#358: Microsoft Rewards - Insights and Ideas (Short Summary Show)

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 the 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 episode is sponsored by Epsilon. Today I’m delighted to announce a unique opportunity for one lucky listener of Let’s Talk Loyalty to enjoy a complimentary workshop with the loyalty experts at Epsilon. One brand every month will have the chance for a unique, independent loyalty lab, a review of your loyalty program, where Epsilon will share their expert ideas, how to drive your program’s performance to a whole new level.

This workshop is a powerful way for you to measure and then increase the return on your investment in your loyalty program. So to apply, head over to letstalkloyalty.com/epsilon, and enter your details.

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, on behalf of Let’s Talk Loyalty. This week’s Let’s Talk a Little Loyalty podcast showcases Paula’s interview with Adam Grupp, Director of Microsoft Rewards.

Microsoft is one of the most successful companies in technology, entertainment, and in recent years, a leading platform in gaming. Microsoft Rewards engages members for gaming online through Xbox, as well as its Bing search site where users can earn rewards that can be redeemed for in-game activities, passes, and charitable contributions.

Microsoft have been very clever here as they’ve created added value and a point of differentiation for using Bing and align this to their software as a service solution for Xbox customers. This perfectly aligns to the way that this particular type of person likes to purchase the products they like.

The model is simple. When you search through Bing, you accrue points that can be used to redeem for gift cards, subscription, value, store credit with Microsoft or with Xbox, or even for a charitable or environmental cause that you care about. So what’s the key aspects of this program that make it so successful?

Firstly, it’s a completely digital experience, which you would expect gamers to align to. Secondly, Microsoft had created this as a subscription model. Members are able to spread the cost over the full year. The program also offers a lot of value, both from the points earned through using Bing, which can be used against purchases, as well as the enormous amount of gaming content available through the Gold Pass subscription.

Gamers never have to wait for the latest games to hit the stores, and they can download games from free from within their membership. This is an excellent customer experience aligned perfectly to the customer’s requirements and purchase behaviors. So it’s no wonder it’s been such a success.

There are other benefits too. Whilst Xbox already has a massive global following, the Gold Pass has created another community aspect, which all their users will really value. Gold Pass provides added value across all members regardless of age, demographic, or location. From younger members looking to experience lots of different games to older gamers, looking for nostalgia.

So Microsoft Rewards has been incredibly successful and already have around 25 million customers globally and growing fast. This program is a great example of a customer loyalty strategy that has perfectly aligned to the customer’s needs and purchase preferences and offers compelling value proposition with a subscription based program.

Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed my summary show. I’d highly recommend listening to the main show, which can be found at www.letstalkloyalty.com and first aired on the 17th of February 2022, episode number 187. 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 is already certified, over 500 executives in 38 countries as certified loyalty marketing professionals.

For more information check out thewisemarketer.com and loyaltyacademy.org.

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