules, or as I discovered when I clicked through here, I was told nothing and being asked to return the following Monday.

To be fair, there was a teaser line that stated “Enjoy the freedom, flexibility and savings you deserve”, so I am expecting good news about Worklife Rewards when I hear from Office Depot again. Since I couldn’t resist a sneak peek, I visited the existing Worklife Rewards landing page here and it seems that the program is being relaunched July 1, offering points for spend resulting in approximately a 10% rebate. I’m sure there are other features to be announced and will report here once the whole story is made public.

The message today is about how Office Depot elected to communicate important news about its loyalty program to its members. I’d say the technique used was subtle, indirect, almost purposely obscure. To create excitement and renew customer engagement with the program, the messaging could have been more positive and direct. That’s what making loyalty a vital part of your customer experience is all about.