Rebranding Loyalty Schemes- Brands be Cautious!

What will happen if one mistake once committed which had a serious effect is repeated? The effect will be double on whom it had been intended. The outcome of this cause can be much more serious. However, there’s much more to worry, if the’ mistake’ was committed by a branded company by rebranding its loyalty scheme. The rule of code is that if you’re a branded company you should not make a mistake when it comes to rebranding your loyalty scheme, not to turn your biggest fans against you.

In any rewards programme, there will always be a group of customers who value most of the offer that marketers like Appco Group consider most obscure or least profitable. But when someone invests time and money in sticking with a brand only to have that offer taken away, it will feels like a broken promise.

Here, the issue comes as a surprise that Starbucks Marketing has made the same mistakes as Avios, previously AirMiles, when overhauling its loyalty card programme. Starbucks introduced its rebranded scheme, My Rewards, on 5 January and immediately prompted calls of foul play from existing card holders. Despite the coffee company’s vice president of marketing Brian Waring telling that “no-one will lose benefits”, irate customers took to comment on “Starbucks” own Facebook page to protest that they were indeed worse off. It has quietly taken away benefits without appreciating that no-one knows the terms and conditions of its loyalty scheme better than the loyal members who use it. And customers have responded with anger.

Every marketer knows the value inherent in loyalty scheme data, but that data will become less valuable if you forget that “loyalty” is more than just a marketing strategy. Let this be a lesson for every marketer.

January 12, 2012. Tags: Appco Group, Business Reputation, Loyalty Schemes, Online, Reputation Management. Business Reputation, online reputation management, Reputation Management.