What if instead of having one loyalty manager on a c-store’s team, every category manager led with loyalty?
That’s the question Mike Templeton, partner and vice president at Des Moines, Iowa-based NexChapter, asked during a session on Feb. 26 at CSP’s Convenience Retailing University in Austin, Texas.
While this might be easier for larger companies, smaller companies may be better positioned to lead with loyalty, Templeton said. With fewer people on the team, roles naturally overlap.
As companies expand, accountability and focus within loyalty tend to be divided into different areas, Templeton said. But the person leading category management or merchandising often carries responsibility for loyalty as well. And when those functions sit together, loyalty stops being a side initiative, he said. It becomes embedded in everyday decisions, which is when the real impact begins to take shape, he said.
Templeton examined loyalty through a marketing and merchandising lens and demonstrated how it connects the two.
From a marketing perspective, loyalty centers on the customer proposition—what the brand is offering, the structure of the program, how customers earn rewards, what they earn and the rules that guide participation. Marketing focuses on defining the value exchange, he said.
From a merchandising perspective, loyalty looks different, according to Templeton. It’s about understanding who the customers are, how they’re segmented, which audiences to prioritize, what promotions to run and how pricing strategies align with those efforts.
At first glance, these responsibilities may seem separate. But in a loyalty-driven organization, they are interconnected.
Companies invest in loyalty not to send better emails, but to make smarter decisions, reach more customers, and ultimately grow the business, he said.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.