Become a Retention Engine: Introducing Material’s True Loyalty

By James Lanyon, EVP of Strategy + Innovation at Material 

Today’s brands have a loyalty problem. They’re confronting 2025’s challenges with a 2015 playbook, focused heavily on reach and acquisition.  

They’ve been led to believe that if they just spend enough money on technology, all their customer retention and loyalty challenges will disappear.  

Which, inevitably, turns out to be false. 

Years of over-focus on digital transformation and tech-for-tech’s-sake have created a race to the bottom. At the same time, options for consumers are at an all-time high, but so is indifference. This is despite an enormous investment in loyalty programs, each built with the assumption they would deliver a competitive advantage.  

Traditional loyalty programs, largely transactional and undifferentiated, are failing to build lasting relationships or offset rising customer acquisition costs (which have more than doubled). They’re not designed for a consumer landscape defined by overwhelming choice, persistent economic uncertainty and declining consumer sentiment. But there is a solution. 

Embracing “True Loyalty” 

Fifty years of partnership with the world’s leading businesses and hundreds of millions of transactions have given us a unique view of the true drivers of brand attachment and loyalty. Building on our Forrester-recognized foundation as a loyalty services leader, we’re excited to announce a powerful new approach to driving growth, improving retention and increasing customer lifetime value. 

We call it True Loyalty. 

The Pillars of True Loyalty 

Programs and rewards are only part of the full equation. 

True Loyalty is built on three primary drivers that work together to forge a connection between brands and consumers, create programs that are profitable and differentiated, and seamlessly integrate product, service and experience. Underpinned by Material’s proven expertise in behavioral insights, advanced data analytics and brand strategy, these drivers are: 

• Modern brand strategy – It’s crucial to understand and align with customer values to forge emotional connections that transcend outdated transactional models. Our proprietary Brand Fidelity framework enables brands to shape experiences that deliver on consumers’ in-the-moment needs while forging and maintaining long-term bonds. 

• Programmatic excellence – Infinite customer choice fuels escalating customer expectations. Brands must move beyond commoditized cookie-cutter offerings with differentiated loyalty programs that drive behavior and build emotional connections.  

• Behavioral alignment – Brands lose business when they ask customers to transact on their own terms. Rather than forcing an “old-school” model of engagement, True Loyalty helps brands align their offerings and experiences with consumers’ human behavioral patterns. This reduces friction and enables better, more resonant customer experiences. 

The Benefits of True Loyalty 

Just a 5% increase in customer loyalty can boost profits by up to 95%. But three-fourths of consumers would switch brands for a loyalty program with rewards that suited them better. So, getting loyalty right is crucial to profitability and growth.  

Brands that prioritize and build on customer retention will generate a strong competitive advantage leading to demonstrable gains in top and bottom-line growth, operational efficiency and product and service innovation. This is the foundational step for growing customer lifetime value. Material is uniquely positioned to deliver on the promise of customer retention. With True Loyalty, we can help your brand become a retention engine, aligning brand, program and behavior to keep customers engaged, happy and loyal. 

True Loyalty delivers growth through the efficient application of innovation. It enhances customer experiences to build stronger relationships while addressing the competitive pressures of the marketplace. This results in reduced churn and cost to serve, improved brand attachment and increased customer lifetime value. 

True Loyalty is Unique to Your Brand 

Crucially, True Loyalty isn’t a one-size-fits-all offering. We partner with you to move your brand closer to your consumers. Every brand is unique, so the path to True Loyalty will be different for each. We’ll strategically orchestrate a unique approach based on: 

• Your strategic vision and business needs 

• The unique behaviors and motivations of your customers 

• Your data and technology capabilities 

• The competitive dynamics of your industry 

• Your budget and priorities 

Ready to Build True Loyalty? 

Material’s depth and breadth of expertise in behavioral science, data analytics and technology, brand strategy, experience design and consumer insights give us a vast toolset and unmatched experience that we’re able to bring to bear on your loyalty challenges.  

Brands like Starbucks, Cinemark, Keurig, State Farm, Sephora, Target and more have trusted us to elevate their loyalty approach beyond the transactional. We’re ready to help you build deeper relationships and improve customer value – the hallmarks of True Loyalty. Reach out today and let’s explore what that could mean for your business.