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info@m—wise.euDiscover the loyalty trends you need to know to keep your loyalty program ahead of the game in the year ahead. Read on for tips and tricks to make these trends work for you (or jump to the loyalty trends to watch for 2020).
Once a choice for the bold, AI is transitioning into a trusted and accessible tool for companies of all sizes. Leading marketing automation platforms are already offering this as a feature like Einstein with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. We expect to see much wider adoption of AI in 2019 as brands focus on building the best possible customer experience.
AI isn’t just for chatbots or automating customer service. It’s perfect for predicting highly relevant product recommendations that appear tailor-made for each member or customer. The best part? This isn’t about reinventing the wheel – your customer data provides all the information that this smart, predictive technology needs to create an incredible customer experience. All you need is the right tool.
Yes, word-of-mouth marketing is alive and well, albeit in a more digital form. Leveraging that human connection can help you reach new potential customers and see supercharged sales. Case in point: British retailer Cath Kidston found that the average order value of newly referred customers was 34% higher than non-referred customers.
Try prompting existing customers to share a referral link on social media with the promise of a thanks-for-sharing discount code, extra loyalty points or the chance to win a product. You’ll be reaching a new audience and rewarding your existing customers too – it’s a total win-win.
Email marketing will remain a strong force in 2019 with emails becoming even more personal and relevant. We expect event and action triggering to play a huge part in the year ahead.
Think emails with offers on items a customer has viewed on the webshop or products they added to their basket but didn’t purchase. There are so many possibilities. Marketers switching from one-size-fits-all emails to hyper-personalised messaging can expect to see their engagement rates go through the roof (not to mention their sales!)
In 2019, we expect to see an increased focus on using social media platforms for gathering market intelligence. Social listening offers strong possibilities to strengthen your marketing and your loyalty program. Tracking what people are saying about your brand, your campaigns and even your competitors gives you vital real-time feedback.
Brands with a large presence can make effective use of one of the many social listening tools on the market. An all-round platform like Salesforce Marketing Cloud can really help you out. Yes, other platforms are out there but we believe Salesforce is the best by far – that’s why we’re a certified Salesforce Partner.
Either way, it’s crucial you choose a platform that combines social listening with content marketing and customer engagement. This way, you can respond to comments on a 1:1 basis – great for creating a top customer experience and for boosting engagement.
Want to find out more about any of the trends mentioned?
