Paula: Welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty, an Industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals. I’m Paula Thomas, the Founder of Let’s Talk Loyalty. Today’s episode is hosted by Tom Peace, Managing Director of the Loyalty People, a strategic consultancy with a laser focus on loyalty, CRM, and customer engagement.
The Loyalty People also runs a free global community, for anyone working in the loyalty industry, if you are working in loyalty marketing, make sure to join Let’s Talk Loyalty every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to hear the latest ideas from loyalty experts around the world.
This show is brought to you by the Loyalty and Awards Conference, the leading annual event for loyalty professionals in the travel industry. Make sure to join us this year from the 9th to the 11th of October in Rio de Janeiro. For the perfect mix of inspiring content and exciting awards, check out loyalty@awards.com for more information and to register.
Tom: Hi, I’m Tom Peace, Managing Director of the Loyalty People and presenter of Let’s Talk A Little Loyalty. Welcome to this week’s short summary show. We’re now at the halfway point in my first year of producing these short summary shows, and I really hope you’re enjoying them. Please do let me know any feedback you have.
In this week’s episode of Let’s Talk A Little Loyalty, I’ll be showcasing some key learnings from Paula’s original interview with Matthew Stevens, formerly Albertson’s Director of Loyalty Programs and Strategy, who shared how the loyalty program supported the dramatic transformation of their business in direct response to changing consumer behaviors and expectations.
The original interview with Albertson’s showcases a masterclass in retail loyalty strategy and success. For those listeners not aware, Albertson’s is the second largest grocery retailer in the United States with around 2,300 retail stores across multiple brands, including Albertson’s, Safeway Shores, Randall’s, and United Supermarkets.
The most interesting aspect of this interview, in my opinion, is that the success of the loyalty program development was driven right from the very top of the business. The C-Suite really understood the impact the customer retention and engagement would have on driving the business forward. And Matthew talks about how the CEO evangelizes loyalty in an earnings call.
This is great to hear and a clear sign of how impactful loyalty schemes can be on a business when done right. Albertsons have reinvented their loyalty program very quickly. Previously, this was a fairly standard grocery style type program utilizing personalized offers to engage customers based on their purchase behavior.
Over just a short time, Albertsons have transformed their program into a market leading engagement tool, and here is how they did it. Firstly, they unified the e-comm and loyalty apps into one to give the customer a seamless experience. This will have driven a huge boost in interactions with loyalty.
Albertson also created one loyalty brand across all their retail brands under the For You banner, creating synergy across all their retail outlets for all customers. Next Albertson’s introduced a birthday perk, which may sound like a small benefit, but I know from experience that customers absolutely love this treat.
And the impact in terms of advocacy can be huge. Subscription options were also introduced to provide exclusive benefits and savings for customers willing to invest in the brand. Not only does this secure a revenue stream, but the impact on loyalty when a customer is invested in the brand are extremely significant.
Lastly, Albertson also extended their customer experience outside of their shopping experience using the app as an aid to cooking, literally putting all the ingredients together. This was a fascinating podcast to review, and there are so many excellent tips for anyone working in the sector. I’d highly recommend listening to the main show, which can be found at www dot Let’s talk loyalty.com, and first add on the 12th of May, 2022.
Episode number 222. Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed my summary Show all the best, and speak to you soon. Tom.
Paula: This show is sponsored by The Wise Marketer, the world’s most popular source of loyalty, marketing, news, insights, and research. The Wise Marketer also offers loyalty, marketing training. Through its Loyalty Academy, which has already certified over 500 executives in 38 countries at certified loyalty marketing professionals.
For more information, check out thewisemarketer.com and loyaltyacademy.org.
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