Rajat Paharia’s (2013) chapter ten of How to Revolutionize Customer and Employee Engagement with BIG DATA and GAMIFICATION Loyalty 3.0 is about bringing your loyalty program to the full extent of Loyalty 3.0. Paharia first begins by encouraging brands to truly apply the research and data companies have collected when designing their loyalty programs. It is important to make the program appealing to new customers but also to have them keep coming back for more. By prioritizing research and analysis, brands can craft a truly successful loyalty program (Paharia). When designing a loyalty program, deciding what goals and key activities you have for consumers are a priority (Paharia). Paharia recommends writing a specified list of these tasks though each will look different for each business. “Once you have this list of goals, you need to figure out how you’re going to award users for accomplishing each goal” (Paharia, p. 215). Designing a rewarding experience is a vital part of a loyalty program, if customers cannot justify the process they will not return (Paharia).
Paharia (2013) writes that gamification is the way to go, if you want to keep users coming back. Paharia outlines ten tips for loyalty program design with consumer motivators and gamification in mind. “1. Think with Arcs, 2. Put Levels and Goals on a Curve, 3. Keep it Fresh, 4. Use Progressive Disclosure and Personalization (Segmentation), 5. Enable Participants to Share their Accomplishments, 6. Deliver Surprise and Delight, 7. Be (Slightly) Unpredictable, 8. Beware of Unintended Consequences, 9. Gaming the System, and 10. Enable Peer Recognition” (Paharia, p. 220-227). Each of these tips tap into intrinsic motivators and gamification techniques for consumer intrigue or warn businesses to take precautions when designing a program. Consumers want a story, especially one that relates to them, by bringing intrigue and personalization businesses can take their loyalty program to the next level. It is also important to recognize that not all consumers come with good intentions, so Paharia recommends taking steps to make sure consumers won’t game the system.
After building a Loyalty program the work does not stop there, optimizing loyalty programs based on user data is a vital step for a winning loyalty program (Paharia, 2013). Paharia outlines several types of analysis businesses should utilize after launching a loyalty program Cohort analysis, Parate analysis (The 80:20 rule), Time Stamp analysis, and Drop-off analysis. Paharia recommends making these various types of data collections into a dashboard that is readily available to read and reference when making updates to a loyalty program. By taking these steps that Paharia has outlined from conceptualization to revision you can be sure that your program has reached Loyalty 3.0.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10: 24-25, ESV). It is important as Christians that we not just do things successfully but with the Lord in mind. As we make loyalty programs for various communities, we should do it with a mindset of creating a better community that consumers can feel proud of claiming, whether they are Christian or not. It is though these small interactions that we can truly show God’s love and compassion to others, furthering the spread of the gospel.
References
English Standard Bible. (2016). Literal Word. https://esv.literalword.com/ (Original work published 2001)
Paharia, R. (2013). Loyalty 3.0: How to Revolutionize Customer and Employee Engagement with Big Data and Gamification. McGraw Hill Professional.
~Kat’s Soliloquy~
Wow! Goodbye Rajat Paharia, I learned some great lessons from your book. While I agree some of the topics are outdated now, the original principles remain true. Spurring loyalty with consumers is easy in concept and terrible in execution. People are always intrinsically looking for someone to follow and a community to join, that is an intentional design from God. However, there are many nuances in today’s world that conflict when it comes to both designing and buying into a loyalty program. Not to mention the constantly ever-changing landscape that is modern-day trends and beliefs that will trip you into cancel culture- never to be seen again lol. Thank you for reading my summaries of Rajat Paharia of How to Revolutionize Customer and Employee Engagement with BIG DATA and GAMIFICATION Loyalty 3!
Enjoy my last picture of true loyalty~
