 | Instant gratification is one of the underlying drivers of the digital age. It's the single most potent reward a brand or organisation can offer its audience. Online brands and the gaming market lead the way here but with beacons and mobile, brands and organisations can now leap-frog into real-world, real-time rewards for their customers and employees. |
Measuring Loyalty with Engagement
Tesco Clubcard and DunHummby pioneered the UK's most successful loyalty programme which has three key measures of customer behaviour, Recency, Frequency and Spend. The scoring is wholly based on a customer's spending behaviour and therefore has some limitations, particularly in today's age of ubiquity and lack of brand loyalty. One key metric that brands are becoming increasingly familiar with is "Engagement". Your audience may visit your site, or store but unless they're "logged In" or "checked in", their engagement will go unacknowledged, unrecorded and unrewarded. Now with beacon and mobile technology, "Engagement" can be recognised and responded to in real-time, real-world situations.
RFS Matrix
TimeTTime Time is Money
Online browsing is a fickle business, consumers dip in and out as they hunt for cheaper prices and money-off coupons. The real-world however, is a valuable space. Any customer who makes the effort to visit a store or even a mall presents enormous value to all parties interested in increasing their "share of wallet" or simply attracting new audiences. Time simply isn't a commodity for anyone and rewarding your audience when they're spending this priceless asset could deliver dividends for your brand.
Rewarding your Audience in the Moment
Beacons' proximity targeting capabilities coupled with their ability to identify dormant-apps could help change the face of reward programmes. In retail, identifying customers who are in-store could fast-become a key metric for brands. Rewarding hi-value customers for visiting with complimentary coffee at the in-store cafe or time-sensitive rewards for returning non-purchasing shoppers are the types of real-time reward programmes that we could start to see taking shape. Rewarding your audience in the moment is a powerful tool for any brand, the world of behavioural economics shows us that people are more likely to take action when time is limited or when they risk loosing a reward or discount they value.
Rewarding Behaviours in the Workplace
Employee reward schemes can also benefit from this low-cost technology. Throwing down a challenge is always a great way to motivate the workforce and in cases where teams are stationed across large areas, beacons can be used to identify individuals and reward them for performance. Whether this is covering specific areas of a shop floor or moving goods from one end to another, beacons can be used in a positive way to reinforce the behaviours the organisation is championing.
It's not a Game
There is of course an underlying challenge here around privacy and rewarding the customer or employee for their loyalty. Organisations will need to achieve the balance between creating rewarding experiences for valued individuals and turning engagement into a game.
Beura supplies beacons and SaaS based beacon management, tracking and mobile messaging tools. We are currently working with the Guildhall Galleries on an exciting beacon project and also a top 10 travel brand. Contact me on LinkedIn to learn more about Beura and our services.
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