Prelude
Loyalty card is a marketing oxymoron. Why? Because the two words come from opposite worlds: loyalty is related to the feeling of love and “card” is related to customer retaining and financial rewarding.
Apart from that, in the modern marketing world any marketer should regard people’s brand loyalty from 2 perspectives: behavioural and attitudinal (see religious brands like Apple, Ikea, BMW). Unfortunately, when it comes to retail, communication is very functional, price-oriented, de-humanized.
That is happening because retailing world is under a tremendous pressure and business models must function all time under any financial pressure. This influences communication, innovation and customer contract approach.
But let’s not forget that business models are made by people, usually wise professionals.
So if this people make a mind shift, strategy might change as well. This is what I like to think. 
But they should believe in changes, since an advertising agency is unable to convince an entire sales force+ financial department that sometimes we need to build brands as human as possible for better results.
The Analysis
Coming back to the reason I wrote this analysis, you might know that Delhaize’s Cora hypermarkets launched their ‘loyalty card’ last summer with this slogan: “You know why you return, you know why you win” (what: points and presents). As you may read in the press release above, it is that kind of de-humanized rewarding scheme that I talked earlier.
And since each company has its own way of loving its customers, how did they further surprised their customers? By doubling the hiperpoints they usually get (just like in poker) => so I assume the initial rewarding scheme did not catch client’s interest as the competition is becoming fiercer.
Guys, if you wish to see a human retail business model, search the internet for Tesco’s ClubCard case study. Then tell me what do you think of it.
Analysis: Cora used for its Hipercard a poker option called “Raise”
Prelude
Loyalty card is a marketing oxymoron. Why? Because the two words come from opposite worlds: loyalty is related to the feeling of love and “card” is related to customer retaining and financial rewarding.
Apart from that, in the modern marketing world any marketer should regard people’s brand loyalty from 2 perspectives: behavioural and attitudinal (see religious brands like Apple, Ikea, BMW). Unfortunately, when it comes to retail, communication is very functional, price-oriented, de-humanized.
That is happening because retailing world is under a tremendous pressure and business models must function all time under any financial pressure. This influences communication, innovation and customer contract approach.
But let’s not forget that business models are made by people, usually wise professionals.
So if this people make a mind shift, strategy might change as well. This is what I like to think.
But they should believe in changes, since an advertising agency is unable to convince an entire sales force+ financial department that sometimes we need to build brands as human as possible for better results.
The Analysis
Coming back to the reason I wrote this analysis, you might know that Delhaize’s Cora hypermarkets launched their ‘loyalty card’ last summer with this slogan: “You know why you return, you know why you win” (what: points and presents). As you may read in the press release above, it is that kind of de-humanized rewarding scheme that I talked earlier.
And since each company has its own way of loving its customers, how did they further surprised their customers? By doubling the hiperpoints they usually get (just like in poker) => so I assume the initial rewarding scheme did not catch client’s interest as the competition is becoming fiercer.
Guys, if you wish to see a human retail business model, search the internet for Tesco’s ClubCard case study. Then tell me what do you think of it.