Let's Talk Loyalty

Paula Thomas

“Let’s Talk Loyalty” is an industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals.

If you work in loyalty marketing, join us every week to learn the latest ideas and marketing insights from loyalty specialists around the world.

Check out our website on: http://www.letstalkloyalty.com/

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793 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes793

Newest first

Sep 16, 2020 · 39 min
#53: Driving Loyalty in Shell worldwide - Pavel Los shares insights on his award-winning loyalty programmes
Pavel Los is the Global Loyalty Manager for Shell, the world-renowned oil company running loyalty programmes in 21 countries. Shell recently topped the leader board at the Loyalty Magazine Awards, winning awards for Shell Go+ in the UK, as well as Shell Club Smart programme in China that integrates with the WeChat platform. Pavel talks us through those value propositions and also shares some insights around the use of carbon offset programmes in key markets such as the Netherlands and the UK. With the increasingly role of loyalty programme to protect commercial revenue, Pavel shares the key statistics and loyalty metrics that Shell focuses on from their central team of loyalty subject matter experts. We also discuss the concept of coalitions and the important ingredients for success for any brand when it comes to marketing partnerships. Listen to this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty for a truly global loyalty perspective from one of the world's leading retailers. Show Notes: 1) Pavel Los - Global Loyalty Manager Shell 2) Shell Go+ - Shell's new UK Loyalty Programme 3) Shell Clubsmart - China
Sep 9, 2020 · 44 min
#52: Connecting with Community for Local Loyalty - with Dr Chris Arnold
As a former Creative Director and senior board director of Saatchi & Saatchi, Dr Chris Arnold is a business strategist, innovative thinker and a "proudly dyslexic" champion of thinking differently. With a deeply held belief in the power of community, Dr Chris highlights the challenges of relying on digital marketing and short-term measurable metrics that limit the full potential of a truly customer-centric mindset. Dr Chris reminds us of the power of communities as a way to create true customer loyalty, including the opportunity to connect our loyal customers with each other in a way that builds powerful brands and businesses. Show Notes: 1) Dr Chris Arnold 2) Connect 2 UK
Sep 2, 2020 · 37 min
#51: The Loyalty Magazine Awards
Every year, loyalty marketers around the world send off their programmes to compete with the best in the industry for the annual Loyalty Magazine Awards. With 23 categories, the entries are carefully evaluated by a panel of loyalty experts from around the world and one winner gets to celebrate being the best in the world in their industry or region! In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, I interview Annich McIntosh, CEO of the Loyalty Magazine Awards about the great entries that came out on top this year, as well as the very special Loyalty Magazine Awards 2020 online global party. Loyalty Magazine is a leading international title providing coverage of the world loyalty business. We also discuss some of the key trends she's seeing in the world of loyalty as an industry commentator and expert. Show Notes: 1) Annich McIntosh, CEO of the Loyalty Magazine Awards 2) Loyalty Magazine Awards
Aug 26, 2020 · 24 min
#50: KPMG Customer Research - Connecting with The New Customer
As customers respond to our dramatically different world, trust is becoming an essential ingredient in business, not just to ensure customer loyalty, but to ensure business survival. In its fascinating reports on the "New Customer", KPMG reveal some dramatic findings - for example, 91% of customers do NOT want to return to the pre-Covid world. Listen to this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, as Nathan Beaver, Partner at KPMG UK, shares the latest insights on the "integrity economy", and how consumer behaviour is evolving, as well as the principles that loyalty programme managers need to keep in mind to connect with, and keep their most valuable customers. Show Notes: 1) Customer Connections in Uncertain Times 2) Meet Your New Customer. The UK Customer Experience Excellence report 2020 3) Customer Connections: Competing in the New Reality
Aug 19, 2020 · 36 min
#49: ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY - Let's Talk Loyalty - Loyalty Academy Competition
Let's Talk Loyalty is one year old on August 22nd so today we are celebrating! It’s been an incredible roller-coaster year, filled with fun, extra-ordinary guests, incredible sponsors and partners and of course an amazing audience so I’m truly grateful for every listener and every message of support that you've sent. To celebrate our first birthday, this episode features my first competition in partnership with my friends in the Loyalty Academy – offering one lucky listener the chance to enjoy a FREE Loyalty Academy Scholarship worth $1,750! Show Notes: To enter the competition, simply sign up to our newsletter here: http://letstalkloyalty.com/competition/
Aug 12, 2020 · 32 min
#48: Etihad Guest - Loyalty Insights from Etihad Airways
Etihad Guest is the loyalty program for Etihad Airways - the flag carrier of the UAE, based in Abu Dhabi. With over 7 million members, re-launched in November 2019, the Guest programme has continued to innovate, finding new ways to reward members who are keen to stay connected while staying home. This episode features Kim Hardaker, a self-confessed "data nerd" who shares a compelling loyalty statistic and then explains their new and extra-ordinary "world of thoughtfulness" campaign - a great example of building emotional loyalty at a challenging time. This episode is sponsored by Valuedynamx (Part of Collinson Group) Show Notes: 1) Kim Hardaker - Head of Etihad Guest programme 2) Etihad Guest - Loyalty Programme of Etihad Airways. 3) Etihad Guest relaunches award winning Etihad Guest loyalty programme 4) Etihad Guest launches world first seamless miles redemption proposition via new mobile app 5) Etihad Guest rewards members while staying home 6) World of Thoughtfulness campaign
Aug 5, 2020 · 39 min
#47: Shirley King - Loyalty Program Manager, IHG Rewards Club & Kimpton Inner Circle
Shirley King has been designing, developing and building loyalty programmes for a luxury boutique hotel brand within IHG Group, including the "Kimpton Hotels Inner Circle" as well as the "IHG Rewards Club" for over twenty-five years. In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, we discuss some of her award-winning programme elements, key principles of creating extra-ordinary experiences for top tier members, as well as some exciting and inspiring updates for her career at a very challenging time for the travel industry globally. Show Notes: 1) Shirley King - Loyalty Program Manager, IHG Rewards Club & Kimpton Inner Circle 2) Kimpton Boutique Hotels 3) Skift - Daily Travel Podcast 4) The Points Guy 5) One Mile at a Time 6) Flyer Talk
Jul 29, 2020 · 1 hr 4 min
#46: Dell's Global Loyalty Lead - Exploring Gamification
Dell is one of the world's best known computer companies, positioning itself as "powering the next technological revolution". With a laser focus on driving clear and measurable business outcomes, Dell's Mitch Kennedy discusses his insights on the impact of transactional rewards, the power of gamification, the importance of understanding human psychology as well as the increasing importance of the Advantage Rewards program and loyalty initiatives in Dell worldwide. This episode is sponsored by Epsilon. Show Notes: 1) Mitch Kennedy: Global Loyalty Strategy Lead, Dell 2) Dell Advantage Programme 3) Book: Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink 4) Book: Actionable Gamification by Yu-Kai Chou
Jul 22, 2020 · 37 min
#45: Loyalty Insights from India - Customer Strategy Network - Kunal Mohiuddin
As a loyalty expert based in India, Kunal Mohiuddin has an extensive career as a loyalty practitioner, building innovative loyalty technology platforms and advising over fifty national and global programmes on their loyalty strategy along the way. Kunal is a colleague of mine within the "Customer Strategy Network" - a global network of freelance loyalty consultants each with a strong background as an independent loyalty practitioner and he brings a unique perspective from India. Truly a "global voice of loyalty". Listen to this week's episode of Let'sTalkLoyalty to hear some great case studies from Kunal's extensive career as well as his insights on new technologies driving loyal behaviour in the future. Show Notes: 1) Kunal Mohiuddin
Jul 15, 2020 · 50 min
#44: Leveraging Subscriptions to Create the Ultimate Loyalty
Consumer behaviour is changing dramatically, and business models need to evolve to find ways to create loyalty even beyond loyalty programmes. One way is by incorporating a subscription model in your business, a model that drives commercial loyalty way beyond simply points or prizes. In this episode of "Let's talk Loyalty", I'm discussing how and why I'm subscribing for more products and how I'm seeing the model being used in new and unexpected ways. For businesses that can deliver superb experiences and/or increased convenience, a subscription business promises predictable recurring revenue and increased customer lifetime value. Listen to this episode to hear executives from Ipsos Denmark and their partners in Management Consulting firm Subscrybe explain the principles of success in subscriptions - creating both "reasons to buy" and "reasons to stay" and leveraging this "exploding" business model to create the ultimate loyalty with customers. Show Notes: 1) Jens Dupont - Associate Director @Ipsos Denmark 2) Peter Jakobsen - Senior Consultant @ Subscrybe 3) Webinar: Subscription Principles 4) Dollar Shave Club Launch Video 5) Ipsos Research Papers: The Forces of Customer Experience; https://www.ipsos.com/en/forces-customer-experience Unpacking product subscription models; https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/knowledge/consumer-shopper/unpacking-product-subscription-models
Jul 8, 2020 · 51 min
#43: Loyalty Marketing in B2B & Concepts Post-Covid - Dr David Cox
Dr David Cox is a loyalty expert and one of the few industry leaders who also boasts a PhD in loyalty marketing! In this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty", we discuss key concepts in motivational marketing that drive powerful commercial results, particularly in the B2B sector. Having won multiple awards for driving loyalty for clients such as IBM and Lenovo worldwide, we discuss some of the most effective techniques they use such as the power of sport to connect with members, and the importance of localisation to get the best results. We also discuss some of the key trends in the loyalty industry emerging as a direct result of Covid-19, with plenty of insights and ideas that can help you to optimise any programme, whether B2C or B2B. Show Notes: 1) David Cox - CEO of Motivforce 2) Motivforce 2020 Awards 3) Loyalty Magazine Awards June 2020 4) Loyalty Articles
Jul 1, 2020 · 57 min
#42: Loyalty Leadership using NPS and Customer Lifetime Value - with Rob Markey, Bain & Company
As the founder of Bain & Company's Customer practice, Rob Markey is the one of the world's leading authorities on customer loyalty, having co-created The Net Promoter System® - the industry metric and framework now used by more than two thirds of Fortune 1000 companies. Rob co-authored the best-selling book "The Ultimate Question 2.0" with Fred Reichheld, and he is now a keynote speaker, leader of the NPS Loyalty Forum and a podcaster on customer and employee experience. In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, we discuss the insights that led to the development of the NPS framework as our industry's most used (and abused) measurement tool, as well as how Bain and Company is currently advising its clients to more thoroughly measure, monitor and share customer health indicators in order to encourage a more "patient' approach from investors and management alike. Show Notes: 1) Rob Markey: Customer Experience Transformations | Loyalty | Strategy & Marketing | Author | Speaker | Podcaster 2) Rob Markey's website 3) The Ultimate Question 2.0: Driving Good Profits and True Growth 4) Net Promoter System: Website and podcast 5) HBR 2003: The One Number You Need to Grow 6) HBR 2020: Spotlight Series - Articles by Rob Markey, Pete Fader and Dan McCarthy and Jack Brennan
Jun 24, 2020 · 50 min
#41: Bryan Pearson - Loyalty Personality of the Year and LoyaltyOne former CEO
Bryan Pearson, the former CEO LoyaltyOne is known globally as a leader in loyalty, retail marketing and analytics. He is also the author of the bestselling book "The Loyalty Leap: Turning Customer Information Into Customer Intimacy" as well as "The Loyalty Leap for B2B." He has also been awarded a lifetime achievement award by Loyalty Magazine as “Personality of the Year” in 2018. In this episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty, we discuss some of the key success factors for the coalition model for loyalty in global markets, as well as some innovative ideas emerging in the retail sector as we adjust to a new reality beyond the global pandemic. Show Notes: Bryan Pearson – Former CEO of LoyaltyOne Bestselling book: The Loyalty Leap by Bryan Pearson – Amazon.com Forbes articles by Bryan Pearson Case Study - Flâneur Wines in Oregon The Loyalty Report 2019 - https://info.bondbrandloyalty.com/loyalty-report-2019 Brand Loyalty Article - 5 Key Insights about Gen z
Jun 17, 2020 · 39 min
#40: Loyalty Lessons From Wharton School's Professor of Marketing
This episode of "Lets Talk Loyalty" was inspired by some exciting ideas emerging from academic leaders who are increasingly helping investors to consider the future lifetime value of customers (not just historic revenues) when valuing a firm. "Customer Based Corporate Valuation" (CBCV) is a concept developed and commercialised by Peter Fader, Professor of Marketing with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, together with Dan McCarthy to help investors and loyalty marketers apply ever more sophisticated financial models to our businesses to accurately understand the value of our customers as a strategic asset. These models are generating exciting insights for C-Suite Executives, and the episode discusses how we as loyalty marketers can ensure we educate our company leaders to appreciate and value the loyal customers and relationships we nourish. Show Notes: 1) Professor of Marketing, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania 2) Dan McCarthy - Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University 3) Leigh McAlister - Professor of Marketing - University of Austin 4) Harvard Business Review - Jan/Feb 2020 issue articles - "The Loyalty Economy." 5) Theta Equity Partners 6) Customer Centricity: Focus on the Right Customers for Strategic Advantage - 2012 Edition (New Edition Scheduled July 2020) 7) Bain & Co - How to Calculate Customer Value
Jun 10, 2020 · 44 min
#39: Sky VIP UK with Head of Customer Loyalty, Rob Chandler
As the UK's largest broadcaster, Sky has access to some of the top entertainment assets in the world including The Premier League for football fans and the PGA Tour for golf lovers. Some years ago, the company recognised some key underlying challenges to retaining happy customers as they began to challenge how the brand offered preferential rates to new customers rather than existing ones. Many believed the brand wasn't being as loyal to them as they were to Sky! This insight allowed a fundamental shift in the business to firstly ensure a consistent product offering to customers but also add in a powerful programme to acknowledge customer loyalty, particularly over longer periods of time. With a clear intention for customers to feel loved, in 2017, Sky launched its VIP programme, the first tenure-based programme in the industry which continues to promise that "the longer you stay, the better it gets". From delivering exclusive live experiences for over a million customers a year, to now delivering even more extraordinary & innovative virtual experiences, Rob Chandler shares how Sky VIP is each day creating new and exciting ways to really say thanks to its customers. Listen to this week's episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" podcast for exclusive insights on loyalty long term as well as innovative loyalty ideas in lockdown. Show Notes: 1) Rob Chandler - Head of Customer Loyalty - Sky UK 2) All Customer's Are Not Created Equal - by Stan Phelps 3) The Gamification Revolution: How Leaders Leverage Game Mechanics to Crush the Competition - by Gabe Zichermann
Jun 3, 2020 · 38 min
#38: ebookers Bonus+ Rewards Programme
In the travel sector, a compelling loyalty programme can be a key differentiator for customers - for airlines, hotels and also for online travel agencies. ebookers UK was originally launched in 1998 as the UK's first online travel agency, adding the "Bonus+" programme in 2016. Listen to this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" to hear how ebookers.com has built a simple and generous loyalty programme - particularly focused on mobile users, along with insights on the KPI's they are measuring and how they're thinking about their members priorities amid Covid-19. Show Notes: 1) Nicola Helfet 2) ebookers.com 3) Bonus Plus Programme 4) Boots Advantage Loyalty Programme 5) TK Maxx 'Treasure' - Retail Loyalty Programme
May 27, 2020 · 45 min
#37: A Compelling Concept - Return on Loyalty
Statisticians are familiar with the concept of “self-selection” but it’s rarely discussed, understood or accounted for when determining your “return on loyalty”. Simply because your most loyal customers have joined your programme, does not mean your programme improved or caused them to become more loyalty. In today’s fascinating discussion around the challenge of “self-selection”, my two guests who co-founded the "customer science" firm Ellipsis, discuss how they isolate, measure and define the levers within a loyalty program to understand what’s working, what’s not and why! Listen for a masterclass on the concept of “return on loyalty”, NPS and how to separate correlation from causation using data insights. Show Notes: 1) Tim Tyler – Managing Partner at Ellipsis & Company 2) Adam Schaffer - Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Ellipsis & Company 3) Return on Loyalty - https://www.returnonloyalty.com.au/ 4) Whitepaper – Return on Loyalty https://www.ellipsisandco.com/perspectives/measuring-return-on-loyalty 5) Whitepaper - Your Loyalty Strategy Depends on Your Program Age 6) https://www.ellipsisandco.com/ 7) The Mismanagement of Customer Loyalty – Harvard Business Review article Let me know when you have one hour done and I'll review those episodes
May 20, 2020 · 37 min
#36: Rakuten Rewards
With over 15 million members, Rakuten Rewards is one the world’s largest cashback programs, and to date it has paid out over $2 billion to members across online and offline retail stores in the United States! In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, I interview Kristen Gall, President of Rakuten Rewards, to understand the power of affiliate marketing, their partnerships with American Express and Live Nation - as well as their global sponsorships with FC Barcelona, The National Basketball Association (NBA) and The Golden State Warriors. Listen also for some fascinating insights on exactly what retail trends are emerging amid Covid-19 and the categories consumers are slowly beginning to spend on again. Show Notes: 1) Kristen Gall - President, Rakuten Rewards 2) www.Rakuten.com – leading Cash Back service in the US 3) www.rakuten.us – Rakuten Americas corporate site 4) global.rakuten.com/corp – Rakuten global site 5) Rakuten Optimism Conference 6) Marketplace 3.0 - by Hiroshi Mikitani (Author)
May 13, 2020 · 49 min
#35: What the Brits Want From Loyalty
Loyalty Managers around the world often look to the UK for inspiration and exciting new ideas and trends. YouGov is the UK’s “most quoted research agency” on consumer opinion, and earlier this year, together with Mando Connect, they again turned their attention to understanding what British consumers really want from loyalty programmes. Listen to this week’s episode of “Let’s Talk Loyalty” to hear us discuss the 2020 UK loyalty whitepaper, including some exciting new innovative UK loyalty programmes – and also some concerns on how much more we need to do before our loyalty programmes appeal to younger consumers. Show Notes: 1) YouGov.com 2) Mando Connect 3) Charlie Hills 4) Joe Flagg 5) UK Loyalty Whitepaper - What the Brits Want from Loyalty 6) Are Loyalty Programmes Even More Important in These Challenging COVID-19 Times? Article on The Wise Marketer
May 6, 2020 · 48 min
#34: 119 Customer Loyalty Ideas to beat COVID-19
On 20th March 2020, Adam Posner posted a call to action on LinkedIn asking loyalty and business professionals worldwide to collaborate and contribute ‘119 customer loyalty ideas to beat COVID-19'. By the 7th of April 2020, the target of 119 ideas was achieved and an eBook was compiled featuring expert insights from 63 loyalty experts around the world. In this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" I interview Adam for his favourite ideas and share my own. A super useful eBook at this unusual time of challenge yet with some emerging opportunities to evolve. Show Notes: 1) Adam Posner 2) The Point of Loyalty 3) 119 Ideas to Beat Covid-19 4) "For Love or Money" - Report on 2020 trends in the Australian Loyalty Market 5) Australian Shoe Shop Goes Digital First 6) For Good Causes UK