Loyalty Truth

If you want to find the perfect boat, you’ve got to know what you want and make some tough decisions. The same holds true for setting the course of your Loyalty strategy.

Living in proximity to water, there are many excuses to buy a boat and, with two of the biggest boats shows in the world on the doorstep, the range of choices is incredible. Let’s say you’re in the market for a center console outboard fishing boat, somewhere between 21 – 32 feet. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and the Miami International Boat Show offer a breathtaking array of options.

By the time you have scoured these shows and are nursing the blisters on your feet, you will realize that there is not one boat that will “do it all”.  With every salesperson claiming their boat offers a “dry ride and fish-ability”, you have difficulty choosing a favorite and rationalizing a wide range of prices.  The happiest boat owners I know solved the problem by refusing to compromise. They knew what they wanted and landed on the boat that was the best in their chosen niche.

For example, the best flats boat available (in my opinion) comes from Egret while the offshore boat of highest magnitude is made by Yellowfin. These boats not only ooze quality but deliver on their promises, and are guaranteed to evoke complements and knowing glances when at the local marina or boat ramp.

Sponsors planning their Loyalty Marketing strategy are in much the same fix.  A quick story illustrates the point. A short while back, I worked on the frequent stay program for a mid-size hotel chain that wanted to stand out in the crowd and attract the “road warrior” customer that was their bread and butter. Dutifully, our team delivered a competitive matrix of programs in the market capturing all known features and benefits.  Looking at the final product, nearly every box was checked in the grid. That’s meant to say that all the major brands had tried just about everything and “copycat” was the favorite play of the day.

We affixed the chart to the wall of our planning room and named it the “what not to do” matrix. The sub-title was “what we won’t allow ourselves to do”, meaning that we would not let the client fall into the trap of sameness that saturated their business. After some work, we recommended a loyalty program design that was unique and it was successfully launched and operated for a number of years. It survives in the market today with some modification.

Having just read Seth Godin’s gem of a book The Dip, I think he would agree the loyalty business is living through a “Loyalty Dip” at the moment. Sponsors who adopt a generic strategy to “reach everyone” will meet with disappointing results and providers that stick with the tried and true may find themselves in a dead end. Those introducing innovation to the business (e.g. through the mobile handset and with social media) will survive the dip and emerge as leaders for Loyalty 2.o.

The point is, be an Egret or a Yellowfin, but please be somebody.