Saved by sari
From Loyalty to Membership
Mila Superstar added
Membership is also a vehicle of the modern aspiration economy. It represents a shift from doing things for the benefit of others (conspicuous consumption), to a value model where we invest in things that benefit ourselves: access, knowledge, information, experience, privacy, belonging, self-actualization.
Ana Andjelic • The Business of Aspiration: How Social, Cultural, and Environmental Capital Changes Brands
The keywords are not necessarily prestige and exclusivity but identity and belonging.Membership is micro. To prevent reverse network effects and maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio, brands often focus on specific customer sub-segments and overdeliver for them. This works particularly well for brands that sell easily commodified products. For exam... See more
Substack • Fundamentals of modern loyalty
Mila Superstar added
True loyalty is emotional and irrational, and often at odds with our survival instinct. To achieve it, brands are better off with membership programs than the point schemes.
Ana Andjelic • The Business of Aspiration: How Social, Cultural, and Environmental Capital Changes Brands
True loyalty is emotional and irrational and leads to customers feeling like they’re part of an exclusive membership group which then leads them to become loyal subscribers or consumer network participants. People appreciate being part of a club
Substack • Fundamentals of modern loyalty
Mila Superstar added
Membership isn’t just “subscription by another name” (though it’s often referenced that way), or about giving consumers access to a product. It’s participation in a larger cause that reflects what they want to see in civil society. In membership, there’s a different social contract or value proposition between the site and its members.
Jacob Cohen Donnelly • Subscriptions Is Perfectly Fine; But Community Can Give You More
sari added
Both mechanisms, of social classification and social cohesion, also explain why, in the modern aspiration economy, brand affinity is created not economically, but socially – and why best loyalty programs treat their customers as community members.
Ana Andjelic • The Business of Aspiration: How Social, Cultural, and Environmental Capital Changes Brands
So membership programs need to offer a steady stream of touchpoints.
Substack • Fundamentals of modern loyalty
Mila Superstar added