Today’s show summarises my interview and insights with Bryan Pearson, former CEO of LoyaltyOne, who is known globally as a leader in loyalty, as well as retail marketing strategy based on consumer analytics.
We discuss how companies can succeed and even thrive in the context of our dramatically changing world by understanding what truly matters to customers.
We also discuss key industry trends, such as whether the coalition model for loyalty in global markets remains as relevant as it was in the past.
Bryan Pearson – Former CEO of LoyaltyOne
PAULA: Welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty, an industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals.
PAULA: I’m your host, Paula Thomas, and if you work in loyalty marketing, join me every week to learn the latest ideas from loyalty specialists around the world.
PAULA: This episode is brought to you by Epsilon, and their award-winning People Cloud Loyalty Solution.
PAULA: Personalization should be integrated into the entire customer experience, including, of course, your loyalty program.
PAULA: With this in mind, Epsilon recently released a guide outlining six key components that will put you on the path to personalizing your entire loyalty experience.
PAULA: This guide challenges you to do some housekeeping and reconsider how you think about your current and future loyalty personalization efforts.
PAULA: So to download your copy of the report, visit epsilon.com forward slash let’s talk loyalty.
PAULA: Hello and welcome to episode 144 of Let’s Talk Loyalty.
PAULA: Today’s short show is a summary of the great conversation I had with Bryan Pearson, the former CEO and president of the LoyaltyOne group of companies in Canada whose revenues exceed $2 billion.
PAULA: The group created several significant loyalty businesses, including the Airmiles Coalition Program, a loyalty consulting firm, a retail analytics business, as well as a division that specializes in short-term promotional activity on a global basis.
PAULA: Bryan was also voted Loyalty Personality of the Year by Loyalty Magazine in the UK, essentially and effectively a lifetime achievement award for his services to our industry.
PAULA: In 2012, Bryan published a book called The Loyalty Leap, showcasing everything he had learned about turning customer information into customer intimacy.
PAULA: And even then, he described the world as experiencing unprecedented changes, which meant that we as brand marketers had to focus on emotional loyalty versus behavioural loyalty.
PAULA: Eight years on, and of course now faced with the global pandemic, Bryan’s view was that many of the foundational issues that he addressed in his book still remain unaddressed.
PAULA: It was a great opportunity then to talk through some examples of customer connection and innovation.
PAULA: Bryan was writing about emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, for leading industry publications like Forbes.
PAULA: And these articles are a great help to marketers, especially loyalty marketers, to think through how customers want to connect with brands in this increasingly fraught world.
PAULA: Bryan’s book had already outlined some key aspects of human psychology that marketeers could focus on finding solutions to.
PAULA: These five foundational fears he identified were, firstly, the fear of death, then the fear of strangers, the fear of the future, essentially the fear of uncertainty, as well as a fear of chaos, and finally a fear of being insignificant.
PAULA: And I think we agree that it’s these human fears that have become even more prevalent in the context of the global pandemic.
PAULA: Bryan then shared a great example of a favorite case study of his, a small company which really impressed him.
PAULA: A vineyard in Portland, Oregon, that really understands its customers and the context of their fears, and was starting to connect with them in new ways that not only helped them stay in business, but in fact was opening up a whole new way for them to expand across the country.
PAULA: Bryan had already visited this winery in person, and he really loved the experience.
PAULA: But now he told me they were taking the opportunity to connect with him in a way they hadn’t done before.
PAULA: With travel restricted, instead they began shipping out their special bottles of wine to particular customers, along with some small sample bottles to allow them to decant it into several different servings.
PAULA: Of course, customers like Bryan then can share the bottle with some friends as part of an online tasting experience in partnership with the vineyard.
PAULA: It really was a lovely example of a way for people to stay connected, doing something they love.
PAULA: An incredible example of emotional loyalty.
PAULA: And certainly we agreed that this really does prove the cliché, that in some cases, necessity is the mother of invention.
PAULA: The other topic we discussed at length was the coalition model of loyalty, and whether or not it is still as relevant in current times as it was in the past.
PAULA: Bryan emphasized what an elegant solution the model has been over the last 25 years, helping like-minded companies create a compelling data asset at a time when technology platforms required huge investment, and also loyalty skills were in short supply.
PAULA: Fast forward to 2020, and both the technology and the talent are readily available for any brand that wants to make a difference with its customers.
PAULA: As a result, markets with existing coalition programs that were built or nurtured over many years, like Air Miles in Canada, have really become loved by customers who delight in the ability to consolidate their spend and of course earn their rewards faster.
PAULA: But in this day and age, it’s much harder to get a new coalition up and running.
PAULA: So many brands are instead focusing on mutually beneficial partnerships as a better solution, supported by technology that can support loyalty benefits such as simple currency conversions.
PAULA: In closing, I wanted to mention one phrase I really loved from Bryan’s book, where he suggested that we should abandon the conquest mentality when it comes to customers.
PAULA: Instead, he recommends focusing on strategies like community, customer experience, and also happily engaged staff who of course then really take care of our customers.
PAULA: These are the ways we can avoid the need to discount or just rely on developing operational expertise as a differentiator, but really focus on intentionally delighting our customers.
PAULA: Bryan was clear, in these dramatic times, it will be the purpose-led organizations that will be the companies that win in the long term.
PAULA: That’s it for this short show, sharing some of the superb conversation and insights from a real leader in our industry.
PAULA: If you’d like to hear the full episode, it’s number 41 with Bryan Pearson.
PAULA: So, join me again now on Thursday, where I’ll be heading back to South Africa to chat about the latest loyalty white paper, reviewing key shifts in consumer behavior in this highly sophisticated and competitive loyalty market.
PAULA: This show is sponsored by The Wise Marketeer, the world’s most popular source of loyalty marketing news, insights and research.
PAULA: The Wise Marketeer also offers loyalty marketing training through its Loyalty Academy, which has already certified over 170 executives in 20 countries as certified loyalty marketing professionals.
PAULA: For more information, check out thewisemarketeer.com and loyaltyacademy.org.
PAULA: Thanks so much for listening to this episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty.
PAULA: If you’d like me to send you the latest show each week, simply sign up for the show newsletter on letstalkloyalty.com and I’ll send you the latest episode to your inbox every Thursday.
PAULA: Or just head to your favorite podcast platform.
PAULA: Find Let’s Talk Loyalty and subscribe.
PAULA: Of course I’d love your feedback and reviews and thanks again for supporting the show.
Sign up here and get the latest podcast episodes and loyalty marketing news delivered directly to your inbox