May 22, 2024
The relationship between consumer and product is not just simply a choice of convenience these days ―rather, consumers pick products based on what they understand shared values, and develop ties of loyalty on this basis. Data shows that most consumers have at least one product brand toward which they feel some loyalty.
Yet there are many choices for consumers? How are they to choose? And how do you strengthen your ties with customers? In today’s data-driven economy, you can learn about your customers and develop these links through online means.
Asia’s tech-savvy businesses may offer a precedent of what trends will look like for the rest of the world. One might perhaps take a look at South Korea, in many ways a leader that shows future trends.
To begin with, digital industries are highly developed in South Korea. The digital media market is expected to reach 14.66 billion USD by 20241. Video games are a particularly large market, with the market expected to be 9.65 billion USD by 20242.
It may be no surprise, then, that loyalty programs, too, in South Korea have come to incorporate digital technologies. Spoqa, which was launched in 2012 and now has over 25 million users ―close to half of the population of South Korea ―is a key player. Spoqa’s loyalty platform Dodo Point is used by over 20,000 stores and continues to expand in the retail sector.
What Spoqa can offer is breadth, given how widely it is used. However, depending on your brand, focusing on bespoke experiences or cultivating an aura of exclusivity may be a more adequate approach. But the point in integrating technology into one’s loyalty platform is to offer increasing convenience to users, who will want loyalty programs to be functional and easy to use, rather than requiring more work on their end. Even if you do try to be more exclusive, you’ll want to keep things easy for users.
Dodo Point joined forces with Carry Protocol in July 2020, allowing members of its loyalty program to obtain CRE Tokens in return for their data. Carry Protocol frames itself as allowing users more secure access to their data at a time of growing concerns about data privacy. The partnership serves several purposes ―one would be branding Dodo Point as a high-tech business in incorporating new, innovative technologies such as blockchain into a reward program. But, importantly, the collaboration gives consumers a way to earn loyalty points in a manner that few other platforms could offer.
South Korea has taken this approach to its government, too. A cash-back reward program for spending in October 2021, launched during the COVID-19 pandemic as an attempt to stimulate the economy, broadens such approaches. This proves a case in which a tech-savvy government has also embraced the loyalty program trend ―and, as seen in that this is aimed at driving up spending, one can more broadly observe how this is an approach that states have themselves adopted.
But it’s important to remember that customer loyalty is about the experience, rather than just a one-time discount. How do you cement relations with customers in a way that you can offer more than just a discount? A high-tech experience can certainly add to the benefits, but can you provide customers with something unique that other brands can’t replicate?
Either way, South Korea provides some pointers as to possible areas to explore. Data-driven approaches, incorporating blockchain, AI, or new technologies are approaches to consider, even if the technical barrier can be high.
If so, one can start with the basics, to try and provide customers with unique experiences. Remember, building ties with your customers starts at the ground level. One has to know and understand your product carefully, to understand what appeals to customers, to strengthen one’s relationship with customers. Purely transactional relationships with your customers won’t help and, in fact, will probably just make your product all the more indistinguishable from competitors.
Get ready for a membership business that's not just growing ―it's skyrocketing! Tune into your customers' vibes, elevate their experience, and watch your business hit new heights of engagement and success!
*1 Data resource: https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/digital-media/south-korea#users
*2 Data resource: https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/digital-media/south-korea#users
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