How can you adapt your loyalty program to changing consumer trends and preferences?

Loyalty programs are a key tool for airlines to retain and reward their customers, especially in a competitive and volatile market. However, consumer trends and preferences are constantly evolving, and airlines need to adapt their loyalty programs accordingly. In this article, we will explore some of the ways you can update your loyalty program to meet the changing needs and expectations of your customers.

1 Personalize your offers

One of the most important factors that influence customer loyalty is personalization. Customers want to feel valued and recognized by the brands they choose, and they expect offers that match their preferences, needs, and behaviors. To personalize your loyalty program, you need to collect and analyze data from various sources, such as booking history, travel preferences, feedback, and social media. Then, you can use this data to segment your customers and create tailored offers, such as customized rewards, exclusive deals, or relevant recommendations. For example, you can offer a free upgrade, a lounge access, or a discount on a hotel booking to a customer who frequently travels for business.

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Rebecca Crook

Chief Growth Officer at Modern Citizens, Non-Executive Director, Tech & Business Spokesperson, Chair of The Diana Award & Committee Chair at RPMT, BIMA Co-Chair, Business Mentor, BIMA 100 & Campaign 40 over 40
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Personalisation is key and sadly a massive missed opportunity by the majority of airlines. Few actually serve personalised content relevant to the destination I am flying to, let alone anything useful. If an airline knows I take regular European city breaks given my flight history they would be best to focus and personalise offers around cities they think I may like to try based on my historical data. A more joined up thinking is needed and an overhaul of how airlines should add value and sell to customers.

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Kemi Fashina - FCIM, Chartered Marketer

Integrated Marketing Communications Professional | Chartered Marketer (Fellow, CIM UK) | Go-To-Market Strategy Expert | Product Marketing Specialist
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Personalisation makes you feel that a brand sees you as an individual with unique needs, preferences and desires, rather than just a number in a group. With personalisation, you can create tailored campaigns that build memorable experiences. One way to personalise is to analyse customer data to understand their behaviour and experiences. Leveraging data, you can then use predictive analysis to anticipate customer needs (based on their past behaviours), make recommendations and provide proactive solutions.

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GABRIEL MIRAH

Operations Manager
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Mobile-Friendly Approach: Ensure that your loyalty program is accessible and user-friendly on mobile devices. Consider incorporating mobile apps, push notifications, and mobile-exclusive rewards to align with the growing trend of mobile commerce.

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2 Embrace digital channels

Another way to adapt your loyalty program to changing consumer trends and preferences is to embrace digital channels. Customers are increasingly using online and mobile platforms to research, book, and manage their travel plans, and they expect convenience, speed, and security from these channels. To enhance your loyalty program, you need to offer a seamless digital experience, such as a user-friendly website, a mobile app, or a chatbot. You also need to integrate your loyalty program with other digital touchpoints, such as email, social media, or online reviews. For example, you can send personalized emails with loyalty updates, incentives, or tips to your customers, or you can encourage them to share their travel experiences on social media and reward them with points or badges.

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3 Incorporate social responsibility

A third way to adapt your loyalty program to changing consumer trends and preferences is to incorporate social responsibility. Customers are becoming more aware and concerned about the social and environmental impact of their travel choices, and they are looking for brands that share their values and contribute to positive change. To align your loyalty program with social responsibility, you need to offer options that allow your customers to make a difference, such as donating their points to a charity, offsetting their carbon emissions, or supporting local communities. For example, you can partner with a non-profit organization that works on a cause related to your destination, such as wildlife conservation, education, or health, and allow your customers to donate their points or a percentage of their booking to that organization.

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4 Add more flexibility

A fourth way to adapt your loyalty program to changing consumer trends and preferences is to add more flexibility. Customers are looking for more choice and control over their travel plans, especially in the wake of the pandemic and the uncertainty it has created. They want to be able to change or cancel their bookings without penalties, use their points for different purposes, or transfer their points to other programs or people. To add more flexibility to your loyalty program, you need to review and revise your policies and rules, such as expiration dates, blackout dates, fees, or restrictions. You also need to offer more options and benefits, such as cash-back, gift cards, or partner offers. For example, you can extend the validity of your points, waive the change or cancellation fees, or allow your customers to use their points for other travel-related services, such as car rentals, tours, or dining.

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Rebecca Crook

Chief Growth Officer at Modern Citizens, Non-Executive Director, Tech & Business Spokesperson, Chair of The Diana Award & Committee Chair at RPMT, BIMA Co-Chair, Business Mentor, BIMA 100 & Campaign 40 over 40
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The amount of airlines that still require customers to phone the call centre to make basic amendments to their booking is unacceptable when there are an array of digital tools which allows consumers to self-serve. Consumers want flexibility and the ability as a valued and loyal customer to make changes , transfer points and the like yet airlines seem very behind in adapting to what travellers want. Good loyalty schemes in this sector should offer free changes to tickets, perhaps discounts on arrival taxis or car hire and partner promotions for the location they are visiting. A real opportunity here for airlines to have a competitive advantage if they invest truly in a modern flexible loyalty scheme.

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5 Increase engagement

A fifth way to adapt your loyalty program to changing consumer trends and preferences is to increase engagement. Customers want to feel connected and involved with the brands they choose, and they want to have fun and rewarding experiences along their travel journey. To increase engagement with your loyalty program, you need to create opportunities for interaction, feedback, and gamification. You also need to communicate regularly and effectively with your customers, and provide them with relevant and valuable content. For example, you can create a loyalty community, where your customers can share their stories, tips, or reviews, or you can offer quizzes, challenges, or contests, where your customers can earn points, badges, or prizes.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Puneet Sachdev

Principal Solutions Architect @ Amazon | Digital, Cloud, GenAI | Sustainability Evangelist
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Key thing here is to measure engagement within the loyalty members. Engagement can be measured through a series of metrics and some of the important ones are NPS, Repeat Purchase Rate, Usage analytics from online platforms, breakage, growth of new registrations. These metrics can help predict if the program is becoming less relevant or disconnected from its target audience. However this is only half the battle. The airline also needs an ability to quickly experiment and try out new features in its program to increase engagement. This means trying out new things rapidly, scale what is working and change what is not. Cloud, DevOps, Agile play a big role in enabling this.

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Rebecca Crook

Chief Growth Officer at Modern Citizens, Non-Executive Director, Tech & Business Spokesperson, Chair of The Diana Award & Committee Chair at RPMT, BIMA Co-Chair, Business Mentor, BIMA 100 & Campaign 40 over 40
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Things can go wrong when travelling from airport terminal changes, delayed flights, missing bags to poor in-flight experiences. Airlines need to tackle these head on and start using their digital tools (apps/website etc) in a far more useful manner for customers. If a flight is delayed don't make it difficult for the customer to seek compensation, enable it via the app in a few clicks.

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How can you adapt your loyalty program to changing consumer trends and preferences?

1

2

3

4

5

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1 Personalize your offers

2 Embrace digital channels

3 Incorporate social responsibility

4 Add more flexibility

5 Increase engagement

6 Here’s what else to consider

Airline Management

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How can you adapt your loyalty program to changing consumer trends and preferences?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Personalize your offers

2 Embrace digital channels

3 Incorporate social responsibility

4 Add more flexibility

5 Increase engagement

6 Here’s what else to consider

Airline Management

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