Gaining customer loyalty Is more challenging than ever. Presently, It Is very easy for customers to compare products in an online environment and migrate to a competitor offering a better deal. That is why brands are employing new tactics to seduce customers, and they do this through a variety of customer touch points. Classic loyalty programs were designed to reward customers according to their buying behavior. However, with the advent of online consumerism, online marketing leaders have developed new systems of desired behavior and reward.
New Forms of Desired Behavior
Loyalty programs are no longer just about rewarding purchases. New forms of customer behavior, such as-content creation and data collection, are now also considered valuable by brands This type of behavior is thought to increase customer engagement with the brand. It can even make them feel like they are part of the brand. Desired behavior includes online activities, such as writing a review, watching a video, liking a piece of content, filling out a survey, or answering a service question by another customer. Because all these activities take place online, they are easy to measure.
New forms of Reward
Customers are rewarded for desired behavior with points that they can redeem for products But that is not all. Based on their online activities, customers can also gain status elements, for example, a higher ranking on a status list or access to personalized content, such as an exclusive range of products or deals. When a customer uses a smartphone, brands can now integrate the context of the customer Into their reward system. For example, shopping application Shopkick rewards users with loyalty program points when they enter certain stores. The app uses gamification techniques, techniques that are normally applied in game design. Here they are used to motivate users in participating, for example, by incorporating various status levels in the program. Below is an international selection of recent applications that reward users based on desired behavior.
Mobile Data as Currency
US start-up company Aquto has developed a mobile app called Kickbit in partnership with Vodafone. Kickbit rewards users with mobile data when they watch videos, complete surveys, try free samples, or buy products or services. Users can then transfer the earned mobile data to their telecom provider.
Crowdsourced Parking Control
Canadian application SpotSquad is currently under development and only available in beta. The concept Is simple. If users see illegally parked cars, they can report them through the app. They will then get a reward in the form of a percentage of the parking fine All amateur parking attendants who participate are ranked, and they can receive extra rewards depending on their activities and position. The app also makes it possible for users to donate a portion of the fine to charity.
Musical Rewards
Indian app Nwplyng is a social music app that rewards users for listening, to music and sharing music in their social networks Users can look up numbers through the app, and the app also recognizes songs that are played In the pub or on the radio. Users can then share their favorite song on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare. They gain rewards by providing keywords or pictures that go with particular songs. Rewards are also given for listening to a particular band or sharing a specific track. The rewards can be points prize, access to new levels, or the ability to listen to an entire album.
Charity Run
The NikeFuel app keeps track of users’ sports activities. If a user combines the !thud app with the Fit Cause app, kilometers are converted into charitable donations for developing countries. Nike hopes that this will motivate people to use the NikeFuel app much more frequently. In case you are wandering what is in it for Nike, they will receive more user data, which they can then use to offer their customers a more personalized experience.
View to Play
Potto is a free lottery application, as well as an advertising platform for game developers. Users can participate in the lottery for free, but they most view five videos first. The videos are ads for mobile games. To make sure that users are actually watching the videos, a penguin appears randomly, and users have to take note of where on the screen the animal appears.
Would you like to read more about loyalty, new forms of desired behavior, and new types of reward? Loyalty for GenXY has three main components of next-generation loyalty programs motivation, big data, and gamification. The smart and combined use of these three elements leads to more involved and loyal customers.
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