Sometimes the significance of any one moment can get lost in the shuffle of the everyday. At a recent user conference, I was surprised to see a presenting retailer, someone I’ve known for a long time and consider a friend, get emotional at the podium. She was thanking her team who had helped her plan and implement critical technology projects, including the chain’s loyalty program.
I assumed her emotions were purely gratitude—or possibly that she may be retiring soon, which she had talked to me about in the past. Turns out, her company owners were negotiating to sell. In that light, her team’s future was now in question.
So there she was, feeling raw, genuine loyalty toward her staff, who with her had built a system that tracks behavior and artificially elicits some of those same bonds from her customers. Ironic for sure, but an irony that raises a question: What exactly is loyalty?
For a retailer, loyalty is a tool to lock in customers’ dollars, time and preferences. It secures the value of that business, which is critical when businesses change hands.
For people, that same loyalty is a heartfelt experience. It’s a promise earned over time: If you treat me well, then I’ll gladly give you my time, passion and generosity. It’s a barter, yes, but one sealed with emotional currency.
We’re talking way beyond you creating a program and me paying you, or a customer getting a sixth cup of coffee free after buying five. True loyalty comes from an exchange of inspiration, insight and joy. It emerges spontaneously when both sides realize the true depth of what they’ve given each other over the breadth of time. In that instant, that tuning-fork ping, the emotion kicks in—it’s thick, formidable and palpable.
Loyalty is a game with real stakes. Slice a piece of your heart to ante up, because anyone hoping to win can’t stand on code alone.
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