Blog - Promotions & Customer Loyalty Solutions

Marketers are facing a consumer landscape that is significantly different than the one just two years ago. Today’s inflationary pressures are influencing consumer preferences and expectations in every aspect of the customer experience. Loyalty programs are no exception.

Working in collaboration with Starbucks, Nifty Gateway and Polygon, Merkle is helping to bridge Web2 and Web3 loyalty experiences with the launch of the Starbucks Odyssey Beta experience on December 8.

When it comes to differentiation from the competition and giving your customers reasons to continue using your products or services, nothing is as effective as a loyalty program.

Our Loyalty Barometer Report covers emerging loyalty topics and examines how consumer mindsets are shifting, so brands can ensure their loyalty strategies are current and relevant. In the fifth annual report, we took an expanded view of loyalty, looking at how consumers feel about loyalty programs and understanding their view of loyalty within the customer experience and brand messaging. And when we asked about personalization within the customer experience, the answers are a little more nuanced than you might think. Let’s take a look at how the consumers surveyed responded to questions about what personalization makes them loyal to a brand, and what this means for you as a marketer.

If you’re looking to fill any gaps in your Q4 planning, there is still time to launch a chance-to-win promotion for the holidays that will help you drive excitement and purchase, utilize any extra or leftover budget, and collect zero- and first-party data to learn more about customers. Read this blog for three ways to plan last-minute chance-to-win holiday promotions.

Our Loyalty Barometer Report covers emerging loyalty topics and examines how consumer mindsets are shifting, so brands can ensure their customer strategies are current and relevant. In the fifth annual report, we took an expanded view of loyalty, looking at how consumers feel about loyalty programs and understanding their view of loyalty within the customer experience and brand messaging. Let’s take a look at how consumers responded to our survey questions about what makes them loyal to a brand, and what this means for you as a marketer.

Some brands may not have the ability to invest in integrating a full loyalty program into their ecosystem, and they are left wondering if there are options that could help bridge that gap between simple transactions and a full-scale loyalty program. The answer is a custom content hub that emulates the same principals and mechanics of a loyalty program while not requiring the same levels of investment nor tech integration.

At a time when stakes are high for brands as they face radical changes in consumer behavior, economic climate, and more, a ton falls on the marketing department to meet new and demanding business outcomes. So what's the answer? Promotions. Read this blog for seven reasons marketers should keep promotions top-of-mind and tangible ways to utilize them.