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JOINING THE DATARATI HOW CUSTOMER DATA WILL REDEFINE LOYALTY MANAGEMENT INSIGHTS Tomorrow’s Best Practices, Delivered Today By Rupert Duchesne Group Chief Executive

JOINING THE DATARATI - i2c · Joining The Datarati 3 “As loyalty marketers, ... glean from a proprietary or coalition loyalty programme may seem like ... the classic method of loyalty

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JOINING THE DATARATI

HOW CUSTOMER DATA WILL REDEFINE LOYALTY MANAGEMENT

INSIGHTS

Tomorrow’s Best Practices, Delivered Today

By Rupert DuchesneGroup Chief Executive

aimia.com

YOURBUSINESS

OUR INSIGHT

RESULTSDELIVERED

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EDITOR’S NOTE

In this edition of Aimia’s INSIGHTS, Aimia’s Group Chief Executive Rupert Duchesne points the way to the future of loyalty management. It’s a future in which successful businesses deliver marketing relevance based on deep consumer understanding; a future in which marketers leverage customer data to build sustained, reciprocal and meaningful relationships that increase profits and drive long-term enterprise value. The global leaders in loyalty management will stand for precision, for finding unique patterns in customer data, and for seeing customer relationships differently.

I first encountered the term “Datarati” in a 2009 Wired magazine profile of Hal Varian, professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and School of Information who is now better known as Google’s Chief Economist. The term struck me as convenient shorthand to describe what is increasingly becoming the point of demarcation between the winners and the losers in today’s global economy: The winners leverage customer data and information to derive actionable marketing insight that builds long-term relationships, while the losers rely on mass marketing, promotional campaigns or draconian discounting to capture only the fleeting attention of fickle consumers.

So when Rupert began to outline his vision of data as “the new oil” and to describe how marketers will begin to connect the data dots of consumer behaviour, tying his vision to Varian’s vision of the Datarati seemed like a natural fit. As Varian says, data is “ubiquitous and cheap,” while the ability to utilise that data is scarce. The good news is that loyalty marketers have a 30 year history of mining customer data for insight, and that gives us the edge in joining the ranks of the Datarati.

I’m therefore pleased to bring Rupert’s vision from the podium to the page, and to share with you his call to arms for marketers to use customer data effectively, efficiently and responsibly. As Rupert notes, the emphasis of loyalty management on consumer trust, and on relationships based on value and insight, makes it the most powerful platform we have to prepare for the digital future.

—Rick Ferguson, Vice President Knowledge Development

2 Introduction4 Customer Data: The New Oil6 The New Loyalty Imperatives8 Extending the Loyalty Cycle

10 Connecting the Data Dots12 Delivering Value and Relevance14 Joining the Datarati15 Conclusions

Table of Contents

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INTRODUCTION

Everything marketers understand about customer loyalty is changing. A paradigm shift is underway, and nowhere is that change more profoundly felt than in the collection and use of customer data for marketing. Driven by new technologies, changing consumer demographics and new attitudes toward consumer privacy and data security, this change will have a profound impact on those of us who manage customer relationships, whether for ourselves or for our clients.

Loyalty marketers have enjoyed a successful and profitable history built upon two key competencies: The ability to reward customers in a way that encourages loyalty and nudges them towards greater spend, tenure and advocacy; and the ability to manage the explicit exchange of information between customers and companies to deliver targeted, relevant and personalised offers. Today, that competitive advantage is under threat: By technologies and business models that provide new ways for companies to access customer data, and by the resulting scrutiny as the value and privacy of that data become mainstream issues for consumers and legislators.

But the flip side of risk is opportunity—and this paradigm shift also gives us the chance to leverage customer data in a way that enhances and deepens customer relationships in an environment of value and trust. The new currency of modern business is not the Dollar, the Pound, the Euro or the Yuan. The new currency is consumer data—and in today’s globalised, fragmented economy, the winners will increasingly be separated from the losers by their ability to collect, analyse and derive actionable insight from this data. Those marketers who stay ahead of this evolution will join the ranks of the Datarati—the global leaders in loyalty management.

The rise of the Datarati holds a few key implications for loyalty marketers:

> If you don’t leverage your customer data, others will. If you don’t collect and use proprietary customer data, other companies, including your competitors, will collect and use data

on your customers. In many cases, that data will come from sources that have not asked for consumer permission and which do not enjoy consumer trust—and the results may impact your customer relationships in ways entirely outside of your control.

> If you don’t deliver the right offer, others will. Without the ability to consistently deliver the right message or offer to the right customer, in the right place, at the right time, and in the right way, you will always find your customers vulnerable to competitive promotions. The right offer will come from somewhere—and if it doesn’t come from you, then you’ve already lost the battle for customer loyalty.

> Remaining on the sidelines is no longer an option. Every consumer-facing company in every industry must develop, execute and evolve a data-based customer loyalty strategy in order to maintain control of and build value into their customer relationships. Those companies who fail to evolve their loyalty strategy at the enterprise level will increasingly find themselves falling by the wayside.

As loyalty marketers, we strive to deliver this value and relevance to our customers. Historically, however, there has sometimes been a gap between what we knew in theory we should deliver, and what we actually have delivered. Loyalty theory has sometimes outpaced our operational realities. But new technologies are rapidly expanding our range of possibilities—and we’re entering an age in which we can finally fulfill the promise of loyalty management.

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“As loyalty marketers, we strive to deliver value and relevance to our customers. Historically, however, there has sometimes been a gap

between what we knew in theory we should deliver, and what we actually have delivered. Loyalty theory has

sometimes outpaced our operational realities. But new technologies are

rapidly expanding our range of possibilities—and we’re entering an age in which we can finally fulfill the promise of loyalty management.”

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CUSTOMER DATA: THE NEW OIL

In January, 2011, the World Economic Forum and Bain & Company published a report entitled “Personal Data: The Emergence of a New Asset Class.” The report quotes Meglena Kuneva, the European Consumer Commissioner, describing personal data as “the new oil.” This may not be the first appearance of the metaphor in marketing literature, as it seems to have sprung up everywhere at once, but it is a testament to its power. For certainly most of us would agree that customer data is a resource that, as the report describes it, has become as important a foundation for modern business as capital or labour.

The report also speaks to the sheer volume of digital data being created on a daily basis around the globe. In this environment, the data we might glean from a proprietary or coalition loyalty programme may seem like mere droplets in the ocean of consumer data in which we all now swim.

Just as with oil, wars will be fought over control of this precious commodity. Indeed, the first battles are already underway. The battle is for control of the relationship between brands and consumers, and for the right to deliver relevance and reward in the consumer’s search for value and recognition. This revolution in consumer insight and communication, driven by the digitisation of everyday life, has created a relentless stream of new technologies and initiatives that threaten to overwhelm both the needs and the patience of customers.

On one side of the battle line lie some of the largest data and social media companies in the world, which continue to offer behavioural targeting services that tread on consumer privacy, remain opaque to regulators and offer byzantine opt-out options. On the other

side of the line, we find marketers who use data to build consumer relationships on a foundation of value and trust. Loyalty marketers, for example, collect customer data through well-established models of recognition and reward that provide a safe haven for consumers, display better targeting capabilities and deliver demonstrable return on investment.

The lion’s share of marketing spend will migrate to those companies that adopt the perspective of their customers, understand their needs, and work backwards, rather than to those that begin with the technology and try to force fit or sneak it past their customers. So much of today’s marketing activity, as technically impressive and buzz-worthy as it may be, is not designed to offer timely, relevant, and rewarding solutions to consumers’ complex lives.

To join the ranks of the Datarati, we must harness and integrate these new capabilities to deliver loyalty solutions that benefit both companies and their customers. Only then will we be able to refine this new commodity of consumer information in a way that secures its continuing supply.

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“Personal data is the new oil of the Internet and the new currency of

the digital world.”

MEGLENA KUNEVAEuropean Consumer Commissioner

March 2009

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THE NEW LOYALTY IMPERATIVES

As loyalty marketers, we can’t remain complacent in the security and sanctity of our customer relationships. To win the battle for relevance, it has become imperative for the classic loyalty management process to evolve beyond its roots to incorporate new consumer interactions, new technologies and changing demographics. By evolving our processes, we’ll continue to excel at guiding our customers along their journey towards brand loyalty.

On the opposite page, we’ve illustrated the classic method of loyalty marketing, distilled to its essence:

> Step 1: Identify. There is no acquisition without identification. Until we’ve encouraged our best customers to raise their hands and agree to be identified so that we can track their behaviour within an environment of permission and trust, they’re always vulnerable to competitive promotions. We aren’t looking for daily-deal fans, extreme couponers or cherry pickers; we’re looking for customers with high current or high potential value in order to build long-term, profitable relationships with them.

> Step 2: Understand. In classic loyalty marketing, we learn about our customers by collecting and analysing transactional or SKU-level data, and by overlaying survey or third-party data to form a more complete picture of customer behaviour. We segment them based on spend, potential, life stage, or lifestyle. Then we look for value gaps. Are some customers not behaving as profitably as we think they should? If so, can we change their behaviour with the right offer? We look for understanding that helps us keep high-value customers longer and increase share from those with high potential.

> Step 3: Influence. We influence customers by leveraging the insight we’ve gained from our data analysis to uncover the obstacles to desired behaviour. Then we overcome those obstacles with targeted offers, personalised communications and relevant rewards that build loyalty. Effective loyalty management results in a symbiotic relationship that adds value for both companies and their customers.

This process, as practiced by marketers for the past 30 years, has seen loyalty management become the global endeavour it is today. But we cannot remain complacent. Technology, the global economy and customer demographics have profoundly

shifted the loyalty landscape in ways that require us to evolve loyalty management to incorporate these new loyalty imperatives:

> Extend the loyalty cycle. Most loyalty marketing initiatives traditionally focus on the transaction: Tracking customer behaviour requires only the swipe of a plastic loyalty card or payment card at the point of sale. Likewise, the customer loyalty cycle focuses solely on the core behaviour of purchases, earning and redemption. But those days are fast ending. It has become critically important to identify not only customer transactions, but also customer interactions across every digital channel and communication platform.

> Connect the data dots. In addition, marketers around the globe are engaged in an arms race of sorts to “connect the dots” between these varying data touch points to better understand customer behaviour. All of us have pieces of the consumer puzzle, and loyalty marketers typically have more of those pieces than most. But the winners will be those marketers who can successfully unite disparate sources of data in order to paint a complete picture of the customer relationship.

> Deliver value and relevance. Influencing customer behaviour to build loyalty with the next generation of consumers will require us to deliver real value and relevance through our marketing offers. There are nearly ten million Generation Y consumers in the UK who have extremely high expectations of their brand relationships, and who demand immediate gratification from reward programmes. Delivering this value will require marketers to derive maximum efficiency from their programmes.

With a marketing focus on these imperatives, the loyalty management process will evolve in a way that builds value for consumers, companies and their stakeholders. In the following pages, we’ll explore these imperatives in more detail.

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IDENTIFY UNDERSTAND INFLUENCE

CLASSIC LOYALTY MANAGEMENT:

EXTEND THE LOYALTY CYCLE

CONNECT THE DOTS

DELIVER VALUE AND RELEVANCE

WILL EVOLVE BASED ON THESE RELATED LOYALTY IMPERATIVES:

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EXTENDING THE LOYALTY CYCLE

In the traditional models of loyalty management, customer value was determined by focusing on a single type of customer interaction: A purchase. A customer might purchase thousands of items over the lifetime of the relationship, and a loyalty programme might amass data on millions of purchases. This transactional data was mostly gathered through a single system under the direct control of a single brand—or, in the case of a coalition loyalty programme, a single system shared by multiple brands.

The “loyalty cycle” of purchase, earning and redemption activity has been powerful enough to become the predominant tool around the globe for building customer loyalty. The reward programme as a tool that enables data collection and relationship building persists because it is the most effective and efficient way to lift spending, increase tenure and build advocacy.

But the traditional “loyalty cycle” is about to enter a period of rapid evolution. Consumers now create ever more brand interactions that are increasingly being tracked across multiple channels and systems, and managed by multiple providers. The amount of data inherent in these interactions boggles the mind. Terry Hunt, one of the co-authors of the book “Scoring Points,” described analysing the data from the UK grocer Tesco’s Clubcard as like “trying to drink from a fire hose.” Now add to that loyalty card data all of the data we may potentially mine from all of these other brand interactions, and we can see clearly the daunting task at hand.

As the illustration on the following page demonstrates, we must now factor in data points that occur either far ahead of or far beyond the core transaction, during the several stages of the consumer purchase cycle, and which are captured through a wide variety of digital channels:

> Awareness: Brand interactions now occur during the initial acquisition and awareness stage of our marketing efforts, as consumers encounter our television ads, see their friends “liking” our products, or view a viral video forwarded by someone in their social circle.

> Research: Interactions occur when consumers conduct product research on our websites, read product reviews on third-party sites, or query their social networks about us.

> Pre-purchase: We can now capture interaction data points via clickstream on our website, and even in-store via location-based mobile applications or in-store kiosk.

> Purchase: Capturing the transaction itself remains the central piece of the consumer puzzle—and in many cases, it’s the one piece of the puzzle that the big digital advertising firms and social media platforms don’t capture.

> Post-purchase: We now understand the importance of capturing customer service interactions, product reviews and social media mentions by our customers. Manufacturers now also include digital links in their products to collect post-purchase behaviour from their customers.

The fire hose has now become a tidal wave. There will always be a compromise between the cost and effort of managing, analysing and using this information, and the increase in returns this effort may offer. But increasingly, the data we leave on the cutting room floor, so to speak, can now be potentially more valuable than the data we do collect. Understanding transactional data is in many cases now the floor of your customer strategy, rather than the ceiling.

Still, by concentrating your efforts on those few key points of interaction with real potential to build relationships, the rewards of increased customer engagement are likely to far outweigh the initial complexities. The challenge for loyalty marketers is two-fold: To collect and leverage this interaction data to recognise and reward good customers; and to feed that data into loyalty models that measure customer lifetime value. We must remember that, regardless of the number of channels or touch points, each of these interactions is tied to a single customer relationship.

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THE CLASSIC LOYALTY MANAGEMENT CYCLE:

Will evolve to incorporate data from interaction points before, during and after the transaction.

Congratulations!You’ve checked in.

BANNER TO BARCODE

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CONNECTING THE DATA DOTS

The increasing digitisation of nearly every aspect of modern consumer life has led to profound implications for marketers. There is wider availability of detailed customer behavioural data at every level of the marketing hierarchy: SKU, category, vendor, social data, and more. Soon new POS systems will link to mobile wallets, providing yet another layer of the hierarchy. This proliferation of data leads to more “nudge” points available to influence consumer behaviour at every stage of the purchase process.

This changing landscape has resulted in a proliferation of reward mechanisms in developed markets such as the UK fighting against an increasing volume of ‘switching’ opportunities for consumers. But it has also resulted in more opportunities to connect the dots of these various data points to paint a full picture of consumer behaviour, attitudes, intentions and media consumption. New data from consumer behaviours, locations, connections and communication now offer the prospect of truly relevant interactions.

Historically, however, making these connections has been difficult.

At present, few companies have managed to truly connect the many pieces of the data and communications jigsaw puzzle. Even the latest, largest and most innovative social media, digital and mobile companies still lack a complete view of the customer. Google, for example, knows what you want to do, but not what you’ve done. Facebook knows who your friends are, but not what you buy. Foursquare knows where you are, but not what you like. Media companies know what ads you see, but not where you go.

In due course, we’ll see a consolidation of these consumer interactions into a more complete customer view. Much of this consolidation will be driven by a combination of consumer pressure and disruptive technology, and there is already some experimentation underway in connecting the dots of these new data sources: American Express and Groupon tie-ups, collaboration between Facebook and Foursquare, and phone manufacturers partnering with issuers and payment networks in the mobile wallet space.

The greatest opportunity to connect these data dots, however, centres on the expansion of the loyalty value chain. As our ability to track behaviour grows, the stages of the loyalty value chain will expand with new opportunities to interact with and to reward customers. The danger is that this proliferation of reward interactions will dilute their impact and relevance.

So as we consider the best strategy to connect the data dots, it’s important to differentiate the two sides of the opportunity. First, behind-the-scenes opportunities will present new ways to extract, integrate and refine customer data to deliver better marketing insight and greater customer relevance. Second, customer-facing opportunities will provide new ways to interact with customers, anticipate their needs, and reward them for their behaviour. Here are a few early examples:

> In a behind-the-scenes example, the Turkish mobile network Turkcell was a pioneer in connecting the dots to develop new models of customer value. They analysed their customers’

social networks to understand not only how much their customers spent, but also how much those customers made others spend by calling or texting them. This analysis revealed that some customers the company thought were not valuable were responsible for networks that were actually very valuable in their system.

> Aimia’s Nectar coalition loyalty programme collaborated with Yahoo! to launch Consumer Connect, which tracks offline sales from online advertising campaigns, driving accountability and return on investment. There are two key components to a Yahoo! Consumer Connect campaign: First, Nectar creates an online target audience group; second, Nectar compares the purchase behaviour of the target group exposed to the online advertising to the behaviour of a control group. The analysis includes a breakdown of sales drivers that reveals sales drivers, new-buyer penetration, frequency, basket size, and other factors.

> In 2009, Starwood Preferred Guest debuted a web portal that aggregates all of the company’s social media channels in one location available only to programme members. By consolidating members’ social activity through this portal, Starwood found that heavy users were far more likely to book hotel stays than non-social members. To measure customer value, Starwood now include factors beyond frequency such as guest profitability, lifetime growth potential and their ability to influence travel by others.

Whatever new tools we develop to connect these data dots, our ultimate aim as marketers remains unchanged: To identify, understand and influence best customers to build loyalty, tenure and advocacy. Over time, a new loyalty hierarchy will emerge, led by those companies Mr. Varian referred to as the Datarati, and based on the ability to connect those dots in service of customer relationships. The time to begin connecting them is now.

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“Whatever new tools we develop to connect these data dots, our ultimate aim as marketers remains unchanged: To identify, understand and influence best customers to build loyalty, tenure

and advocacy. Over time, a new loyalty hierarchy will emerge, led by the Datarati, and based on the ability to connect those dots in service of customer relationships. The time to

begin connecting them is now.”

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DELIVERING VALUE AND RELEVANCE

The proliferation of reward programmes will make it impossible for every programme to enjoy a worthwhile engagement with the customer. The criteria for achieving the top spot in this loyalty hierarchy will be the relevance of your communications, the simplicity of use, the scale of benefits and the level of trust driven by sympathetic management of data privacy and preferences.

Delivering this value and relevance to consumers will be complicated by rapidly changing consumer demographics as “Baby Boomer” consumption in the UK is replaced by Generation Y consumption. Generation Y adults ages 19-29, or “Millennials” as this generation has come to be called, number an estimated 9.7 million in the UK, and represent 19.6 per cent of the adult population. How will the spending and consumption habits of this generation—the first generation to define itself largely by its relationship to technology—change the way marketers deliver value and relevance?

To answer this question, Aimia recently worked with research firm Harris Interactive to conduct a survey of the Millennial consumer segment in the UK. The survey focuses on the attitudes and behaviours of this generation as they relate to brand loyalty, data privacy, mobile and social media marketing, and rewards programme participation. The full report can be found in our white paper, “Born This Way: The UK Millennial Loyalty Survey,” available on Aimia.com.

A few of the research highlights related to reward programme value and relevance can be seen in the illustration on page 13. The good news is that, like their Baby Boomer and Generation X parents, Millennials understand the concept of the value exchange, and are willing to share personal information with marketers in exchange for rewards and recognition. They also view loyalty reward programmes as havens of consumer privacy, and are willing to engage with such programmes provided that the value exchange is made explicit.

Still, there are some important differences between the expectations of Millennial consumers and the older generations. As the illustrations on the opposite page demonstrate, loyalty marketers will need to focus on meeting the high expectations of this generation:

> Value expectations are increasing. When asked what factors they look

for in deciding whether or not to engage in loyalty reward programmes, Millennials are much more likely than older consumers to cite free membership and velocity of earning as key decision points. At the same time, their expectations for exciting, high-end rewards are greater than that of older consumers. They also are significantly more likely to cite “relevance” as a key factor in assessing the value of marketing offers. These changing attitudes raise the bar for marketers hoping to engage with this audience.

> Instant gratification is the new norm. Millennials are far more demanding than older consumers in terms of speed to reward. Nearly half of UK Millennials (48%) expect to earn a reward within the first month of participation, a significantly greater percentage than that found amongst older consumers.

> Reward programmes motivate Millennial behaviour. The good news for marketers who invest in loyalty and reward programmes as relationship-building tools is that Millennials are more likely than older consumers to respond to such efforts with profitable behaviour change. As our survey data shows, they are more likely than older consumers to feel and act more loyal, do more business with you, share positive reward programme interactions with their social networks, and promote your brand in exchange for rewards.

Like the generations before them, Millennials crave loyal relationships with their favourite brands. But economic uncertainty and a challenging employment environment have them looking for immediate value and relevance in every interaction. Loyalty marketers will need to demonstrate that value and relevance at every touch point, through every offer and at all stages of the customer lifecycle. The key to doing so is effective and efficient use of customer data—which will give the Datarati a decided edge in building loyalty with the next great consumer generation.

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JOINING THE DATARATI

Joining the ranks of the Datarati won’t be easy. Marketers continue to struggle with striking the right balance between leveraging consumer data to build profits and shareholder value, and leveraging data to build strong, loyal relationships that benefit our customers’ lives. It is our belief at Aimia that this idea of “balance” is a false choice. In truth, it is relentless focus on the loyalty and well-being of our best customers that will lead to profits and shareholder value. If all marketing decisions are viewed through the lens of “What’s best for my customers?” then revenue and profits will become the natural by-product of your efforts.

To sum up, here are a few final rules of the road designed to guide you on your journey to becoming one of the Datarati.

> Treat customer data as a renewable resource. In this sense, the analogy of “data as the new oil” may not be entirely accurate. Far from treating consumer data as a fossil fuel to be extracted and consumed with little regard for its eventual depletion, it’s better to think of customer data as a renewable resource that, when used in an ethical and responsible fashion, will continually replenish itself through the continual strength of your customer relationships.

> Treat interactions as importantly as transactions. While the transaction remains the core component of your customer insight strategy, it will become increasingly important to track and measure every meaningful interaction between your customers and your brand, through every touch point and at every stage of the purchase cycle.

> Extend the loyalty cycle. The old cycle of purchase-earn-redeem is quickly becoming inadequate in delivering value and relevance to consumers who now make judgments about your brand based on information largely out of your control as a marketer. Extend the loyalty cycle through the purchase cycle, from the awareness stage through post-purchase activity, to capture every chance to deliver recognition and reward to your best customers.

> Connect the data dots. The most critical task before us is to connect those interaction points to core transactional activity in order to build a complete view of customer behaviour. This is potentially our greatest advantage as loyalty

marketers—the ability to build our customer profiles and predictive analytical tools around actual customer purchase behaviour.

> Deliver relevance and value. We must continue to pay heed to changing consumer expectations by extracting additional value from our loyalty programmes, delivering rewards more quickly, building excitement and social interactions into our value propositions, and constructing offers around our deep understanding of individual customers.

> Create an environment of permission and trust. No element of consumer relationships is more important to joining the ranks of the Datarati than the element of trust. To protect consumer data as a valuable resource, establish and proclaim a set of values that place consumer consent at the heart of your data efforts.

If we take these suggestions to heart, then joining the ranks of the Datarati is an eminently achievable goal. Unlike most other forms of marketing, loyalty management fosters a sense of trust in consumers. Because the value exchange is so transparent—customers join the programme fully aware that they’re trading personal information and transaction history in exchange for value—both customers and brands are able to see clearly the value of the relationship. If we in turn use the data we collect to deliver increased value in the form of rewards, recognition and relevant offers, then the level of trust increases and consumers divulge additional information. In this model, the purchase cycle becomes far more than a mere transaction in a database. It becomes the centre of a virtuous circle that benefits consumers, brands and stakeholders. It’s a model in which everyone wins.

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CONCLUSIONS

Customer data is a renewable resource

Connect the dots to build relationships

Interactions are as important

as transactions

Extend the loyalty cycle

Deliver relevance and value

Create an environment of

permission and trust

About Aimia

Our Company: We are a global leader in loyalty management. Our unique capabilities include proven

expertise in building proprietary loyalty strategies, launching and managing coalition loyalty programs,

creating value through loyalty analytics and driving innovation in the emerging digital and mobile

spaces. We build and run loyalty programs for ourselves and for some of the world’s best brands.

Customer data is at the heart of everything we do. We are Aimia. We inspire customer loyalty.

Visit us at aimia.com.

© 2012 Aimia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rupert Duchesne, Group Chief Executive

Prior to his current position, Mr. Duchesne spent 12 years in strategy and investment consulting around the world before he joined Air Canada in 1996 as Vice President, Marketing and in 1999 was promoted to Senior Vice President, International. During that year, he served on the Executive team which defeated the Onex take-over bid, and was appointed Chief Integration Executive, overseeing the integration of Canadian Airlines and Air Canada. He was appointed to the position of President and CEO of Aeroplan in August 2000. Mr. Duchesne holds a

Masters in Business Administration from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor Honours degree in Pharmacology from the University of Leeds, both in England. He is a Director of Dorel Industries Inc., and was previously a director of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. He is chair of the boards of the NeuroScience Canada Partnership and Brain Canada Foundation. He is Vice-President of the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Board of Trustees, where he chairs both the Finance and Photography committees, co-chairs the Grange Park Advisory Council and is a member of the boards of Greenwood College School, Business for the Arts and the Luminato Festival in Toronto.