Sign me up. Or not.

 

A few weeks ago The Met sent me an email asking me to renew my membership when it expires at the end of April.  I was surprised.  I thought it had already expired.

 

I read about the Met reopening a while back with different hours and reservations required.  It occurred to me that it might be easier for members to get reservations so I went online to check it out. 

 

Much to my joy I discovered that members do not need reservations!

 

Now that's a perk I can really enjoy.  So I did.  My visit to see the Alice Neel exhibit went so well that I did indeed renew my membership and am looking forward to future visits before it gets really crowded again.

 

I wish I could say I am as happy with the other loyalty programs I belong to. 

 

Over the years I have watched the decline in frequency of my $5 off coupons (Duane Reade), free shipping come and go (Staples) and my personal pet peeve - discount coupons that arrive right after I have made a purchase (Silver Palate & Shutterfly).

 

None of these things make me feel more loyal.  In fact, they trigger my loss aversion and make me mad.  Clearly not the intended result.

 

Have you had negative experiences with loyalty programs?  What were they?  How did they make you feel about the company?  Did you stop dealing with them?  Switch to a new vendor?

 

Conversely, what experiences have you had with companies that have surprised and delighted you?  What perks really matter?  How did you respond when offered those perks?  Did it pay off for the company?

Why do loyalty program rewards come with an expiration date?

Research tells us the easiest sale to make is to get your current customers to buy more; and it's less expensive to keep the customers you have than it is to get new ones.  

Loyalty programs are designed to help do this. By offering specials and rewards, they not only bring in more money and keep customers longer, they also can generate good word-of-mouth, social proof and customer referrals.

Like many people I belong to several rewards programs, one of which is Staples.  Staples has reduced their rewards significantly since I joined.  Duane Reade has too, especially since they were bought by Walgreens. 

The reduction in rewards from Duane Reade, which effectively translated into a price increase, was directly responsible for my moving most of my purchases to jet.com.

As for Staples, while I maintain my membership I have shifted many purchases to lower cost suppliers for the same reason.  But I do still recycle my ink there so I get a coupon from time to time. 

A few months ago, Staples combined two of my coupons in one email and led with the newest one.  As a result I missed the fact that the bigger coupon was expiring earlier, and had no opportunity to use it.

It may have only been for $8, but it made me mad.  I know that it's not a lot of money in the scheme of things.  But it was enough that loss aversion set in.  So a gesture that was supposed to make me feel good about being a customer instead made me angry. 

But it also made me wonder.  Why do loyalty coupons even have expiration dates?  If someone is a loyal customer why would a company care when they used their rewards, just as long as they did?

In August United Airlines announced that they would no longer impose a deadline to redeem frequent flier miles.  They join Delta and JetBlue.  But American Airlines is still requiring customers to earn or redeem miles every 18 months.  (Gazdik, 2019)

So, what do you think?  Why do companies do this?  Have you experienced the frustration of expiring rewards?  How does it make you feel about the company?  Have you shared your feelings with others?  Have you shifted your purchase patterns as a result?  Will you now favor United and Jet Blue over American?

Gazdik, T. (2019, August 29)  United Airlines Loyalty Miles Will No Longer Expire.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved October 8, 2019, from https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/339941/united-airlines-loyalty-miles-will-no-longer-expir.html

Millennials don't play golf.

In 2014, participation in golf fell for the fifth year in a row.  Among adults 18-34, the decline from 2009 to 2013 was 13%. 

Why?  It's slow, takes a long time to play and it's expensive, says Matt Powell, a SportsOneSource analyst.  He also points out that as a sport it doesn't reflect the kind of values that millennials care about such as diversity and inclusion.  (Germano, 2014)

As you might imagine tv ratings are down too.  So the PGA Tour is trying to engage fans, and enlarge their fan base, through a loyalty program.  Fans get "mPoints" for doing things like checking on the tours, sharing content, selecting favorite players, viewing scorecards and signing up for fantasy golf tournaments.  The points can then be redeemed for things like gift cards to Starbucks.

While the tour's properties reach about a million fans a day, the loyalty partner they have chosen -- SessionM -- reaches about 80 million people a day through about 1,500 programs for leading brands including NASCAR and the New England Patriots. (Greenberg, 2015)

So what do you think?  Can they build a fan base even if people don't play golf?

Germano, S. (2014, August 1)  A Game of Golf?  Not for Many Millennials.  wsj.com.  Retrieved April 9, 2015, from  http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-game-of-golf-not-for-many-millennials-1406159228

Greenberg, K. (2015, April 8)  PGA Tour Launches reward Program Offering Points For Digital Engagement.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved April 9, from

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