Covert Influence...
Creating Irresistible Impulse
(Part 2 of a multi-part series)
Kevin Hogan
Page 3
Loyalty
You get coffee at Starbucks, stop off for an Egg McMuffin
at McDonald's, buy Morton Salt, buy an iPod....because of one
reason.
It's the brand you do business with.
And a brand is about trust, which breeds loyalty.
The concept of loyalty is very important to you and me....and
loyalty is "THE REASON" that people keeping buying from you
over and over again....or not.
When it comes to the airlines, I don't get a rewards card with
stamps on it.
There are no free flight miles that come with the first flight every
year. You have to get your 25,000, 50,000 or 100,000 air miles
to qualify at the various levels of loyalty.
Quite the seeming contrast to the reward cards with stamps.
Of course PART of what engenders loyalty here are very
different concepts, one from the other.
With the stamped reward card I get a free Sub after 10 purchases
or with car wash I get a free car wash after 9 purchases.
With the airlines, yes, if you accumulate 25,000 "in the air" miles
you earn a STATUS that has some significant privileges. And it
carries a "title," a "status point." Your are ELITE.
You can also earn non-air miles from using a credit card, for
example.
Therefore you can earn a free flight on your airline by simply
using your credit card to the tune of $25,000 in purchases,
and getting one mile for each dollar spent, which you can then
redeem for a roundtrip coach seat.
...or for 30,000 miles/points you can upgrade to roundtrip First
Class on your next paid coach flight.
By flying 25,000+ annual in air miles we actually rarely if ever
want to fly free.
When you fly free you don't accumulate air miles and you would
MUCH rather have air miles than fly free.
(That's quite a concept isn't it? Did you write THAT down?!?!?)
So if I fly round trip to Las Vegas from Minneapolis, I get 2600
literal flight miles that go toward qualification. 10 round trips and
I've got status for the year at the lowest level. 20 trips and I
have Gold Status which means you almost always get upgraded
from coach without using miles....
But even the lowest qualification level allows you to...
Board the airplane first, assuring you overhead space for your
carry on luggage, and when you ONLY use carry on luggage, that
means no trips to baggage...ever.
It means that if a flight is canceled, you get to call the Elite line
and re-book with priority over everyone else flying. You get to
your destination faster when things go wrong and with less hassle
and delay than everyone else.
You might get upgraded from coach free depending on your status
level and availability. This is a perk that is worth up to 50,000 miles
and about 1/2 the time it happens for no additional cost.
Before we go forward, these loyalty programs subtly
use several principles of Covert Influence I will share with you
below and over the next few weeks.
Obviously YOU will use the same elements, albeit in a different
way.
Cool Article?
Get Coffee with Kevin.
Articles, events & more!
+ 2 Free e-books today!
E-zine delivered Mondays.
"Every week, Coffee with Kevin Hogan is a must read. I particularly liked your article on the Can-Doers and the No-Doers. Thanks!" Sharon McGann, Sydney
You get coffee at Starbucks, stop off for an Egg McMuffin
at McDonald's, buy Morton Salt, buy an iPod....because of one
reason.
