Please don’t kid yourself. 😆
𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥.
🚗When Henry Ford began in 1903, it was all about streamlining.
He used words like standard, equal, same, solid, and predictable.
🍔McDonalds followed suit in the 1950s with a gold standard.
That worked, then.
𝐘𝐞𝐭, 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬.
Don’t get me wrong…the INTENT is there. Many companies LOVE the idea of offering loyalty programs that deliver tier-wise incentives to customers based on their spending—as they spend more, they unlock new financial rewards.
But what happens when there is a new loyalty program with better rewards❓
𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬.
American Express figured out what great restaurateurs know, and as Michael Checchi-Azzolina wrote – “𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥; 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝, “𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝” …𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝.”
American Express created an exclusive product, the Centurion Card (aka Black Card), which offers white-glove service to a select, by-invitation-only, chosen few. Think about this—they create a service offering that has a $10,000 one-time “initiation” fee and a $5,000 annual fee. Each additional Centurion card used incurs another $5,000 fee. And there’s a limit of two Centurion authorized user cards per account. 😮WOW, talk about being made to feel special‼️
Regardless of your industry, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 “𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝.” Elevate the experience for those who add the greatest value to your business so they know they matter, and you will not need to offer them discounts for their repeat business.
However, most companies talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk.
Why no differentiation❓
Because most companies believe it’s too much effort and expense to develop, deploy, and maintain tiered experiences.
This is a SERIOUS loss opportunity to drive greater value to your business.
Customer-centricity is a mindset AND a path to profitability. If this resonates, let’s talk.
