Michael Barnard
Who’s funding your loyalty program?
Loyalty programs are great initiatives – when done well. We see many that simply don’t add value to the customer, and certainly not the brand. In fact, 25% of customers have stopped buying from a brand due to their loyalty program being of little value...
5 ways marketers should be measuring success
When you stop and think about it, there are countless ways we measure to prove ROI and the value of marketing. But at the end of the day, all the c-suite is really interested in is revenue growth! They don’t lose sleep at night...
How many of your customers walked away last year?
Winning new customers is such a rewarding feeling. It’s a metric that’s consistently tracked and measured across every campaign or marketing initiative. What doesn’t attract as much interest is the analysis of customer churn. Yes, the polar opposite to customer acquisition. It’s rare that you…
5 ways to improve your marketing communications with less budget
Hello 2021, good riddance 2020! If only it were that simple. The reality is that much will remain the same - market uncertainty, continuous changes in customer behaviour, highly competitive marketplaces (that are becoming even more agile and versatile) and importantly, not knowing what’s...
Tough times? 10 ways to maximise sales and maintain customer confidence
I don’t know about you, but I have received countless emails in the last week from brands announcing how they are responding to and preparing for Coronavirus COVID-19. They all pretty much repeat the same information, how they are keeping their premises clean, adhering...
How to get franchisees loving your customer program
As a franchisor, it’s your responsibility to drive and execute a sustainable marketing strategy across your franchisee network. There are many challenges and frustrations actually making this work in practice, such as getting the support and buy-in from your franchisee owners and unaligned marketing...
How to make the most out of your customer data
It’s not acquiring data that is proving challenging for organisations, in fact the opposite is true. Businesses often feel overwhelmed with data and have so much of it that they just don’t know where to start, investing in technologies to help them – which...
5 ways to increase customer retention in 2020
At the start of 2020 many brands will be reviewing their customer growth strategies. Customer expectations have changed dramatically in recent years with the competition continuing to up the game. 2020 will be no different. The challenge for many is keeping up with your...
Are you always on sale when you don’t need to be?
Many retailers offer endless marketing offers and promotions to try and bring customers back in store or online. Every week, there appears to be some form of sale on, no matter where you go – big red sale signs plastered all over the shop...
5 misconceptions about loyalty programs
Gartner predicts that 80% of your future profits will come from 20% of your existing customer base. So basically – you need to look after your existing customers. Many brands are investing heavily in customer loyalty programs, designed to not only generate loyalty, but increase...
Is your digital strategy actually driving in-store sales?
In retail, it’s not uncommon for in-store and digital revenues to be kept entirely separate. Often, these channels are managed by two separate teams and customers will also be on completely different journeys. Brands today are faced with the challenge of offering a ‘seamless...
The ROI of Marketing Personalisation
By 2020, customer experience is expected to overtake both price and product as a key brand differentiator. Not all customers are equal, there is no ‘single experience’ that meets everyone’s needs. Every customer is different, and they respond in different ways. Personalisation is by no...
How to collect NPS and VOC data without annoying the customer
Most brands ask their customers for feedback, typically via email with a couple of basic questions, predominantly to capture an NPS score. We’ve already touched on how brands can use the Voice of the Customer to capture much more than just an NPS score....
Effectively integrating an App within your loyalty program
Apps are part of our day-to-day lives, we use them to communicate, manage our banking, order our food and transport, order products and services. It’s no surprise that brands are integrating Apps into their existing loyalty program as a way to reach and target...
What’s the best mechanism for driving customer loyalty for your business?
Loyal customers - something every brand wants more of…...especially in today’s competitive market. It takes a lot of time and effort to acquire a new customer, yet some brands become perplexed when it comes to customer retention strategies. Once the path to purchase journey...
Why you should align the marketing planning process to the customer lifecycle
Each year, professional marketers undertake a marketing planning process, which involves a great deal of strategy in determining the best way to meet the brand’s overall business objectives. It’s quite common for marketing objectives to be aligned to acquisition growth, such as; win x%...
Customer strategy: Is collaboration the new point of differentiation?
Customer expectations are increasing day by day. Meeting these expectations is becoming challenging for today’s brands. They are struggling to keep pace with the increasing growth of innovation. How do they stay ahead of the customer? how often should they be re-evaluating their capabilities,...
Growing customer loyalty without a loyalty program
Recent reports state that in order to drive customer loyalty, brands must have a loyalty program in place. I disagree! Don’t get me wrong, I think some loyalty programs are fantastic. As long as they have a clear purpose, a strong strategy behind them...
What’s the difference? customer service vs customer experience
Customer experience (CX) is not a new concept, yet it’s quite a buzzword at the moment. There is a misunderstanding that lurks behind the meaning of CX, and how it differs from customer service. You’d be surprised at how many people are unclear on...
Humanising the digital experience to drive customer loyalty
The digital revolution, often referred to as the third industrial revolution, implies the change from analog mechanical technology to digital technology. At the heart of the digital revolution is the customer. Digital technologies are radically changing the way we live our day-to-day lives, especially the...