Chapter One - Loyalty 3.0
This week, I read chapter one of "Loyalty 3.0” (Paharia, 2013) by Rajat Paharia. Chapter One covered the overview of the loyalty relationship between consumers and businesses. It also covered how to get an audience engaged to build that loyalty. During my reading, I was able to further my knowledge and even learn some new things.
The first important factor from this chapter is that when dealing with the communication field, engagement is key. This is something that I already knew a good amount about, but it was nice to expand that knowledge even more. Engagement is also key when it comes to creating loyalty for your brand/business and the consumer. It helps promote a personal and emotional connection between the audience and the business/organization, and it helps build a stronger relationship and trust. The book states on page 51 that "engaged constituents don't just feel, they act. They participate, advocate, ideate, contribute, and generally engage in high-value activity that makes your business better. What this definition makes clear is that the path to true loyalty is through engagement." (Paharia, 2013, p. 15). When your audience is engaged properly, not only are they more likely to have inward trust, but they are also more likely to act upon that engagement and trust.
The next important thing that I learned while reading this chapter, was the 4 Tiers of Loyalty. This was something that I had never heard of before, so it was very interesting to read. For starters, the 4 Tiers of Loyalty include Inertia Loyalty, Mervnary Loyalty, True Loyalty, and Cult Loyalty. Now let's dive deeper into each one. First, Inertia Loyalty has the idea that you should support the brand cause it's easier to stay than leave. Next, Mervnary Loyalty optimizes the incentive to stay. Next up is True Loyalty. This is when the audience has an emotional stake within the company, brand, or organization. Lastly, Cult Loyalty emerges organically and it happens when one person follows the influence of another person supporting a brand.
With anything as believers, we should keep a biblical worldview in mind. When it comes to engaging and creating loyalty with consumers while working in the professional world, we should keep ethics in mind, as well as honesty and integrity. When you are gaining their loyalty and engagement, a business and its leaders should be transparent and honest with its audience and employees. We want to make sure that we are not being deceitful or manipulating them to gain their trust. The Bible gives us many examples of being truthful and not deceitful, but one, in particular, comes from Proverbs 12:22. This verse says that "The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy." (Proverbs 12:22, New International Version).
Word Count: 460
Sources:
New International Version. (2011). The Holy Bible. (Original work published 1978).
Rajat Paharia. (2013). Loyalty 3.0: how big data and gamification are revolutionizing customer and employee engagement. Mcgraw-Hill Education.
