THE MOBILE SHOPPER: WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
The 2014 Bond Loyalty Report reveals what consumers want (and could get) from mobile loyalty programs
Every marketer wants a share of the customer’s loyalty card-filled wallet. But they should be vying for a share of the customer’s smartphone instead.
“Mobile holds tremendous potential to unlock new forms of value for both brands and consumers, particularly in the loyalty space,” says Scott Robinson, senior director, loyalty consulting at Bond Brand Loyalty (formerly Maritz Loyalty Marketing).
But what are consumers attitudes and preferences for mobile loyalty programs? And what are the drivers of satisfaction? To find out, Bond surveyed 5,660 Canadians as part of the fourth annual Bond Loyalty Report. Here’s what they found.
Consumers want mobile engagement, but there’s no consensus on what it should be
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of consumers want to engage with their loyalty programs through a mobile device. But there’s little agreement on the specific type of engagement that consumers want. The top three mobile engagements are: managing rewards, including checking point balances (39%); redeeming for rewards at time of purchase (30%); and paying for a purchase at the checkout (24%).
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of consumers want to engage with their loyalty programs through a mobile device. But there’s little agreement on the specific type of engagement that consumers want. The top three mobile engagements are: managing rewards, including checking point balances (39%); redeeming for rewards at time of purchase (30%); and paying for a purchase at the checkout (24%).
“The challenge is many consumers have not experienced what that engagement should look like because there aren’t a lot of programs that have any mobile engagement, let alone a positive [one],” says Kyle Davies, account director at Bond. “We really feel there’s an ‘if you build it, they will come’ element to mobile.”
For instance, members of a coffee retailer’s mobile loyalty program would undoubtedly love to tell the establishment when they’re five minutes away so their drink will be ready when they arrive. “But we don’t see customers saying they want this because they don’t understand that it’s a capability,” says Davies. Mobile loyalty programs “are going to be driven by what’s possible from the marketer’s perspective.”
For instance, members of a coffee retailer’s mobile loyalty program would undoubtedly love to tell the establishment when they’re five minutes away so their drink will be ready when they arrive. “But we don’t see customers saying they want this because they don’t understand that it’s a capability,” says Davies. Mobile loyalty programs “are going to be driven by what’s possible from the marketer’s perspective.”
And while skipping lines is great for customers, what’s in it for marketers? One benefit of mobile loyalty programs is that they allow companies to communicate real-time with customers and give relevant offers as they’re walking through the store, notes Alison Simpson, executive vice-president at Bond. “That is a powerful way to generate loyalty and generate sales.”
Programs that do mobile well do well on member satisfaction
Look for more research on the mobile shopper in the June 2014 issues of Marketing
Scene, Starbucks and PC Plus are three programs that Bond sees doing particularly well on the mobile engagement front (see below). The average satisfaction in these three programs is 75% versus 66%, on average, among all programs. With all three, membership information is contained in an app, which doubles as the card, allowing members to ditch the plastic. In all three, members can both collect and redeem for rewards with the app.
What also makes them especially well-loved is the way they communicate with members. Scene, Starbucks and PC Plus over-index on relevancy of communications, personalized communications and communications that make consumers feel valued and important.
“We observed a very tight link between the extent to which participants deemed the communications for brands as relevant and their satisfaction within those programs, so relevance is really the gateway to satisfaction,” says Robinson.
Geo-mobile not ready for mainstream
There’s an “if you build it, some will come” element to geo-location marketing. The survey found that having loyalty programs “determine your location using your smartphone and offer deals nearby” is still creepy to many. However, 24% think it’s a cool capability.
There’s an “if you build it, some will come” element to geo-location marketing. The survey found that having loyalty programs “determine your location using your smartphone and offer deals nearby” is still creepy to many. However, 24% think it’s a cool capability.
Not surprisingly, it’s much more attractive to younger audiences: it’s “cool” for 38% of those 16-19, 36% for those 20-34, and 28% for those 35-44. Only 19% of those 45-64 think it’s cool and only 7% of those 65+.
Geo-location marketing is also more appealing to higher-earners: 41% of upper affluent consumers think it’s “cool,” 33% of affluent, 27% of upper mass, 25% of mass, and 21% of lower.
“This means you can’t blanket-coverage these types of benefits to everybody,” says Davies. “This definitely has to be operated on an opt-in basis because there’s a real potential that you would be alienating a segment of your members.”
Love of a loyalty program drives more engagement than love of the brand
Consumers’ love of a loyalty program is more of a driver for them to engage on mobile than love of the brand. There is a desire for mobile engagement among:
Consumers’ love of a loyalty program is more of a driver for them to engage on mobile than love of the brand. There is a desire for mobile engagement among:
• Those who love the program and love the brand: 46%
• Love the program, hate the brand: 42%
• Hate the program, love the brand: 36%
• Hate the program, hate the brand: 21%
• Love the program, hate the brand: 42%
• Hate the program, love the brand: 36%
• Hate the program, hate the brand: 21%
That means loyalty programs could offer a foot in the door for brands that would otherwise have a difficult time convincing members to engage with them through mobile. “Unsurprisingly, those who love both the brand and the loyalty program are most willing to engage on mobile,” says Davies. “But people who love the loyalty program but not necessarily the brand (42%) are more willing to engage than the opposite group (36%).
