High levels of mobile penetration in mature mobile markets have led to reduced rates of growth in terms of subscriber numbers for market participants.  This coupled with the rise of customer power and consumer value-seeking trends, means that MNOs are under pressure to secure their existing subscriber bases.

To this end, operators have made customer experience (CEX) improvement a core focus for digital transformation, to ensure that customers have fewer reasons to leave the MNO.  However, they should also consider what can be done to encourage desirable behaviours from these customers going forward (e.g. increased tenure, advocacy, basket size).

This report examines the use of digital approaches within loyalty programmes designed to influence these kinds of behaviours.  It looks at digital components within successful loyalty schemes and determines potential learnings for operators considering, or re-evaluating, their own loyalty initiatives.

 

Companies: Amazon, Recreational Equipment Inc, Starbucks, Three, Verizon, Reliance Jio, Sky, Pets at Home, giffgaff, Sephora, O2, Waitrose, Nike, Virgin Media,

Countries: USA, UK, India

Keywords: loyalty, personalisation, pain points, Verizon Up, customer relationship management, digital, CRM, Starbucks Rewards, key performance indicators, Prime, loyalty programme, threshold factors, Wuntu, rewards, customer lifetime value, Priority Moments, customer first, customer engagement, blockchain, Amazon Prime, emotional loyalty, customer service, benefits, customer experience, total cost of transaction, churn, Jio Prime, ecosystem, relevance, digitization,

1	Overview	1
2	Introduction	2
2.1	Background to the Report	2
2.2	Report Content	3
2.3	Currency and Conversions	3
2.4	Further Questions and Feedback	3
3	Steps to Loyalty	5
3.1	Introduction	5
3.2	Customer First Strategy	5
3.3	Customer Experience	5
3.4	Increased Customer Engagement	6
4	Considerations for Loyalty Initiatives	7
4.1	What Behaviours to Reward	7
4.2	Emotional Aspects of Loyalty	8
4.3	Type and Structure of Rewards	10
4.4	Total Cost of Loyalty Transaction	13
4.4.1	Threshold Factors	14
4.4.2	Monetary Cost	14
4.4.3	Effort	15
4.4.4	Risk	15
4.5	Digital Mechanisms	15
4.5.1	Introduction	15
4.5.2	Digital Engagement	16
4.5.3	Data-based and Personalised	18
4.5.4	Blockchain	19
4.6	Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)	20
5	Case Studies of Loyalty Leaders	21
5.1	Amazon	21
5.1.1	Introduction	21
5.1.2	Loyalty Initiatives Overview	21
5.1.3	Performance	22
5.1.4	Success Factors	23
5.2	Recreational Equipment Inc	24
5.2.1	Introduction	24
5.2.2	Loyalty Initiative Overview	25
5.2.3	Performance	27
5.2.4	Success Factors	27
5.3	Starbucks	28
5.3.1	Introduction	28
5.3.2	Loyalty Initiative Overview	29
5.3.3	Performance	31
5.3.4	Success Factors	31
6	MNO Case Studies	33
6.1	Verizon, USA	33
6.1.1	Introduction	33
6.1.2	Loyalty Initiative Overview	33
6.1.3	Performance	35
6.1.4	Success Factors	35
6.2	Reliance Jio Infocomm, India	36
6.2.1	Introduction	36
6.2.2	Loyalty Initiative Overview	36
6.2.3	Performance	38
6.2.4	Success Factors	38
6.3	Three, UK	39
6.3.1	Introduction	39
6.3.2	Loyalty Initiative Overview	39
6.3.3	Performance	40
6.3.4	Success Factors	41
7	Findings and Conclusions	43
8	Recommendations	46
	Appendix – Feedback Questions	48