Achieving Emotional Engagement

Dec 5, 2024

Does your loyalty programme deliver emotional engagement?

I recently came across the concept of ‘Joyalty’ from a book called Brand Currency by Steve Susi from which Adama Posner, the CEO of The Point of Loyalty, defined as "Your customer's feeling of maximum joy and delight from one or a series of moments of magic delivered by your brand".

As marketers we all talk glibly about ‘surprise and delight’ as a method to emotionally engage consumers, but few loyalty programmes actually deliver this.

Research by The Point of Loyalty shows that 67% of loyalty programme members would prefer more surprises over exclusive offers. This underlines the growing importance of integrating elements of surprise into customer loyalty strategies to enhance emotional engagement.

At its core, Joyalty is about creating emotional connections that drive customer loyalty in a way that is far more meaningful and lasting than earning and redeeming points. And there is science behind this approach to customer engagement.

A study by Emory University on neural reward pathways has shown that the brain’s pleasure centre—the area that lights up in response to rewarding stimuli—responds particularly strongly to the unexpectedness of these stimuli. The study highlights that our brains are wired to seek out and remember surprises, making them a powerful tool in creating positive emotional associations with a brand​. 

Marcus Meister, a renowned neuroscientist at Caltech University, has shown that our sensory experiences are categorised by the brain into three simple responses: Yum, Yuck, and Meh. These categories are not just whimsical; they are fundamental to how our brains guide behaviour. When a brand’s message or experience falls into the “Yum” category, it triggers a desire for more—repetitive behaviours that marketers dream of.

Embedding ‘surprise and delight’ into your loyalty programme offers several compelling benefits:

1. Social Media Exposure: Moments of magic are inherently shareable. When customers are surprised and delighted by your brand, they are more likely to share their experience on social media, amplifying your brand’s reach and reputation.
2. Referrals: Customers who experience ‘Surprise and Delight’ are more likely to refer your brand to others. The emotional impact of a delightful experience drives word-of-mouth marketing, turning customers into brand advocates.
3. Revenue: Emotional connections with customers translate into higher lifetime value. Research shows that emotionally engaged customers are more likely to repurchase, cross-sell and have a 3x higher lifetime value than those who are merely satisfied.
4. Advocacy:  Turns customers into passionate advocates for your brand. They don’t just stick around for the benefits; they actively promote your brand because they feel genuinely connected to it.

In a world where customer expectations are higher than ever, brands must go beyond traditional loyalty programme design to include the delivery of ‘surprise and delight’ in order to create deep emotional connections that turn customers into life-long advocates.