With a background running customer programmes and platforms for leading brands like Adidas and Nokia, Joseph Taylor is now a senior executive with Epsilon and in our discussion in early 2020, he shared some fascinating insights on loyalty trends and preferences around the world. As the global pandemic became an increasing concern, we discussed how loyalty programmes were adapting their models to stay profitable and powerful, proving to be an even more critical tool for brands to build trust and ...
Jul 19, 2021•9 min•Season 1Ep. 126
Podcasting has proven to be the most powerful marketing I've ever done, so today, I'm talking about the power of podcasting, and other formats like video, as tools to create customer loyalty! At this extra-ordinary time of change, these communications channels, and particularly the human voice, create compelling connections with customers in a way I find truly exciting. My guest to discuss this is Jon Dwoskin , who has published over 1,000 podcasts episodes of his show " Think Business " and he ...
Jul 14, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 125
Simon Rowles is a loyalty expert whose company Beyonde specializes in identifying disruptive technologies that have proven successful overseas and bringing those new ideas and solutions to his clients in Australia. Whether it's loyalty technology, payments, personalization, digitization or identity solutions, Simon explains the unique characteristics and profile of the Australian market, as well as some of his favourite technology ideas that both customers and clients are excited about. Recorded...
Jul 12, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Today, I'm sharing a one-off bonus episode of “Let’s Talk Loyalty” in partnership with my friends in Epsilon for their recent #EpsilonPersonalive event. With so many changing consumer expectations over the last year, alongside loyalty experts Prabhu Kannan , Amy Lanzi and Michelle Proctor , I joined a session to discuss "Loyalty Across the Customer Journey". It was my first “Let’s Talk Loyalty” LIVE podcast sharing how to create the best loyalty strategy for your organization’s goals. Please enj...
Jul 08, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 123
The Loyalty Science Lab is a unique and incredibly useful marketing research facility from Old Dominion University that researches the psychological aspects of loyalty programs. Founded and directed by Yuping Liu-Thompkins , the Loyalty Science Lab collaborates with industry leaders to identify and research commercially important concepts that drive loyal customer behaviour. The Loyalty Science Lab therefore combines academic rigour with practical insight, allowing Dr Liu-Thompkins to become a s...
Jul 07, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 122
The UK market is a dominant influence on marketing worldwide and one of my favourite resources to stay up to date on how its technology, communications and consumer culture are evolving is published each year in a "Trends Report" by Mindshare. In early 2020, I reviewed their latest predictions which are always both useful and insightful, and even though this research was conducted before the pandemic impact emerged, it features big ideas and consumer insights that loyalty marketers need to consi...
Jul 06, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 121
My guest today leads loyalty initiatives for one of the biggest banks in South Africa - Nedbank , whose Greenbacks Loyalty Programme began as a simple card swipe incentive programme, but has evolved as a powerful way for the bank to reward its complete banking relationships with their customers. By listening to customer feedback and understanding loyalty psychology and behavioural economics, Dharmesh Bhana is leading the evolution of a compelling loyalty proposition, focused on benefitting all s...
Jun 30, 2021•52 min•Season 1Ep. 120
As the largest luxury retailer in the Middle East, the Chalhoub Group is a premium concept, representing some of the most exclusive brands in the world, so creating a compelling loyalty concept for them required new ideas and innovative thinking. This short show summarises my interview with Nida Unas, Head of Group Loyalty at the Chalhoub Group, who told me about MUSE - the programme they developed to reward premium Chalhoub customers with luxury experiences. Show Notes: 1) Nida Unas - Head of G...
Jun 28, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 119
With over twenty years leading loyalty initiatives in the Middle East region for Collinson, today's episode features insights from Priyanka Lakhani who has worked with so many of the loyalty programmes in this region. Priyanka shares her insights on the importance of optimising the timing and relevance of your rewards, and driving redemption as a powerful way to create emotional loyalty with customers. We discuss new and different ways for members of travel loyalty programmes to earn points or m...
Jun 23, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 118
The need for retailers to adopt digital technology was unexpectedly accelerated in March 2020 as the world locked down to safeguard public health amidst the global pandemic. With convenience retail stores classified in many countries as an essential service, to supply gas and basic products for consumers, innovative solutions including contactless payments and the ability to pre-order and pre-pay for products became essential to build trust with customers, as the focus on long-term loyalty initi...
Jun 21, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 117
This episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" focuses on insights and emerging trends across APAC and MEA. With a marketing career that began in direct mail, data and applied statistics, Paul Davies' has worked in advanced markets like the UK, and today he shares his view on how loyalty marketing is evolving in these, as well as emerging markets that have traditionally focused on customer acquisition. We discuss global trends in loyalty, as well as the risks and challenges of promotions and first party d...
Jun 16, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 116
This short show summarises the insights I learned from Amanda Cromhout, founder of the Truth loyalty agency in South Africa. In March 2020, they published their latest white paper on the key trends in loyalty from South African consumers, so listen to learn the incredible statistics she shared, as well as her key concern about the one consumer segment that is actively disengaging from loyalty programmes in that market. Show Notes: 1) Episode 27 of Let's Talk Loyalty 2) Amanda Cromhout...
Jun 14, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Loyalty programmes inevitably require considerable investment to build, manage and optimise, and with so much money and time being spent, it's essential to know what's working and what's not! Mike Atkin , affectionately known as the "Loyalty Guru", has developed a framework that he uses to expertly assess any loyalty programme against industry best practise, giving the type of expert support that so many loyalty marketers say they need. Known as the " Loyality Check ", Mike and his colleagues as...
Jun 09, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 114
In this episode of “ Let’s Talk Loyalty ”, I summarise the great conversation I had in 2020 with Phil Hawkins, Operations Director for Flybuys - Australia's most popular loyalty programme. Phil has spent much of his career supporting its incredible success and he shared the 5 top lessons he has learned about loyalty marketing along the way. Listen to this short episode to learn Phil's lessons on truly building loyalty, and how Flybuys Australia is evolving for the future. Show Notes: 1) Phil Haw...
Jun 07, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 113
With over fourteen years in loyalty and consulting roles from a technology perspective, Bart Demczuk is today leading the Middle East region for Comarch , who power loyalty programmes around the world for brands like BP, Old Mutual and Puntos Colombia, as well as regionally for industry leaders like ADNOC and ENOC. Bart shares his strategic view on some of the current key challenges for loyalty professionals, firstly to ensure they measure truly commercial metrics to ensure they are running a su...
Jun 02, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 112
As one of the largest airlines in the world, Emirates Airline last year celebrated the 20th anniversary of its loyalty programme Skywards , which had just passed a global membership base of over 27 million members, many in International markets. Just two shorts weeks before the global pandemic forced an almost total shutdown of the world's aviation industry, I had a fascinating conversation with Dr Nejib Ben Khedher who has led the digital transformation of Skywards in recent years. This short s...
May 31, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 111
"For Love or Money 2021" is a powerful, independent and comprehensive research report on customer views of loyalty marketing programmes that operate in Australia and New Zealand. Hot off the presses, Adam Posner, the loyalty brains behind the report, talks me through the lessons learned from this year's panel of customers - from the surprising (plastic card anyone?) to the delightful (here's looking at you Woolworth's Rewards) and one result that's downright disappointing! Listen to this episode...
May 26, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 112
In this short episode, I showcase my partnership with my friends in "The Wise Marketer™" - the world's most widely read source of news, and insights for loyalty marketing professionals. The guys in The Wise Marketer and I are equally passionate about sharing loyalty knowledge so this content partnership is the perfect way to do that. In this five minute episode, I summarise key insights from the CEO of The Wise Marketer, Bill Hanifin, and how proud I am to be working with The Wise Marketer group...
May 24, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 109
As Australia's top online pure-play beauty retailer, Adore Beauty has had incredible growth and success in recent years, even throughout the pandemic. Not only did the company successfully go public in 2020, but it also launched an innovative non points-based loyalty programme called the Adore Society . With a goal of education, a clear set of benefits for each loyalty tier based on member's spend, and simple yet exciting rewards, Miranda Bliss is the brains behind this compelling customer-focus...
May 19, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 108
My favourite loyalty stories are programs or platforms that serve a higher purpose that benefit us as people as well as the companies we are customers of. In episode 23 of LetsTalkLoyalty , I was thrilled to meet Dan Gipple , who is the founder of a loyalty platform called “Better Points” that uses loyalty psychology and mechanics to change consumer behaviour such as improving their health. I had met Dan through an inspiring story that the BBC did on a loyalty programme in Italy called Bella Mos...
May 17, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 107
South Africa is famous for the innovative "shared value" business model that has created extraordinary loyalty within the insurance industry for more than twenty years. So how does a financial services firm like Old Mutual compete against the market leader? The answer is innovation, a clear intention to add value and be loyal TO members, enhancing their financial understanding, while ensuring their products and loyalty programme are accessible to customers in every segment of society. In this sh...
May 12, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 106
This short show is an introduction to CX – or “customer experience” - a field that has exploded in recent years as a powerful way to drive customer loyalty. I'm summarising my episode featuring Michael Killeen, founder of the “CX Academy” to figure out what customers expect from brands, why so many companies are appointing CX professionals, and how loyalty professionals can lead CX initiatives. Show Notes: 1) Episode 22 of Let's Talk Loyalty 2) CX Academy 3) Michael Killeen...
May 10, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 105
Today's episode is a summary of my interview with Sarah Richardson, Founder of the Australian Loyalty Association . In our original interview, Sarah had showcased the impressive loyalty marketing industry in Australia, so this short summary highlights some of the amazing things I learned from her expertise in that market. Sarah now runs a boutique loyalty consultancy firm called SCIENSA , advising on loyalty strategy and helping programme owners measure and improve the value of their loyalty pro...
May 05, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 104
Film, music and games are all assets that loyalty programme owners can leverage to drive emotional engagement with members. In this episode, I summarise my previous interview with film partnerships expert Tom Sugg , who explains how to leverage the power of the world's most popular entertainment brands as partners to engage your customers around their passion points. Show Notes: 1) Brand Culture 2) Tom Sugg 3) Let's Talk Loyalty #20 - Leveraging Customer Passions to Drive Loyalty...
May 03, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 103
Dr Anil Pillai is a human engagement expert, with experience advising some of the world's top firms across Europe, India and the Middle East. He is passionate about applying a deep understanding of human psychology to consumer's behaviour - whether it's to communicate effectively or change a desired behaviour. In today's show, we discuss concepts such as the 'Effort Assessment Score" as a framework that evaluates the effort needed for a customer to complete a task, our concerns about "loss of co...
Apr 28, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 102
Running a loyalty programme can be challenging in many ways so who can you turn to for advice, a second opinion and access to global loyalty brain power when you need it? One place is the "Customer Strategy Network" or CSN, of which I'm delighted to be a member. CSN is a global organisation of loyalty practitioners and in this short episode I summarise my conversation with Nick Chambers who leads the CSN and share the types of loyalty projects the CSN typically supports. Show Notes: 1) Customer ...
Apr 26, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 101
As the world's first ever airline alliance, the Star Alliance is an extra-ordinary example of how global partnerships can be created to ensure a compelling, consistent and seamless experience for airline customers and earn their loyalty. With the alliance about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, I was delighted to learn some fascinating insights from their group Director of Loyalty, Renato Ramos who shares some superb ideas from his years of global airline loyalty experience. We discuss the evol...
Apr 21, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 100
This is a summary of an already short show where I spoke about my predictions for the loyalty industry for 2020! It was recorded and released pre-Covid and featured my three big trends ideas, including the increasing role of CX for loyalty marketing, the importance of building an emotional connection with customers as well as my personal passion for using the human voice as a way to access key services, like my loyalty programme updates. Show Notes: 1) Episode 18 of Let's Talk Loyalty...
Apr 19, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 99
What are some innovative new ideas you could use to build consumer loyalty if you were brave enough to try them as one of the first? In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty , I'm discussing MY absolute favourites - Whatsapp for Business/loyalty, the power of a voice marketing strategy and my all-time favourite, payment-led loyalty. These I believe are three of the most powerful tools available to loyalty marketers in 2021! To help me understand these innovative ideas, I chatted to Lisa Brightwell ...
Apr 14, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 98
In this short episode, I summarise my discussion with Deon Olivier, a well-known loyalty expert in South Africa He shares some of the extraordinary powerful concepts that this sophisticated loyalty market has launched, including Discovery's famous Vitality program, some unique concepts within retail banking as well recent developments in fuel retail and convenience stores in the South African market. Show Notes: 1) Deon Olivier - Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional...
Apr 12, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 97
