#85: Why Loyalty Programs Fail - Summary Episode

In this episode, I share the key lessons and learnings from a report entitled “Why Do Loyalty Programs FAIL?” This report was researched, compiled and published by Mike Capizzi, a loyalty expert and Dean of the Loyalty Academy.

Mike’s report identifies and explains the top TEN reasons for the failure of loyalty programmes based on insights from 34 global loyalty experts who together boast a combined total of over 500 years of loyalty marketing expertise!

We discuss the power and problems of collecting and using consumer data, the role of clear, powerful and compelling communications, setting and measuring relevant KPI’s, as well as the ongoing challenge of ensuring C-Suite support for any loyalty programme to be successful.

Show Notes:

1) Why Loyalty Program Fail – Episode #11 of “Let’s Talk Loyalty”

2) Mike Capizzi

3) FREE report “Why Loyalty Programs Fail” – registration required.

Audio Transcript

Let’s Talk Loyalty is an industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals. I’m your host, Paula Thomas, and if you work in loyalty marketing, join me every week to learn the latest ideas for loyalty specialists around the world

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00:00:24

Let’s talk a little loyalty by new shorter show for loyalty marketing professionals.

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In today’s episode, I’m summarizing my interview with Mike Capizzi – loyalty industry expert Dean of the loyalty Academy. And also he is the creator of the Delphi report. The second edition of which was released in 2019 entitled, why do loyalty programs fail? The report identifies unexplained the top 10 reasons for the failure of loyalty programs and the insights are the result of inputs from 34 global loyalty experts, including me, who together, Bose to combine total of over 500 years of loyalty marketing expertise.

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Mike believes that it’s as critical for us to learn from failure as it is to celebrate success. So in this episode, we discussed the top five reasons for the failure of loyalty programs in detail. His report was researched and combined in the fall and summer of 2019. Well, before the global pandemic emerged and yet the contents remain as true as ever. So with these insights, we have an extraordinary opportunity to learn lessons for success. Some of the key reasons for failure center around the inappropriate use of data with Mike clearly advising that loyalty marketers should not collect data unless they’re going to use it too often, brands feel compelled to try and learn as much as they possibly can about their customers, but they don’t then reward the customer with a truly personalized experience in return, leading to disappointment for the member and by extension for the brand, as well as data.

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Mike talked extensively about the lack of clarity and measurement around the KPIs of loyalty programs, which should always include clear performance measures across all members activity, including transactional shifts and softer behavior changes such a social advocacy. The lack of clear KPIs then often leads to questions from senior management teams as to whether the loyalty program is actually working a question which Mike says should never need to be asked. We discussed the role of powerful and compelling communications, including insights around how much more welcome loyalty emails are from members than other more commercial or offer driven or even service led emails that we all receive.

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And then finally, my shares, a super analogy, comparing our relationships with our members, to our personal and family relationships in life and shares his view that if you treat your customers like a member of the family, they’ll reward you with greater loyalty. Long-term that’s it. From this episode of let’s talk a little loyalty, a powerful episode to help you avoid the potential pitfalls from 34 global experts in the industry. If you want to listen to the full episode, it’s let’s talk loyalty.com,

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00:03:52

Episode number 11

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<inaudible>.

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This show is sponsored by the wise market here. The world’s most popular source of loyalty, marketing news insights and research. The Ys marketeer also offers loyalty marketing training through its loyalty Academy, which has already certified over 170 executives in 20 countries as certified loyalty and marketing professionals. For more information, check out the wise market tier.com and loyalty academy.org.

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00:04:29

<inaudible>

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of let’s talk loyalty. If you’d like me to send you the latest show each week, simply sign up for the show newsletter on let’s talk loyalty.com and I’ll send you the latest episode to your inbox every Thursday, or just head to your favorite podcast platform. Find let’s talk loyalty and subscribe. Of course, I’d love your feedback and reviews. And thanks again for supporting the show.

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