What did we learn from the Loyalty Summit CXM

Written by Tom Peace

Last week our MD, Tom Peace, had the privilege of attending the Loyalty Summit CXM in Zurich and here's what he learned...

Firstly, it was great to be back out meeting people face to face. It feels like years since the last loyalty get together and it was a pleasure to see so many familiar faces.

Here are my top 3 learnings from the event:

Firstly, and most importantly, everyone is talking about the shift in customer loyalty to experiential benefits, emotional connections and ESG considerations. Rational benefits like discounts, points and airmiles still have their place but the move towards "softer" benefits is vital. Of particular interest for me was the presentation by Antavo and Adidas promoting the Adidas loyalty program and their multiple initiatives to engage their members in challenges, environmental support and charity.

We also heard from several experts and brands discussing the importance of customer experience and how this relates to customer loyalty, and I couldn't agree more. A market-leading loyalty program won't help if your customer experience is poor. Customer loyalty starts at the heart of your business and it was great to hear the rest of the loyalty community aligned on this.

Brace yourselves for the apocalypse....Web3, Blockchain and NFT are coming!! I was very thankful for the tutorial on how this works and I can see some real benefits for loyalty from this technology. We are starting to see some brands engage this already, especially with regard to NFTs as loyalty rewards and I look forward to seeing this evolve.

And my last piece of advice is that Zurich is a truly charming city, with beautiful architecture and the art collection in the Kunsthause Museum is incredible. I have never seen so many incredible artists in one place. Highly recommend!