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For too many, it’s a program, not a strategy.
Loyalty programs can be exceptionally effective at engaging customers. Before you say, “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” hear us out. Yes, we do realize the loyalty industry has undergone cycles of innovation…and reinvention, we think it’s time for another.
Successful loyalty programs naturally encourage brands to replicate elements of the success: one more visit, one more item in the basket, one more dollar of spend. For some, that formula keeps on giving, but for many, there’s a struggle afoot in their footfall. We just didn’t know how many until recently.
We’ve been picking up a vibe of frustration as well as a tinge of fear about a backward slide in customer experience. Is this another “COVID-19”-infused reality? Who’s to say. The recently released Forrester 2022 CX Index found that 20% of brands are seeing a drop in CX quality, and at Forrester’s recent CX North America conference, the opening keynote conjured up the metaphor of “potholes” and how CX leaders are unfortunately consumed with the pesky operational basics that don’t allow them to get anywhere near “surprise and delight.” The free cookie that wasn’t available to a loyal customer who earned it. The leggings delivered in the wrong size. Favorite menu items disappearing. Brands not understanding the value of their friction points and a lack of resources to manage.
The horror stories abound, and it might be cathartic and possibly instructive to invite everyone to the CX Therapy Couch and unload your “face palm” moments. 8 out of 10 delivery people sneak food from your order en route…seriously?! While it is tempting to share the disappointing misses, we are optimists at heart, and can see a lot of meaningful advances. For example, Apple’s announcement stating the new message feature coming soon that will allow users to edit conversations after sending messages, or recall the messages entirely. Talk about a game-changing feature. No…scrap that…talk about a life-changing feature! CX is a beautiful thing! With features like this, there is no doubt countless relationships, marriages, and jobs will be saved as a direct result.
The havoc of the global supply chain and workforce issues are clearly testing CX delivery just as we were all making critical strides to engage normalcy again. However, the fact remains: Building meaningful bonds with your customers, is the single most important key to growth.
To deliver a best-in-class omnichannel retail experience, brands must focus on customer-centricity and deliver on new expectations from people on both sides of the counter.
The demand for transparency, authenticity and purpose has changed the landscape for brands— permanently.
The pandemic taught the world life-changing lessons we won’t soon forget. As I reflect on the past 20 months, I think of two memorable realizations of many I had as the crisis unfolded and evolved.
Find your purpose—and live it. For any organization today, everything has to surround a purpose.
Why the human interface of your brand needs to come first right now
The data race is on and the massive disruption in today’s marketplace is creating momentum for businesses to move exceedingly faster. At a recent Bond.Forums panel discussion hosted by Francis Silva, Bond’s VP, Analytics & Technology, leading experts tackled the biggest challenges and opportunities in data, and how organizations can unlock value—for both their brands and their customers—through data ecosystems.
The panel, “Building a Data Ecosystem to Enhance Customership,” featured leaders from Bond’s best-in-class technology partners: Bilal Khan, Managing Director & Head of Snowflake Canada; Khalil Alfar, GM Customer Success and Chief Data Officer, Microsoft; and Nicole Lusignan, Head of Strategy, North America, Qualtrics.
It came as a bit of a blow to many of us who thought “The Great COVID Job Churn” peaked in 2020: “The Great Resignation.” The latter term, coined by American management professor Anthony Klotz in May 2021, refers to the notion that a wave of employees will be quitting their jobs, or have already, in a pandemic-related resignation boom. The magnitude of this trend really sank in during a virtual chat I had with my colleague, Mary Kalkanis, our VP of People and Values. Looking at the latest headlines and reports, we realized that if we thought churn had hit its highest level last year, we hadn’t even seen the half of it.
