1. Experiential marketing and loyalty

One growing trend within customer loyalty programs is complementing traditional incentives and monetary rewards with better and more exclusive experiences. While customers might expect discounts and freebies, they can discover more ways to engage with a brand through experiential rewards that they might not be able to find with any other brand. And for marketers, this approach allows many more opportunities for loyalty program differentiation from competitors beyond falling into the discount trap.

Monetary rewards

• Instant discounts
• Points, miles, or other loyalty currency
• Free product samples
• Mobile coupons and/or rewards

Experiential rewards

• Offers that are tailored to customer preferences
• Opportunity to provide feedback to the company
• Enhanced customer service
• Ability to earn special status
• Ability to influence development of new or improved products and services
• Ability to redeem rewards for charitable donations and sustainability initiatives
• Ability to transfer rewards to friends

Experiential examples for customer loyalty

XPLR Pass

When you join XPLR Pass, the loyalty program of The North Face, you can get early access to exclusive gear, dedicated customer service via a members-only line, and access to events such as Trail Days hosted in a variety of markets. Experiential rewards also extend to your own adventures. For instance, you can earn loyalty points just for checking in at National Parks or National Monuments via The North Face mobile app. Although the program offers clear monetary incentives, such as the option to redeem every 100 loyalty points for $10 off merchandise, the experiential rewards help keep the brand top of mind beyond transactions.

myWalgreens

In 2020, Walgreens reinvented their loyalty program to focus even more on health and wellness. Beyond transactional conveniences, the program includes bonus rewards for achieving health goals and adds daily recommendations for health and wellness that are personalized for the customer. Members also can sign up for challenges, such as running 5Ks or completing exercises, to help motivate them for their health goals with reward points.

2. Emotional wellness connections

Another trend in customer loyalty is to engage emotional connections with customers so they feel special and valued. According to Forrester’s Consumer Benchmark Survey, 2022, 54% of consumers say that getting special treatment is important to them.¹

Yet, special treatment doesn’t necessarily mean unique promotions or discounts for an individual. It can be simple as showing your customer that you appreciate them. And it can pay off. Of consumers who say they feel appreciated by a brand, 83% say they plan to spend more with the brand and 87% say they will advocate for the brand.²

Examples of generating emotional loyalty

Chewy.com

Direct-to-consumer brand Chewy.com knows their customers treat their pets as family members, and their approach to customer loyalty goes the extra mile in just the right way to delight customers on an emotional level. They commissioned artists to create hand-made portraits of loyal customers’ pets to surprise thousands of customers with a personal gift. Who wouldn’t smile when opening a package with a portrait of their pup or kitty?

Grove Collaborative

Driven by a mission to promote sustainability, Grove Collaborative curates home goods, personal care, cleaning supplies, and other vetted products that are earth-friendly. And beyond protecting the planet, the brand thrives on building a better tomorrow by doing good for people and communities. They employ one simple, highly effective tactic to make their customers feel appreciated and special: They handwrite thoughtful personal notes on the packages they ship customers, with examples like “You Rock, Alice!” or “You’re amazing, Perry!”

3. Values-based buying

Especially appealing to Gen Z and Millennials, the trend of values-based buying has grown as consumers want brands to be more authentic and responsible in ways that are important to them. According to the Forrester Retail Topic Insights Survey, 2022, about half (48%) of consumers say they regularly purchase from brands or companies that align with their personal values.³

Today, some values are now more important than product price to consumers. When asked how their consideration of values has changed since before the pandemic, here’s the percentage of consumers who say they now think about particular values more ⁴:

• 44% — Prove that they treat employees well
• 43% — Show me how they keep my personal data
• 40% — Offer the products I need at the cheapest price
• 37% — Find ways to help their local communities
• 37% — Can deliver the products I need faster than anyone else
• 37% — Are committed to reducing their impact on the environment
• 33% — Stand for the same political causes that I do
• 32% — Only make products locally
• 23% — Stand for the same religious causes I do

Examples of brands embracing values to drive loyalty

Sephora

Although beauty brand Sephora has an extensive customer loyalty program, Beauty Insider, they go beyond monetary rewards and VIP experiences to offer members the chance to give back. Through Sephora’s Charity Rewards, members can donate their points to featured charities in increments equivalent to dollar amounts.

Bombas

If you’ve seen a Bombas commercial, you likely already know the brand donates one pair of socks for every pair purchased. But it doesn’t stop at socks, as Bombas expresses a mission to make and donate essential clothing items for those in need. To further engage with customers who value giving back, Bombas also offers their Giving Directory where you can volunteer at an organization near you that donates Bombas, with more than 3,500 Giving Partners across the U.S.

Learn more about the state of customer loyalty

Get more in-depth insights from Mary Pilecki, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, who shared perspectives and data on recent trends for customer loyalty programs in a recent presentation.

Citations

¹ Source: Forrester’s Consumer Benchmark Survey, 2022. Country: US | Base: 70,204 Online adults who belong to loyalty program(s). 

² Source: Forrester Customer Experience Benchmark Survey, US Consumers 2022. Base: 96,211 US consumes (18+) who interacted with a specific brand with the past 12 months.

³ Source: Forrester Retail Topic Insights Survey, 2022. Base: 3,871 US online adults who belong to a customer loyalty program. 

⁴  Source: Forrester April 2022 Consumer Energy Index and Retail Pulse Survey. Base: 571 US online adults. Results indicate % that state “a little more or a lot more than I did before the pandemic.”

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Is print dead or not?

Print is dead, right? In the world of news, that may be a common belief, as people flock to the internet and apps for news updates. But in the world of customizable ads that reach consumers and convert to sales, print still rules. And despite digital advertising ruling the content world, direct mail and print marketing are more robust than ever. So if you’ve found yourself believing print is over and your customers will look for you elsewhere, you might want to rethink your strategy.

​The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) studied multiple methods of multi-format customer outreach including email, paid search, direct mail, and SMS. In June 2022 they released their Response Rate Report (membership required), which revealed some surprising findings. Of all channels analyzed, direct mail consistently had the highest level of ROI. Here are a few statistics to help you understand why print is a great option for converting eyeballs to sales.

Printed mail success statistics

• When using a multi-format approach, direct mail had 112% ROI.
• Nearly half of all participants planned on increasing their use of direct mail.
• Letter-sized mailings including envelopes had the greatest result.
• Direct mail ranked fifth for popularity in marketing campaigns, averaging about 38% across all industries.
• Automotive, financial services, and travel and hospitality were the strongest users of direct mail marketing campaigns.

About those travel and hospitality mailers…

Viking Cruises direct mail case study

Without fail, every single time I receive a brochure for a cruise or travel destination, I will read it first. And while I may not book immediately, I will pay attention to the offerings, sales, or incentives. While I’ve never taken a Viking Cruise in my life, they have the instant recognizability factor for me from their sponsorship of PBS Masterpiece Theater (waves to fellow fans). That somehow ups their credibility to me. If PBS trusts them, I guess I can as well. And here’s where things get a bit more interesting.

While I’m not necessarily Viking Cruise’s desired demographic, somehow I ended up on their mailing list. Reading their direct mailings offers a certain level of aspirational cozy comfort for me. I’ve also become an unintentional brand evangelist for Viking Cruises. Every time my mom or one of my aunts mentions wanting to take a cruise, I extol the virtues of Viking. And here’s another marketing twist in their favor: I’ve started to seek out their tantalizing Instagram posts as well.

But of all their marketing materials, it’s the tangible assets that I pay the most attention to. Viking Cruises’ eye-catching images and on-brand copywriting is infinitely appealing. I also am a big fan of their slight crankiness. While mega cruise brands can’t stop raving about everything they offer to everyone, Viking loves to highlight the things they’re not. No casinos, no children under 18, no umbrella drinks, and best of all, no inside staterooms. Can you see why I gleefully pore through anything they send my way?

FreshDirect offers consistency and reliability

While some direct mailings try for originality or outrageous claims, FreshDirect has pretty much had the same campaign since they launched. In fact, every single time I see a FreshDirect slightly oversized postcard in my mailbox it has the desired Pavlovian effect — I think about the $50.00 I could be saving if I use the included code. It doesn’t matter if the mailing is addressed to me or not, or if I see a neighbor’s postcard discarded in the mail room, that potential is already ingrained in me. And weirdly enough, I always save their postcard even if I very rarely use the codes.

So what is it about FreshDirect’s campaign that’s done so well? Consistency. The logo is always the same size. The branding never changes. The words are almost always identical and never pushy. It’s a come on without pressure. And to go against everything advertising stands for: It’s the promise of the steak with no premise of any sizzle. It’s consistency and reliability all rolled into one sleek piece of direct mail. They no longer have to sell themselves. I already know what the deal is.

5 tips for successful direct mail campaigns

• Support each mailer with a multi-format counterpart when possible. I recently received a mailer from Kencko, a healthier plant-based smoothie company. The collateral material was simultaneously soothing and cute. The product information booklet, “let’s shake things up,” was gently punny and highlighted the idea of this being an innovative shake company. The postcards offered sweet ways to unwind from your day including a Tic-tac-toe game played using the brands fruit gummies. Everything included highlighted the idea that there wasn’t a lot of work to be done for a healthy payoff.
• Create a reasonable cut-off point for incentives. Plus-size fashion brand Eloquii includes e-cash coupons with every order. But they can only be used during very specific timelines, so if you forget to use it you lose out on the $25.00 discount.
• Or don’t create any cut-off point. Many sellers on Etsy have sales at unexpected times or include discount codes that never expire. Some include cute stickers or candy with every order.
• Reward their loyalty/create an ongoing interaction. Similarly, FinnStyle, a website specializing in Finnish design products recently offered free (Finnish) candy with every order over $100.00. It was a very clever way of inspiring buyers to anticipate receiving not just their order, but a treat in the mail as well.
• Make it matter. If you do go the coupon route, take inspiration from the mentioned examples. FreshDirect offers a $50.00 incentive while Eloquii offers $25.00. You don’t want to dilute your brand, but you do want to appreciate every returning customer possible.

And just because…

One of the best print ads that wasn’t an ad was from Old Spice. And it’s worth reading about since although it appeared in a magazine, it used humor, innovation, and the ability to create a tactile experience.

Old Spice punks perfume ads

If you’re a fan of print magazines (some of us still are!), you’ve no doubt had your olfactory senses teased by endless perfume strips. In what may very well be the most brilliant print ad campaign of all time, Old Spice placed a print ad in GQ back in 2018. But as with all things Old Spice, they created a campaign that kept tongue firmly in cheek.

Instead of a scent strip, the campaign contained a scented man-sized disposable red paper blazer. Ad agency Wieden + Kennedy created the campaign to support Old Spice’s Red Collection. If you know your demographic well, you’ll know what they respond to. And that means you’ll better be able to create an automated direct mailer might be triggered by a customer’s interactions with a brand’s website/app.

Create milestone mailings

Did your long-time customer reach a certain tier/level in a loyalty/rewards program? Consider sending them a celebratory greeting card applauding their accomplishment. Did they just renovate their kitchen and now get kitchen-/home-related mailers? What if you created a dinner plate that could be popped out of a postcard? Something that is interactive and helps your customers understand that you hope your brand remains part of their life. And that you might just have the solution for whatever comes next.

Some more ideas onhow to engage customers before or after they interacted with you online:

• Extend a warm welcome. Send them a rewards card via mail after they order food using your delivery service for the first time.
• Make it timely. If they ordered holiday flowers for a relative, send them a coupon code for the next upcoming holiday.
• Don’t be creepy. There’s a fine line between creating a personalized interaction that delights a potential repeat customer and one that freaks them out. I recently received a mailer from stamps.com clearly marked “POSTAGE STAMPS INSIDE.” While I knew there was no way they’d actually included any stamps, I was curious enough to open up the envelope. I realized that I’d signed up and promptly forgotten about the service. As a gentle reminder, they offered me a promo code and label sheet for free stamps.

However you decide to engage (or reengage) with your demographic, you want to reach out to them and not smother them. The bottom line, show your customers the way their direct mail was personalized and that their interaction meant something to your company as well.

Leverage direct mail services

It’s not just travel or hospitality services that best use direct marketing. Today, marketers in nearly every industry can leverage their customer data to target customers. There are countless ways to use personalized automation to send customers and prospects direct mail on a much more personal, customized level.

Want to get started? Cordial has a partnership with Poplar so brands can create personalized, timely direct mail campaigns. Polar has a great primer on direct mail advertising case studies to give you an inspiration boost. Meanwhile, if you’d like some inspiration for fantastic classics or one-of-a-kind print ads or mailers, read on. Two pieces of targeted advertising using completely different approaches.

The post Direct mail marketing: Not dead, but more personal and alive! appeared first on Cordial.

Think about iconic brands like Tiffany’s or even Apple. They create a love affair with customers that bring loyalty, comfort, and excitement. Valentine’s Day presents an opportunity to use real-time, thoughtful, customer-centric campaigns. Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns can help you connect with customers, increase engagement, and increase revenue.

Valentine’s day is one of the most commercialized holidays of the year and a big opportunity for marketers, but let’s not forget about the messages we want to send and the humans involved. It is supposed to be a romantic holiday after all. Here we will share some Valentine’s Day marketing tips and examples to get you started thinking about your upcoming campaigns.

First, we will look at some companies that are rocking thoughtful messaging with their Valentine’s Day marketing. Then we will move into some tips to help you as you start brainstorming your campaigns.

Lovely Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns

1.Be timely, like Booking.com.

For their 2021 Valentine’s day campaign, Booking.com knew a lot of people were still missing out on travel due to the pandemic. So they started Love Letters to America where travelers from all walks of life could write letters to their favorite cities. They created a special hashtag and encouraged writers to tag their social media channels. The campaign was on point for the brand, all about traveling and staying in cities across the world. They also encouraged writers to post a memory from the city they loved, increasing engagement and helping customers feel like part of a bigger community.

“So, on this Valentine’s Day, we just want to say – It was never goodbye, it’s see you later. We love you, America. All of us travelers, Booking.com #LoveLettersToAmerica”

2. Care for singles, like Cadbury 5 Star.

For those among your customers that would rather skip the holiday, you could give them an alibi like Cadbury 5 Star. They took over an Island, named it My Cousin’s Wedding, and allowed purchasers of a special candy bar to enter to win an escape. The campaign wasn’t for everyone but brought humor and fun to an audience that often feels neglected around Valentine’s.

The candy bar wrapper said, “Escape cheesy gifts.”“You’ve been saved from Valentine’s Day. Thank us later. #5StarVDayAlibi #MyCousinsWedding”

3. Support small businesses, like AWeber.

Being a B2B business, AWeber used Valentine’s as an opportunity to support their customers by creating ten email-optimized GIFs that their customers could send out to their own customers. This created something that saved customers time and showed their support of businesses. They showed their customers love by helping them show their subscribers love.

4. Create a visual story like, Fashion&Friends.

Video is a great way to draw customers in to make a purchase for Valentine’s Day. Fashion&Friends created a cute story of a couple sneaking around trying to get each other’s sizes to purchase a gift. It is a simple and short story but shows that the brand has gifts for him and her while also showing a little story of love.

Music and cinematic elements make it engaging.

5. Think outside the box, like Dunkin.

A Dunkin Donuts in New York offered couples a chance to enter to get married in their drive-through for their Valentine’s Day campaign. To enter New York state residents needed to submit an Instagram photo with the #DunkinIDoContest hashtag. Experimental marketing at its finest? It did get quite a bit of attention and two couples got married so the campaign was a success.

6. Show real people, like Pandora.

Pandora asked couples and friends what love and Valentine’s Day meant to them getting varied and authentic answers with people getting choked up. It made a relatable and endearing video. One couple shared their most memorable Valentine’s while another shared that the little things every day matter too.

7. Understand singles and couples, like Deliveroo.

In their third-wheel Kevin commercial, Deliveroo uses sarcasm to create a sense of humor for singles and couples. Deliveroo let their customers know that whether they are in a relationship or hanging out with friends there is a meal ready and waiting for them with love. Humor can take some of the pressure off a day that can be filled with too high of expectations.

8. Use a Valentine’s theme to share a message, like LinkedIn.

Professional network LinkedIn came out with a pre-Valentine’s day article, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: How to Leave a Job You Don’t Love & Find One Meant For You,” which was an on-brand way to bring in themes from the holiday. They mentioned love and Valentine’s day and Galentines, but then the subject turned to jobs and stats and insights, just what LinkedIn is great at. Good use of survey data.

9. Take it to the dogs, like Bodhi Restaurant Bar.

People love their pets and may just want to celebrate Valentine’s with them. Dog-friendly Bodhi Restaurant offered a special three-course Valentine’s meal on their Instagram leaving the info for reservations. They shared an adorable dalmatian with a heart nose to advertise the event showing their care for people, animals, and the planet. A special menu for a special day where diners could bring their furry friend.

10. Celebrate family, like Caratlane

The diamond jewelry brand Caratline used Valentine’s day to share the special bond between siblings. In the ad, one sister loves Valentine’s Day the other not so much but they love each other and exchange cookies and a special diamond bracelet. “Gifted on a special day. Made special every day.”

Valentine’s Day marketing tips that share a thoughtful message

Technology has allowed marketers to gather a lot of data to personalize the customer experience. But it is always a fine line to get the right amount of personalization without being creepy. No one wants stalker-like messages for Valentine’s Day. Gather the first-party data you have collected and think about how you can use it to personalize emails, SMS and MMS messages, and mobile notifications.

Some ideas:

• Offer a Valentine’s discount
• Offer a new package/combo or limited edition product
• Help your customer gift shop for the ones they love with a guide
• Encourage customers to give a gift to themselves too
• Offer an incentive like free shipping or fast delivery

Adjust your marketing to what has worked with your customers in the past, and what they are looking for, and make sure your messaging is on point.

Be more inclusive with your marketing message

This goes back to that human side. Data is so useful but the downside is that it can lead you to some assumptions about your audience that just may not be true. Every human needs love, so a bit of kindness and thought can go a long way in making your message more inclusive. One thing you can consider is allowing your audience to opt-out of holiday messages that just don’t fit them.

Here are some best practices:

• Think about families, singles, and friends
• Be mindful of age, gender, orientation, marital status, etc.
• Consider how you can encourage wellness and self-care
• Get your audience involved with a referral campaign and user-generated content
• Ask questions about what customers would like to see and do

Five mantras to follow when striving for a better — in any campaign

Whenever possible, try to send a better message — not just another message. So put yourself in the mindset and space of your customer. Here are five important mantras to consider whenever you’re crafting messaging for your brand. Follow the links to listen to curated inspirational talks for each:

• Show empathy. Feel with people and listen.
• Elevate language. Think about how you think.
• Energize design. Keep in mind what makes us human.
• Innovate experience. Practice, test, and learn.
• Inspire action. Start with why — always.

Are you feeling inspired to get a jump start with your Valentine’s Day marketing ideas? Let’s get you the right data for the right message to connect with customers across platforms.

The post How to make more thoughtful Valentine’s Day campaigns appeared first on Cordial.

The rising popularity of secondhand retail is hardly news. Even this report notes previously published research, including a study from GlobalData and ThredUp estimating that resale will grow 16 times faster than the broader clothing sector. In fact, in the U.S., the secondhand apparel market will more than double by 2026, reaching $82 billion, according to ThredUp’s most recent report.

Still, WD Partners was taken aback by the depth and breadth of consumers’ enthusiasm for resale, according to Lee Peterson, executive vice president of thought leadership and marketing.

Secondhand sales have evolved from a niche aspect of retail into the mainstream, with a diverse and growing set of retail chains like Walmart, Ikea, REI, Amazon, Home Depot and a slew of specialty apparel players offering or at least experimenting with resale. That also includes many “sophisticated online retailers like The RealReal and Kaiyo,” WD researchers said in the report.

Resale e-commerce is likely to continue to grow and attract investors, though online sales remain unprofitable, they said. That gives physical stores an operational advantage.

“Everything is multi-channel now, so I could see some form of resale or even donations done online in order to be authentic about circular commerce, but clearly, the best results are going to be taking the hard road and doing it in stores,” Peterson said. “Which means training and programs and new ‘shops’. But according to this study, and I’m sure more to come, it’ll be worth it, just like BOPIS is now for retailers who resisted it.”

More, physical stores enable the treasure hunt valued by secondhand shoppers. Buying used items has become normalized — a way to save money and the planet — and is likely to drive traffic and bring new customers into most any store, according to the report.

“What’s evident from these stats is the fact that both department stores and specialty retail rank high, meaning that the mall itself would increase traffic by having used,” Peterson said. “Not only in existing stores, but by attracting tenants into their properties.”

This article was written by Daphne Howland from Retail Dive and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.

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Despite the frequent complaints from consumers and media reports about self-checkout lanes, grocers are continuing to push forward with the technology as labor challenges persist and consumer shopping habits evolve. Catalina noted that more retailers are pivoting from manual to self-checkout lanes. 

Self-checkout lanes are becoming more popular due to social distancing measures sparked by the pandemic and the availability of automation technology, the firm said. A few retailers, such as Walmart, Kroger and Dollar General, have even started testing self-checkout-only stores, per CNN reporting cited by the firm. 

Offering a mix of both manual and self-checkout lanes can appeal to a wider variety of shoppers and serve different types of shopping trips, Catalina noted.

“In our view, retailers should evolve to create a balance of self-checkout and manned lanes to accommodate more multi-dimensional shopper profiles, improve customer experience, enable cost efficiencies and maximize sales for the long term,” Wesley Bean, U.S. chief retail officer for Catalina, said in a statement. 

Catalina found that the group of shoppers who used both methods includes a mix of demographics, with consumers tending to have a higher annual household income compared to shoppers who used one checkout type exclusively.

In 2021, 39% of shoppers identified as using both checkout types depending on what they were buying, with usage evenly divided between self-checkout and manned lanes. People who used a mix of both methods had the highest customer value ($1,720) and completed the most shopping trips (36) per year in 2021, compared to people who used only one of the methods. 

Of the 12% of surveyed shoppers who said they only use self-checkout, Catalina found they tended to fill smaller baskets, which the firm said suggests they are likely buying household and pantry items in other channels, like at mass retailers or online. Catalina also pointed out that some retailers cap the number of items shoppers can buy using self-checkout.

Self-checkout-only tends to draw 19 to 24-year-olds and also people born between 1928 and 1945, known as the Silent Generation, the firm said. 

Meanwhile, 49% of consumers prefer only using manned lanes. That group mainly consists of baby boomers and Silent Generation consumers with household incomes under $100,000 and a high school education, Catalina’s research found.

“Until recently, shopper profiles generally grouped consumers by demographics and where they are on the purchase funnel,” Bean said. “Now, retailers can layer in check-out preferences and shopper affinities to create a more personalized shopping experience and reach individual shoppers with messages that matter.”

While manual checkout remains popular, the study’s findings underscore that grocers can reach more consumers and meet more shopping needs by mixing in self-checkout. Grocers who only offer one method over another may discourage certain customer demographics or purchasing behaviors, such as consumers using self-checkout for quick trips or baby boomers preferring traditional lanes. 

One factor to consider with the findings is that Catalina analyzed shopper behavior in 2021. As consumer concern about safety with the pandemic has waned, the appeal of self-checkout for maintaining social distancing or speeding up the amount of time spent indoors or in crowded lines may have lessened. 

As retailers boost the presence of self-checkout options, they shouldn’t neglect allowing customers to use coupons at those stations. Catalina’s test of coupons with self-checkout found that the incentives brought in new shoppers, engaged lapsed buyers and resulted in more store visits. This finding goes against industry presumptions that customers don’t want to spend time using coupons in self-checkout lanes, the firm noted. 

Catalina recommends that retailers consider the mix of checkout options, use UPC-level data to better understand how shopper behavior ties to lane choice and create multi-dimensional shopper profiles that factor in checkout preferences. The firm also suggests retailers collaborate with brands on personalizing offers and hone their marketing for different purchasing options. 

This article was written by Catherine Douglas Moran from Retail Dive and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.

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Unfortunately for digital marketers, customers often sign up for emails during the holiday season, and never again engage with the brand. Because loyal customers refer more customers and tend to spend more than one-time shoppers, it’s imperative that those customers come back to buy again in the New Year. While not all new sign-ups in this timeframe are worth investing in long-term, it is critical that we activate, retain and turn as many of these customers into advocates as possible. 

Depending on the type of retailer, the typical opaque churn rate (customers not responding via open or click) is 10-25%. Post holiday, when these customers have done their shopping, we might need to work a little harder to retain them and minimize attrition.

How to increase post-holiday customer retention and activation

1. Say “Thank you!”

Kindly acknowledge their purchase and help them make that all-important second transaction through a targeted, personalized campaign with a juicy incentive, such as free shipping. Some marketers choose to include this type of messaging as part of their post-purchase transactional flow — an excellent high-engagement option for adding value to that message stream.

2. Grab another sale.

Speaking of second transactions, getting the customer to make a second purchase makes them nine times more likely to convert. Use data about the customer such as product or page views — even the types of incentive they responded to — to deliver content that shows them the products they should buy again. Use messaging around replenishment or re-purchase for products with a short lifespan. 

3. Invite them in.

To your loyalty program, that is. About 57% of customers spend more when they are part of a loyalty program, and having a rewards program has been reported to increase average order value by 319%. Rewards and loyalty programs give the marketer additional, meaningful touch points with consumers, including the achievement of tiers or hurdles, the reward of points, statements, and newsletters.

4. Keep the welcomes flowing.

With inbox flooding up to and beyond the end of December, consider sending an additional welcome touch later in January to increase engagement and cement the brand’s value proposition. Include a clear call to action with a buying message or ask them to provide more first-party data through a preference center.

5. Know from where they came.

Make sure to capture source and acquisition methods for new customers during the holidays. Did they sign up for a limited-time discount, such as BOGO or a threshold discount? Did they sign up in store? How many purchases did they make? All of these data points will make it easier to personalize content to them in the months to come. Because 72% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase from a brand if it consistently provides them with personalized content, knowing this data helps make messaging more powerful downstream.

6.  Hear them out.

Gathering customer-generated content (CGC) drives loyalty in existing customers, and can be powerful in generating secondary sales, as 95% of consumers look up reviews before they make a purchase. Solicit CGC like reviews and feedback to make them feel heard and further the relationship with the store. This feeds the content engine, and gives the marketer message-worthy material that resonates with other customers. 

7.  Ask them to be an advocate.

Repeat customers are 25% more likely to tell their friends how amazing your site, product, shipping. service, etc., is. I repeat… Repeat customers are talking. Further, the long-term dollar impact of these referrals for apparel retailers can be significant: Customers referred by online shoppers have been known to spend 50% more with a brand. Savvy marketers work hard to combine their brand narrative with special offers, making outbound communications work harder to convey value and build trust. Giving them content to share with their network, or flat-out asking them to tell your story, can drive incremental sales and add valuable customers to your business.

8.  Get the audience involved.

Don’t be afraid to ask them about themselves. Nearly two-thirds (63% ) of millennials are willing to share personal data to get personalized offers and discounts. Using a preference center, a series of light boxes capturing first-party data directly from customers, or even logging clicks on interest polls in email, will help gather those all-important data elements that can be used for personalization and conversion. Gather up this data and use a tool like Cordial’s Architect feature to make it more powerful by adding data elements to purchase history, browse behavior, and more to drive personalized content.

9. Acknowledge the obvious.

If most of the audience remains dormant early in the year, the assumption could be that they are not self-purchasers, but are instead generous gift-givers. Look for the next key buying time for gift-giving to activate them with a gifting-specific message. Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are both viable options for gift-giving earlier in the year. Presenting this audience with clear gift-buying messages during these times might generate activity and loyalty. Another great tactic is to collect their birth month during the sign-up process, and light up that deal outside the holiday season to get them to purchase in another timeframe.

10. Don’t lose them mid-year.

Re-engagement and reactivation tactics might (by design) knock new holiday customers out of messaging mid-year. If there is a 180- or 275-day re-engagement window and the program is designed to suppress customers without response to reactivation messaging, consider lowering the frequency of messaging to — say — once a week, then bring these customers carefully back into the messaging list in time for the next holiday season. They might truly be a once-a-year purchaser, and making sure they see your marketing messages in the holiday timeframe can be revenue-generating. 

11. Think outside the (in)box.

Reaching these valuable customers in channels other than email is becoming increasingly important as customers expect exclusive, time-based offers in SMS, mobile push and more. Recently released Cordial benchmarks show a 56% increase in AOV when marketers leveraged email, SMS, and mobile push. Look for ways to acquire customers in these other channels and test messaging type, content, frequency, and activation tactics. Using Cordial’s Podium customer journey builder to incorporate multiple channels in automated messages is a powerful way to reach the cross-channel audience with intention and timeliness.

Boost customer activation all year long

Deploying one or more of these tips could make a difference in retaining and engaging holiday shoppers — new and old! Make sure you test into long-term tactics, and don’t forget to set up tracking to ensure you can measure engagement and lift down the road. 

Need help choosing which levers to pull for your program this post-holiday season? Cordial’s Strategic Consulting team is here to help you make data-driven decisions. Let us build and execute messaging roadmaps and test plans. Learn more from our team and put these ideas into action!

The post 11 tips for post-holiday customer activation appeared first on Cordial.

“They are playing, I believe, the long game,” said AJ Dalal, group vice president of data strategy at Publicis Sapient, about brands joining the metaverse. “They are entering that space in terms of Gen Z to build a brand, teach and connect with those younger consumers.” 

Evangelists position the metaverse as a key piece of the next evolution of the internet, called Web3, and believe the channel will eventually become a serious revenue generator as consumers buy virtual goods and even property to personalize their online presence. That dream remains far off from realization, but brands should still probe Gen Z’s interests now as the group sees their spending power climb in line with more robust tech integrations and accelerated Web3 adoption. 

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of Gen Zers who have heard of the metaverse believe it will be the future of e-commerce, according to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence survey data. That suggests they’ll be open to transacting in the metaverse once those avenues are more readily available. 

“There’s a lot of experimentation and need to understand how it’s being used before we can further progress to any monetization,” said Emma Chiu, global director of Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, of the metaverse. “It’s laying down the path for engaging a younger audience who will eventually be making money and spending their dollars with that company if they are engaged.”

Persistent spaces

True Web3 activations that apply decentralized technology like blockchain are rare and limited to early adopters. In reality, most marketing efforts related to the metaverse would easily fit into definitions of Web2, centering around multiplayer videogames that have existed for years like Fortnite and Roblox. 

That said, gaming and the metaverse go hand-in-hand, and marketers shouldn’t shy away from viewing gaming platforms as a testing ground for future-facing experiments. Established video games additionally are the most surefire way to reach an audience, with Roblox commanding 52 million daily active users. 

“Traditional ads aren’t being seen in the same way and there are a lot more age restrictions when it comes to social media,” said Chiu. “If the younger generation are gaming, it’s probably likely that they’ll be able to stumble upon a brand within that game versus on any other online channels.”

The low barrier to entry in gaming has resulted in a high volume of metaverse activations in recent months, few of which create a lasting impression. A common theme among the successes is sharing a long-term roadmap that sets concrete expectations for consumers and hooks them for the long term, according to Dalal.

Incentives for repeat visits could include accruing rewards via in-game activities, receiving limited-edition virtual goods or gaining access to real-world perks. Nike introduced its Nikeland world on Roblox last November and said from the outset that the space would change over time. Nikeland has drawn over 21 million players to date. 

“It’s important to share with them what you’re trying to achieve over the course of six months, one year, two years,” said Dalal. “Once you make these statements to them, you are being authentic to your consumer base and they can then competently evaluate it.” 

Beyond doling out collectibles and devising addictive mini-games, marketers should think of the metaverse as an experiential channel. The pandemic proved that tens of millions of people would turn up to performances on gaming platforms, an idea brands continue to bet on. Walmart today (Oct. 6) is putting on a music festival headlined by Gen Z acts Madison Beer, Kane Brown and Yungblud within its new Electric Island experience on Roblox. 

“Look at the last couple of years: Those bigger cultural moments, they happened in virtual spaces,” said Laura Connell, consumer trends manager at GWI. 

Community and creation

In the same way that metaverse marketing shouldn’t be a one-off play, it also isn’t a single-channel tactic. One of the main reasons Gen Z stays hooked on games is a sense of comradery, but marketers often don’t augment their campaigns to foster outside discussion through apps like Discord and Twitter. 

“Discord has really been the main platform that Gen Z has really connected with,” said Dalal. “I haven’t really seen a lot of brands launch a metaverse experience and complement that with some type of social channel to allow for authentic discussions and communication.”

Within metaverse platforms, brands should keep in mind that Gen Z values a sense of self-expression and is the most diverse generation to reach maturity. Over half (57%) of surveyed members of the group said they are able to express themselves more freely in games than they are in real life, a recent study found. 

“They want to have a safe space where they are able to hang out with their friends,” said Chiu. “They also want to have a place where they feel comfortable to further explore identity and make new friends perhaps as well.”

By that same turn, preserving trust is paramount. Sites like Roblox have come under the scrutiny of industry watchdogs for a lack of transparency around marketing communications, and are now introducing ad formats that are more clearly labeled as such. One in four consumers who aren’t interested in the metaverse cited privacy concerns as a barrier, according to GWI’s findings.

“Privacy and safety concerns definitely should be a priority for brands,” said Connell. 

Despite the enduring skepticism and chances for failure, marketers shouldn’t be surprised if the metaverse continues to dominate discussions and take up a larger portion of budgets in an increasingly connected world. 

“This is just how technology is evolving,” said Chiu. “I don’t think it’s something that is avoidable.”

This article was written by Peter Adams from Marketing Dive and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.

The post How marketers can connect with Gen Z in emerging virtual worlds appeared first on Cordial.

As other reports have pointed out, consumers are looking for the best price this holiday season. Oracle found that 47% of respondents are looking at prices to comparison-shop between retailers. 

Consumers are bracing for inflation to drive up prices, which could be why they are on the hunt for bargains. A 4Over survey released in August found that 73% of respondents expected price increases during the 2022 holiday season. Meanwhile, 43% of respondents to an ICSC survey said they are looking for deals and promotions, and 48% said they are shopping earlier to get the items they need.

“Next to inventory availability, price is the leading factor in how and where consumers will shop this holiday season,” Mike Webster, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Retail, said in a statement. “For retailers still dealing with the constant loop of limited inventory supplies or surpluses, getting merchandise and pricing strategies right will be make or break when it comes to managing margins and customer expectations.”

Among the top items Oracle respondents said they are planning to purchase this holiday season are experiences for friends and family (34%), fashion and apparel (30%), gift cards (29%), beauty and personal care products (29%) and footwear (28%). 

A fifth of Oracle Retail respondents said they plan to buy non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or digital collectibles as gifts. However, according to a Bloomberg report citing Dune Analytics data, the trading volume for digital art and collectibles has sharply dropped 97% from $17 billion in January to $466 million in September.

Oracle’s research also points to an uptick in in-store shopping this holiday season. Per the survey results, 43% of consumers plan to shop mostly in stores, but 23% are shopping in-store and online. A JLL survey released earlier this month found that less than two-thirds of shoppers are spending their holiday budgets in stores, a slight increase from 58% in 2021.

This article was written by Tatiana Walk Morris from Retail Dive and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.

The post Over 70% of shoppers consider holiday financing as inflation bites appeared first on Cordial.

At the center of it all is your customer: a living, breathing, thinking, and feeling being whose power of choice can congest, if not fully cancel, the most advanced attempts to create a brand convert. Their strategy, though perhaps a bit time-consuming, comes down to a few simple actions, with “unsubscribe” and “opt-out” among the most powerful.

That’s because, for all of the technical sophistication that brands have at their disposal, it’s easy to get lost in the data — the touch points, the segmentation, the testing, and optimization — losing sight of the human represented by myriad data points. That seemingly simple (and perhaps obvious) fact — that there’s a human on the other end of those messages — is an especially important consideration as you ramp up your holiday marketing strategies, as well as marketing for other milestone life events.

Whether Mother’s Day, Veteran’s Day, a wedding, or a funeral, how might brands show more empathy to those who might be unintentionally triggered by messaging sent to recognize an upcoming holiday or acknowledge a life event? How can you use the power of data and personalization to show more empathy during the holidays — or in any season of life — in ways that matter? How do you hit the right tone? And what brands are doing it right?

Empathy: more than a buzzword

Here’s how Oxford Languages defines empathy: “[Empathy is] the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” Look beyond that definition and you’ll find that empathy is key to developing emotional intelligence and practicing active listening — so-called soft skills that are essential to communicating effectively.

In product design, empathy is the first among the five phases of the design thinking framework. According to the Interaction Design Foundation, “Empathy is crucial to a human-centered design process such as design thinking because it allows you to set aside your own assumptions about the world and gain real insight into users and their needs.”

And then there’s empathy-based marketing, which the Marketing Insider Group says, “involves seeing through the eyes of your customers.”

With the power of the tools you use to craft and disseminate your messaging strategies at your fingertips comes a responsibility to your audience to ensure that your approach to empathy is genuine and customer-centric.

That means if your work influences things like seasonal email and other messaging touch points, you should ensure that those touch points are sensitive to the individual needs of those who receive them while considering — and avoiding — the potential harm that messaging can cause the recipient.

The personalization paradox: How personal is too personal?

Let’s return to Oxford Languages again, this time for a definition of personalization: “[Personalization is] the action of designing or producing something to meet someone’s individual requirements.”

From a product and design standpoint, the Oxford Language definition is pretty close to one included in an online glossary maintained by Chisel, an online app that provides tools for product managers: “Personalizing is the act of creating individualized experiences for your customers.”

And similarly, from a marketing standpoint, there’s this definition of personalization from Instapage: “Marketing personalization… is the practice of using data to deliver brand messages targeted to an individual prospect.”

Just as with empathy-based marketing, having access to robust datasets and knowing how to analyze that data to create customer-centric (a.k.a. personalized) experiences presents marketers with the challenge of doing so in a way that finds a balance between tailored messaging that converts and invasive messaging that’s potentially upsetting.

Empathy and personalization: better together

Approaching the powerful combination of data and personalization with empathy asks you to consider how such an approach can put the ‘personal’ back into personalization. That’s because oftentimes, data alone doesn’t tell the entire story.

Here’s an example: Data collected and analyzed by a healthcare brand might identify recently married individuals of a certain age as appropriate targets for family planning or maternity messaging. But if that couple has learned they’re unable to conceive children — or worse, recently lost a child — chances are they’d rather not receive messaging of this nature.

In other words, using data to personalize experiences with empathy can help you avoid unintended consequences that end up alienating customers and causing them to opt-out of all messaging, especially during the holidays, and when acknowledging other life events.

As you embark on the journey of empathetic marketing and personalization, there is one other important thing to consider when developing your approach: sincerity and genuineness. This quote from the Harvard Business Review says it best: “Being truly empathetic means being genuine… [a]uthentic empathy begets authentic connections between brands and customers.”

More on Cordial:

• Article: How to embrace kindness in your brand messaging
• Article: How to overcome top challenges for customer-centric personalization
• Article + videos: Inspirational talks on how to send a better message

Emulating empathy in marketing: some case studies on holiday opt-outs

Capterra, a website that offers reviews to help companies compare software options, recently conducted a survey of 839 consumers to gather information about the impact of opting out of holiday emails. In summarizing survey findings, Capterra writes, “In the world of email marketing, consent matters. Offering an easy unsubscribe option allows consumers to remove themselves from email lists and take control of the messages they want or don’t want.”

Here are a few examples of companies and brands that have implemented holiday opt-out messaging strategies:

1. Nimble: tech for good

Nimble offers “thoughtful technology, made from sustainable materials.” Their products include portable chargers, phone cases, charging cases, and more.

Today, Nimble products are available at major retailers that include Target, T-mobile, and Verizon. But when the company was founded (2018), you may have come across the brand’s ads on social media sites offering a coupon towards a future purchase if you shared your email address. As a marketer and a consumer, you know what happened next: the inbox influx of messaging designed to encourage clicks and conversions.

Now, imagine it’s late spring and you’re about to launch seasonal content to encourage shopping for “dads and grads” — a perfect demographic for Nimble products. But before you launch your perfectly crafted campaign, you first send out an email message with the following subject line: “In Advance of Father’s Day Emails.”

As it turns out, a Nimble employee shared that receiving a deluge of marketing emails around Father’s Day was both difficult and triggering and wondered how similarly themed emails might impact customers. What could the brand do to avoid causing pain, while maintaining a healthy database of current and potential customers?

Rather than offer an all-or-nothing opt-out, the company took a different approach: In just a few words, they sent an email acknowledging that Father’s Day might be a sensitive time for some and offered a way to opt-out of receiving Father’s Day-specific emails — something that they offered for Mother’s Day messaging as well.

This approach empowered Nimble’s consumers by giving them options in the first place, and by allowing them to engage with the company in ways that were meaningful and not harmful.

2. Etsy

On its About page, Etsy, the popular online marketplace for those in search of unique one-of-a-kind items and vintage wares, you’ll find the words “Keep Commerce Human.” As it turns out, those words are more than just an empty promise. According to the site: “In a time of increasing automation, it’s our mission to keep human connection at the heart of commerce.”

The promise of “keeping human connection at the heart of commerce” might seem like a lofty goal. However, in 2021, the company took that promise to heart. According to the news website Axios, “Etsy lets people opt out of Valentine’s Day emails and offers as well as marketing around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.”

Ryan Scott, Etsy’s chief marketing officer, provided this insight into the company’s decision to the Wall Street Journal: “For those who are potentially grieving a loved one, struggling with mental health or have strained family relations, seeing constant reminders can make it even more difficult.”

Again, offering consumers to opt-out of potentially triggering messaging helps brands read the virtual room and avoid alienating customers, empowering them to choose what types of messaging they want, and which types they want to avoid.

3. The Thoughtful Marketing community

Bloom & Wild, a popular UK-based online florist, joined the holiday opt-out movement back in 2019 and offered customers the option to skip emails related to that country’s Mothering Sunday, a centuries-old celebration rooted in honoring a church where one was baptized that later evolved into a celebration of moms.

The company’s opt-out email garnered the attention of the press, and eventually led to the creation of the Thoughtful Marketing community, a cohort of some 150 brands who have pledged to make marketing “a little more thoughtful.”

To join, brands agree to take the following three steps:

1. Set up opt-out emails.
2. Talk to their opted-out audience.
3. Sign up to commit to an opt-out campaign.

Obviously, each of those steps requires additional work to fully implement. Yet internationally known brands like Calm, Naked Wines, Papier, and many others have taken the pledge and implemented steps to avoid sending holiday messaging that could be upsetting to their customers.

When it comes to empathy in marketing, the proof is in the data.

 If you’re still wondering if empathy-based marketing and personalization is an effective strategy worth implementing as part of your holiday messaging strategies, consider these metrics from a recent Capterra survey:

• 91% of consumers said they feel “very” or “somewhat positive” about holiday email opt-outs and give those brands high marks for empathy.
• 81% said they are “extremely”or “somewhat” likely to purchase from a brand that offers them opt-out options.
• 71% said they would be more likely to read and pay attention to a brand’s holiday opt-out message if it’s personally relevant.

So what do you need to do next? Harvard Business Review recommends the following:

• Keeping your ear to the ground by constantly tracking and understanding your customer’s “wants, needs, and pain points.”
• Give customers the power to choose how they interact with your brand around any holidays or life events that may trigger sadness or pain.
• Set a tone of authenticity with visuals to avoid appearing “shallow or phony.”

Once you’ve followed these steps, be sure to track and collect data that will help you optimize your holiday opt-out messaging strategies in the coming seasons.

The post Empathy for the holidays: Why personalization matters in marketing appeared first on Cordial.

While “buy now, pay later” transactions were on the rise last year, it remains to be seen whether that trend will continue this holiday season.

BNPL surged last year, with Afterpay reporting a 34% jump in in-store and online installment payment orders from the 2020 holiday season to 2021. But, of the Gen Z consumers who used “buy now, pay later” platforms for their holiday purchases in 2021, 43% had missed at least one installment payment that year, according to a Piplsay report.

The share of BNPL transactions in e-commerce revenue rose by 5% between January and September compared to last year, per a recent Adobe Analytics report. BNPL revenue saw a 27% bump in revenue during the 2021 holiday season compared to 2020 and 475% from 2019.

Though many consumers are using retailers’ mobile apps to shop for the holidays, Bluedot’s report notes that consumers are also turning to social media to buy gifts. More than a third of consumers said they were going to use retailers’ mobile apps to look for discounts (38%), search for items that they can’t find in stores (38%), and hunt for better prices (36%). The survey also noted that 56% of Gen Z consumers plan to buy their holiday goods via social media, followed by 49% of Millennials and 43% of Gen X consumers.

“This year’s holiday shopping data signals a major opportunity for retailers not just to lure consumers to the store, but also boost long-term customer engagement,” Judy Chan, Bluedot’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “While not a complete land grab, retailers can definitely take advantage of the holidays to imbue and impress consumers as they are more willing to hear from them. Those that prioritize loyalty from an overall mobile, digital strategy, including easy-to-use mobile apps and websites with high-value deals and discounts, are much better positioned to increase revenue, deliver a differentiated customer experience, and ultimately boost brand engagement and customer retention.” 

In addition to BNPL, Bluedot’s report echoes other research indicating that consumers are relying more on credit cards to stretch their budgets. A report from Beyond Finance found that 43% of consumers have more than $5,000 in credit card debt. Forty-three percent of respondents to Bluedot’s survey said they are more likely to open a store credit card. Among the perks they want in a store credit card are discounts, gift cards, or loyalty points. 

This article was written by Tatiana Walk-Morris from Retail Dive and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.

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