Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article By Mike Capizzi, Director of Education and a Member of the Board of Regents at The Loyalty Academy, from The Wise Marketer, a website and newsletter serving the global loyalty industry.
As part of our work at The Loyalty Academy, we are often asked by clients on the verge of launching a new or enhanced loyalty initiative to assist them in identifying marketing talent to run the program.
Many clients simply try to heap more work onto a current marketing associate who already has departmental responsibilities. But the individual assigned loyalty program management responsibility can’t be just anyone.
We have seen many marcom people who were excellent in their communications and promotional capacities fail miserably in managing a loyalty initiative. We have also seen a host of technically inclined project management types struggle with the strategy, dynamics and consumer behavior attributes associated with these programs. We have seen product managers try, PR managers give-it-a-go and brand managers attempt to make the transition from a single customer franchise to enterprise marketing. Most don’t make it.
Among the attributes ideally required:
- Past experience: Some prior experience running a loyalty program. Hard to find and come by, these people may not be on the inside, but they may have vendor side experience in running a program. Multiple programs across a variety of clients and industries is ideal, both strategic and tactical.
- Marketing aptitude: Has demonstrated an understanding of category and brand dynamics with the unique ability to glean insight from measured customer behaviors. The understanding of customer behavior change — whether intuitive or data-driven — is probably the most important characteristic for loyalty program management success.
- Analytical skills: The perfect candidate is analytical. Examining large volumes of customer data, setting relevant measurement plans and standards, extrapolating findings, reading/writing or interpreting data-rich reports are the lifeblood of loyalty program evolution.
- Technical disciplines: Being able to interpret, understand, sympathize with and help direct complicated technical processes associated with data capture, transaction processing, databases, rules engines, POS systems, web technologies, mobile platforms and customer care or redemption management systems.
- Financial disciplines: Understanding of business drivers. While such skills can be learned, some people just don’t get it or shake whenever a financial report hits their desk.