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The idea of the so-called “loyalty” program is an extremely odd paradigm, is it not?

The concept is predicated on the idea that the more money the customer spends, the better they should feel about the relationship.

Yet here we all are, decades of dollars-spent points programs trying to continually convince customers of their loyalty based on wallet share. When said out loud, it actually sounds pretty crazy.

In 2021 and beyond, the fact of the matter is this: as it begins to sound crazy to grocers and restauranteurs, the customer is already way ahead of you. To them, the one-sided relationship of “We love you but only because you spend money with us” no longer cuts the proverbial mustard. And in modern customer engagement, you better be certain that the customer actually likes mustard.

Which brings me to my next point: knowing your customer.

This ever-connected world we live in has become an amazing place. Everything is at one’s fingertips. And everything is now targeted directly to us as individuals. From the apps we enjoy, to the ads that we see, to the information that we receive—every day that passes becomes more and more about each and every person as an individual in the digital landscape.

For restauranteurs and grocers, this should be exhilarating. Acting on this new digital engagement path opens up a diverse world of possibilities to engage in far more meaningful, highly personalized ways. Conversely, those who wish to ignore this new digital world could experience catastrophic losses—especially as customers become highly aware of their own possibilities related to engagement. The expectations now placed on “the seller” are far different than before, and largely reversed for “the buyer” from what once was.

Fortunately, it’s easy for restauranteurs and grocers to connect to this ever-connected world. Moreover, instead of approaching the relationship as only rewarding an individual for spending money, the new and far better way is to first engage on a personal level.

Better yet, people are more than happy to share their personal preference data to engage with any business—and restaurants and grocery stores are prime for this new model.

Firstly, imagine the draw to current customers. The ability to engage online, in-app and in-store is already taken care of. That’s as simple as implementing a mobile app solution like ours. This immediately connects the customer with the business, opens a new and exciting communications channel—and is the conduit to collecting customers likes, dislikes, habits, and so much more. It literally enables the business to “get to know” every single customer.

Now, with that open communications channel, offers and specials can be instantly delivered. In fact, from day one—with a simple data migration of those legacy programs points—past interactions can now be leveraged to start that brand new, exciting relationship. This means offers based on past purchases are possible—a meaningful outreach of “We know you like this item and we appreciate you, so here it is at a discount just for you.” And that’s just a start.

Then, of course, there are those who have never been a customer. With a little marketing know-how and good messaging, restaurants and grocers can meaningfully engage from day one—asking the right questions, gathering the right data, and actioning it in a way that is, again, highly personalized. What better way to capture marketshare than being the one that knows the customer, as opposed to the one that doesn’t?

Overall, the world has changed, technology has changed, and customer expectations have changed. Generalized, one-sided rewards aren’t going to make customer happy, nor will they make your business any new friends. Perhaps that’s the way everyone should look at it in 2021 and beyond.

Customers aren’t numbers. They aren’t faceless entities that only account for wallet-share. And they aren’t all the same—they are an extension of friends and family, and should be treated as such at each and every turn.