Have You Swiped Your Nectar Card?
Nine out of ten British consumers use loyalty schemes, with Tesco and Boots crowned King and Queen of the crop. Traditionally, these ever amounting pieces of plastic in your purse have succeeded on the ethos of “points mean prizes”, but no more. With the rise of big data and increasing digitalisation of marketing, the face of loyalty schemes is changing… to look a lot more like you.
For customers of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, the title above is no doubt a familiar phrase you hear as you battle with the delights of the self-service checkout. Over 19 million people own a Nectar Card, a figure that grows annually, but why is this scheme, and so many others like it so popular? Its success is simple; data, big data.
Big data provides a hyper-personalised marketing opportunity. According to the Adobe ‘Digital Roadblock’ survey, ‘personalisation’ is to remain as the top digital priority for 2016. A one size fits all marketing approach is no longer accepted by consumers. Tools such as loyalty cards or apps that require sign in or subscription, enable marketers to harness data on whole new level. Individual value is the new currency of the marketing world. Consumers are no longer engaged by mass marketing techniques. To engage consumers, you must provide added value and that added value is personalisation.
Take Netflix for example, how did they know that you were going to enjoy Orange is The New Black? Because you told them… You watched Breaking Bad. Not only did you watch it, you loved it; binge viewing all 62 episodes in under 4 days! Your best friend Nigel also loved it too – how do they know? Because you remotely watched the show together thanks to the nifty little app “Showgoers”. While you were watching “just one more episode”, Netflix was soaking up this data, poised to provide you with your next hit when the Breaking Bad comedown struck.
Netflix is utilising consumer data to personalise the customer experience, creating bespoke, tailored offerings, and it is exactly what the 21st Century consumer wants. Netflix creates a seamless experience across an individual’s devises (pause on the iPad, pick up where you left off on your iPhone), providing enhanced flexibility and individual power, increasingly demanded by consumers. And the cherry on top? Shared Experience. Netflix are harnessing advances in technology to provide social experience to previously isolated events.
It is clear that consumer engagement has experienced a huge shift over the last decade; illustrated by the increasingly popular phase “consumer-centric world”. In part, this shift is due to advances in technology, but also to the increasingly savvy consumer. Gone are the days of “points means prizes”; today consumer engagement is about creating and nurturing the opportunity for 1-2-1 relationships between brand and consumer.
At Reckless we are wizards at loyalty and customer insight; creating value for both brand and consumer. For more information about what we do, check out our case studies or give us a call!