“The idea of what a traditional loyalty program is has been evolving for years, and it continues to evolve,” says Pam Spier, senior manager and customer loyalty strategist at Lenati, “What was a loyalty program in 2000, is not what many new loyalty programs look like today.”
 
Indeed, today’s average program only scratches the surface of where loyalty maybe going in the future. In a session titled “Loyalty 2030: The Evolving Thinking Behind Loyalty Programs of the Future,” Spier and colleague Clay Walton-House, leader, customer retention & loyalty practice for Lenati, will discuss what innovation means to loyalty programs. “We’ll share some examples of brands on the cutting edge of innovation,” Spier says, “and where we see the space going in the next ten years.”
 
The pair will provide examples of who’s doing it well, as well as looking at how the decline in consumerism, the scarcity of time, the increasing share of global populations living in urban environments, and other large consumer trends will impact the design of loyalty programs in the future.

“We think that those who will benefit most from this session,” explains Spier, “is anyone looking to step outside their daily role and think more broadly about loyalty and where they might take loyalty in the future.”
 
This can range from any company that’s considering launching a new program to ones that are perhaps re-launching an existing program. “The biggest mistake an organization can make,” Spier adds, “is making incremental changes to their program. If you’re going to make a shift or launch a whole new loyalty program, you need to think about the future. That’s what we’re going to provide for you in this session.”
 
Attendees will walk away from the session with best practices for driving a truly disruptive strategy for their organization. “First, we’ll talk about defining the playing field for loyalty within your organization and this is going to be specific to your company, and we’re going to give you the tools to think broadly about what loyalty might mean.”
 
This means incorporating loyalty, as marketers traditionally think about it, CX, and retail environments into the broader definition of loyalty.
 
“Next we want to help people not get caught up in the semantics of loyalty,” Spier adds. “You hear the terms rewards, loyalty, engagement, and membership program getting thrown around. People get caught up in that and that is one of the biggest pitfalls that we see when we work with clients. So, we want to shift how you think about loyalty.”
 
Lastly, Spier and Walton-House will discuss how to position loyalty broadly in light of this shifting landscape and identifying how to sell the value and create a strategy that truly works best for organizations in all verticals.
 
Loyalty Expo, the true Voice of the Customer-driven and best practice-focused customer loyalty conference, will be held May 2nd through the 4th at the Caribe Royale Hotel & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.