Forrester: Four steps to mobile loyalty

Consumers who use mobile devices for shopping are prime targets for retailer loyalty programs.



According to a new study from Forrester Research, “Master Your Mobile Loyalty Moments,” customers who participate in loyalty programs are more likely to be mobile. Forrester data shows 31% of loyalty program members, but only 15% of all U.S. online adults, will use a brand’s mobile app.



With this correlation between mobile device usage and loyalty program participation in mind, Forrester recommends retailers take the following four steps to make their loyalty efforts as mobile-friendly as possible.



Include loyalty in building your mobile strategy. Loyal customers play a critical role in the success or failure of a company’s mobile strategy, as they likely are a retailer’s most active and engaged mobile consumers. To bridge organizational silos dividing mobile developers, e-commerce teams and loyalty marketers, Forrester recommends enacting processes to encourage alignment and collaboration. For example, 7-Eleven holds regular stakeholder meetings and showcases highlights of its mobile strategy via weekly video blogs that are distributed companywide.



Get the value exchange right. Consumers are much more likely to share more information if they receive something of value in return. Therefore, the benefits retailers offer in exchange for customer information and engagement are critical to the success of their mobile initiatives.



Optimize mobile engagement by merging customer insights. To fully realize the immediacy and

context mobile brings to customer relationships, retailers should start by collecting data that is relevant to understanding the customer and can be linked back to non-mobile customer insights. Next, retailers should use that base of insights to target segments with personalized experiences and content. Then Forrester advises leveraging real-time behavioral and contextual insights to optimize customer engagement with mobile moments.



Build a mobile-appropriate measurement framework. Marketers are only now beginning to integrate mobile devices into their marketing mix. As a result, the performance measurement of mobile as a channel still lags. It’s not uncommon to start by measuring applications downloads and traffic, but Forrester says retailers need a more robust measurement approach. This strategy should take into account all mobile loyalty objectives, from engagement to sentiment to transactional behavior.