Loyalty cards, customer clubs, and points programs are commodities now, with typical households belonging to 14 of them simultaneously. No wonder marketers struggle with creating unique customer experiences. Panera Bread Company tries a different approach and adds an element of surprise to their scheme.
S&H Green Stamps was the first buy-and-get scheme. Picture source: http://cfhsreunion.myevent.com/?cp=1
Since the introduction of S&H green stamps in 1896, loyalty programs have popped up in almost all business-to-consumer industries. Encouraging repeat purchases, incentives come in various formats: discounts, free products, special events, big-prize lotteries, among others.
Most programs are predictable and transparent: participants know what they get and when. Refreshing then, to encounter Panera’s new approach on rewarding loyalists.
Instead of exhibiting a routinized list of rewards or discounts, available for frequent shoppers, MyPanera surprises its customers with personalized gifts. Panera’s club card tracks what each individual consumes and offers a delight based on their purchase history. Amazement factors aside, this approach is convenient and flexible for the marketer. Benefits can be changed and modified without even mentioning it to customers.
MyPanera takes advantage of data and tailors the program to fit their best customers’ interests. “[…] unlike the typical buy 10 get one free type loyalty programs,” comments Panera CEO Bill Moreton, “MyPanera is focused on fostering unique relationships with our customers through deeply understanding how each guest enjoys and interacts with Panera today, and new ways they might like to in the future.”
Like good advertising, successful reward schemes draw attention by being unique, relevant, and simple. Mypanera holds true for all those criteria. As Jarrett Paschel, Ph.D. and business consultant argues, the best customer clubs manage to surprise and delight frequent buyers with meaningful gifts.
Surely, an instant gift waiting on the plane seat, a complimentary desert, or a personal note from the hotel manager, makes stronger impact than some obscure amount of points banked on a plastic card.
Or like Charles de Gaulle put it: “A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless.”
MyPanera surprises with relevant rewards
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