Conversions are an imperative piece of the customer journey, but what happens post-conversion? Customers are often inspired to follow the loyalty loop when they are offered an incentive. This implies an experience, a quality product, or a personalized gesture triggers the customer to return.
Loyalty cards have been a particularly successful driver in retaining customers, as these customers are rewarded for buying goods or services. Research suggests that loyalty cards have existed since the 18th century, with the food retail sector particularly capitalizing on the tactic. These programs are evidently not a new concept for consumers, but the old way has run thin. Companies need innovative and attractive ways to retain increasing consumer expectations.
A Nielsen study identified that 84% of customers are more willing to return to a brand if the brand offers a loyalty program. However, in order to ensure positive consumer sentiment, it is critical that loyalty programs create a dialogue between the brand and the buyers.
The Challenge
Dufry, the world’s leading global travel retailer, recognized an opportunity at the loyalty stage of their customer journey, and partnered with Opinno to redefine their loyalty experience for consumers. The airport retail industry is growing at a rapid rate, and Dufry holds 20% of market share. They are evidently leaders in the industry, but pain points lingered in the loyalty stage of their customer journey, which led to Dufry choosing to partner with Opinno to address them. The challenge became:
How can the customers sign up for loyalty cards in a fast, fun, and effective way?
The Process
Opinno’s innovative consultants began their research by analyzing the contact points of customers in Dufry stores. This approach to a customer touch-point analysis would provide Opinno an in depth understanding of how each interaction is leading to customer loyalty and where value is being delivered to customers.
Beyond interactions, it was important that Opinno studied Dufry’s customers’ identities, which meant delving into their countries of origin. Certain consumers in countries such as Switzerland, have proven to be particularly apt to use and engage with loyalty programs. Dufry is a global company with Swiss identity, which partially influenced the application of a loyalty program.
During the consultancy sessions, we uncovered what is characterized as “wow” moments. These are touchpoints or interactions that created a memorable and valuable experience. Opinno used these “wow” moments to inspire new and inventive ways of creating “wow” moments along the loyalty stage of the customer journey.
After thorough research and analysis, our team of consultants deemed gamification as a tactic that would most engage customers and encourage loyalty, while speaking authentically to the Dufry brand image. Gamification further solves a need for bored travelers that often have time to spare. The people that you are designing for provide the best insights, which is why Opinno’s innovation leaders and representatives of the company led a co-creation session with the targeted audience.
The Result
Through this co-creation session, the first prototype of the machine with ten games was deemed a success. Airport travelers did, in fact, use the arcade machines. Furthermore, the customers had fun, and engaged with the brand while using the arcade machine. This loyalty strategy provided by Opinno also allows Dufry to extract valuable data from arcade participants. The data can be used to increase traffic, target potential customers, and further gain insights into their customers.
