People like Apple products because of their simplicity and focus on what really matters. I believe that the same rules apply to mobile loyalty programs. If you offer a great customer experience in the simplest possible way, you will attract a lot of people who will love to interact with your product or service.
In our business, there are two groups of people we deal with: merchants, and their customers. Each of these groups has their own needs and mindset. What they have in common is the need for a super simple communication channel that dramatically enhances their relationship without much effort from either party. Merchants are busy running their store and doing what they’re good at, while loyal customers are busy with their lives. Now, our job is to find an engaging, simple to use, and affordable program that works independently to help these two groups of people spend more time with each other.
From a user standpoint, a simple customer experience means:
- Taking less than one minute to opt into their favorite merchant’s loyalty program.
- Simple reward programs. e.g. $5 coupon on next visit or free meal on next visit is simpler to understand than “get 10 points for buying item X.”
- Simple to use mobile card for earning loyalty points, redeeming points, etc
From a merchant standpoint, a simple merchant experience means:
- Simple to set up promotions and loyalty programs: it should work on its own and not require the merchant to constantly tweak and monitor it.
- Simple to operate in store: considering high staff turnover and the fast-paced nature of the retail and restaurant industry, the offering should not interrupt the existing store operation
- Simplified Results: what is the ROI(Return on Investment) on the mobile loyalty? What are some of the insights that the merchant should be aware of? If the merchant is busy with their business, should it be their job to make sense of the data, or should it be the job of the mobile based loyalty program provider to make sense of data and share highlights?
These are all questions that must be answered with product design. In fact, the larger the merchant, the simpler the solution must be to deliver a great customer experience and not adversely affect merchant store operation. I hope that our simple to set up and use solution reflects our commitment to making great solutions that are simple on the surface but well thought out and complex on the inside.