Tag Archives: customers

Does Giving Back Pay Off? Thrivent Financial By the Numbers

August 15, 2012

In Monday’s post, we spent some time talking about the qualities that make Thrivent Financial – and their member-driven program, Thrivent Choice — stand out. We love how deeply community-minded they are, both in terms of making their members feel like a part of a tight-knit, care-driven group, and by actively giving back to schools and congregations. In addition to building up an undeniable loyalty among members, Thrivent raises the bar even more by allowing its community to participate in deciding exactly how their dollars will be donated, via Thrivent Choice.

But does it work? This approach is ethical, and admirable, but does it have the numbers to prove that it is, indeed, effective?

thrivent

In a word: absolutely. Thrivent is transparent about their financials, publishing numbers on their website and providing access to their annual reports. And the results that they have to show speak to the success of their loyalty-building tactics.

Thrivent Financial is number 332 on the 2011 Fortune 500 list (released in spring of 2012), based on an annual revenue of $7.8 billion. They have 2.5 million members across the US, and 1,336 chapters nationally. What’s more, they have $75.8 billion in assets under management, and $170 billion of life insurance in force.

This is not a small scale company experimenting with philanthropy and member participation — this is a massive, lucrative operation. The size and strength of this community has made Thrivent the financial force that it is; the continued loyalty of this community has allowed Thrivent to grow over the past 11 years.

There’s more. That promise of giving back? Thrivent delivers on that, too. Thrivent Financial, and their members, donated $175 million donated to communities in need, not to mention the 10.8 million hours members spent volunteering through local chapter projects. And then there’s the $304 million redistributed to members in dividends.

Thrivent Financial builds loyalty among its members in their attitude and approach, and the benefits of this are clear. The numbers don’t lie: Thrivent’s community is as lucrative as it is loyal.

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Thrivent Financial: Understanding the Philanthropic Side of Loyalty

August 13, 2012

We build loyalty programs to make customers feel that they are a part of something. That they are being recognized for their continued loyalty to a brand or organization. We can’t underestimate the importance of this — feeling that you are appreciated, that you belong, is the key mechanism that makes these loyalty programs tick. The rewards are the icing, but this deep-seeded feeling is the foundation.

It’s this belief that has made working with Thrivent Financial such a pleasure. Thrivent Financial embodies the best of loyalty in all of their programs — and perhaps most exemplifies the far-reaching potential that loyalty programs can have with Thrivent Choice.

First, a bit about Thrivent Financial. The organization has its roots in two early 20th-Century community-minded organizations that aimed to provide trustworthy mutual funds and valuable information for members. Self-described as a fraternal benefit society, Thrivent Financial has always aimed to make its members feel like a part of a distinct community — a community that will be a support system and resource in addition to a channel through which to organize your financial goals.

Thrivent provides personally tailored financial solutions, and also organizes volunteer activities and projects through local member chapters. By signing up, you automatically become a member, and receive member benefits. That means access to discounts on prescriptions and legal services. What’s more, Thrivent Financial members are given ample opportunity to have a say about how Thrivent should operate — and where your money goes.

Which brings us to Thrivent Choice. Every year, Thrivent Financial gives a healthy sum (last year, $100 million) to a wide assortment of of schools on all levels, ministries, and other charitable organizations. This alone sets them apart as an organization on the right path — but their implementation of Thrivent Choice takes it a step further. Thrivent Choice allows members to vote on exactly where their Choice Dollars will go — assuming a member is over 16-years-old, he or she can participate in online (or call-in) voting events.

We love that this specific kind of loyalty program allows members to do good while demonstrating that they have a say in the company’s actions. Thrivent members are treated like loyal customer by virtue of joining — they receive the benefits of Thrivent automatically by signing up. Thrivent Choice ups the ante even more, by giving members a real say in where their money goes. What’s more, this philanthropic lean can help loyal customers do good while insuring their own financial security.

It’s the ultimate win-win. Our work with Thrivent Financial has shown us that loyalty can, and should, exist on all levels — and that making your customers feel like a real part of your community brings nothing but more benefits.

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The Changing Face of Airline Loyalty

August 9, 2012

Having spent this week talking about Virgin America and their stellar Elevate program, we want to step back a little and take a look at the airline loyalty space at large. What we’ve noticed across the board: considering this has been an industry that has seen its fair share of turbulence over the past few years (record-high fuel costs, plunging budgets, a constant stream of bankruptcies), maintaining customer loyalty may be a challenge, but it’s a necessity to survive and to thrive.
virgin america

Loyalty programs provide airlines with an area of influence they can control. American Airlines pioneered this concept, and set the stage for loyalty programs in the late 1980s. These early programs focused around simplistic flyer rewards by tracking miles and rewarding frequent flyers with upgrades and free flights. The success was immediate and evident, and before long, airlines like Delta and United had jumped on the loyalty bandwagon.

Over the last 30 years, the loyalty landscape has evolved into multi-tier programs with rewards stretching far beyond upgrades and free flights. Attracting and retaining members is no longer a formulaic one-size fits all program: airlines must get creative to stay in the game. 

This summer, approximately 140,000,000 Americans have travel plans, with 22% using rewards from loyalty programs to finance those trips. According to an American Express finding, active loyalty participants have increased by 25% since 2011. This increase has contributed to an already competitive market, forcing airlines to discover new ways to innovate, paving a path for younger airlines like JetBlue and Virgin America to drive the industry toward new loyalty standards.

These newer players are disrupting the loyalty space with innovative programs giving older, more established programs like American Airlines’ AAdvantage a run for their money. The key difference with programs like JetBlue’s TrueBlue and Virgin’s Elevate is that they offer additional perks aside from the standard free checked baggage or priority boarding.

We discussed the building blocks of the Elevate program earlier this week, including a no blackout date policy, and the new Red-Silver-Gold tier system. But there are plenty of other highlights worth mentioning. Virgin’s offerings include chic lounges in select locations, enhanced social rewards, and to top it off, the “ultimate round-trip flight award”. The Elevate member who earns the most elite qualifying points between August 8, 2012 and August 7, 2013 will earn a sub-orbital space flight on Virgin Galactic. With the largest frequent flyer population of 1.8 million it is clear Virgin is doing loyalty right. It is unique perks like this that add a competitive edge to airlines willing to step outside of the traditional loyalty box.

The Aberdeen Group addressed this very issue in a recent report. They found that loyalty programs that incorporate mobile technology, engage consumers with social media, and implement a centralized cross-channel loyalty platform are more successful. When incorporating innovative ideas to these basic building blocks, customers are more likely to stick around and take advantage of such well-rounded offerings.

Fresh innovation drives industry forward. A steady stream of creative, technology driven advancements are increasingly important as consumers become more accustomed to loyalty perks and expectant of convenience and technological innovation. It takes robust, cutting-edge loyalty programs to shake things up and provide a unique experience worth returning for time and time again.

Read more about our work with Virgin America and the success of Elevate in our Customer Success Story, here. And keep up on all of the great things Virgin America is doing by following @virginamerica, @richardbranson, and @loyaltylab.

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Loyalty Program Gives Nationwide Pharmacy a Makeover to the Tune of a 10-15% Increase in Sales

June 29, 2012

by

PharmacaThe U.S. market for health and wellness products is growing at a rapid pace and is expected to reach $170 billion by the end of 2012. Companies competing in this space will strive to boost consumer spend at each visit by providing a one-stop store for all their needs – pharmacy services, OTC medicines, homeopathic, beauty, and personal care products. To maximize customer spend while also promoting repeat shopping, companies in this space desperately need to have loyalty programs that cover all their touch points with the customer.

When Pharmaca, a pharmacy that looks to revolutionize the way we shop for health and wellness products, embarked on a loyalty initiative, one of the company’s goals was to reinforce its branding as a go-to wellness destination to drive higher engagement between pharmacy and retail.  They sought to encourage customers to fill both their conventional prescriptions needs and their need for alternative products in one location.

TIBCO Loyalty Lab enabled Pharmaca’s loyalty program to see impressive results, a whopping 50 percent increase in the number of customers’ cross-shopping retail and pharmacy, and a 10 to 15 percent increase in per-member spending since the program launched.

Read more, and watch this presentation by Pharmaca.

Photo Rights: spotreporting

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