Blind Loyalty Challenge with Gunjan Kumar

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Hi there, I'm Amanda Cromhoe from Truth. Welcome to the Blind Laugherty

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Challenge.

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We interview world experts in loyalty blindly. We're hoping to create insight,

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spontaneity

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and a lot of fun through the challenge. The challenge is about promoting the

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Blind Laugherty

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Trust and my book called Blind Laugherty, a hundred and one loyalty concept

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radically

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simplified. All profits from the book go towards the trust. We hope you enjoy

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the Blind Laugherty

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Challenge.

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So it's always an honour to meet new people and Gunjama myself have been trying

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to meet

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for quite a while. So thanks to Bob Salmasy, we have Kanjama Kumar, the Chief

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Revenue Officer

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of Loyal joining us on the Blind Laugherty Challenge. Welcome.

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Very much Amanda, I really truly feel that this is going to be exciting. Also

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because

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as you rightly said, we have been trying to be in touch and absolutely pleasure

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to have

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you, Meiji.

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So great. So I'm going to really make this easy for you. So the first question,

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Chapter

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63 of Blind Laugherty talks about Web 3.0. So it couldn't get easier for you, I

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'm sure.

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To tell us, is it just a craze or does it actually really make a difference to

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the customer

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and to the brand?

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I'll tell you one thing. A lot of people talk a lot about Web3 and just remind

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the entire

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world in the early 2000s when internet was still not the norm. Everybody had

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the same

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kind of feeling that no, no, no, people don't need internet. It is not

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something that would

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really change the world. But today in this generation and age, can anybody even

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think

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of not having an internet? And Web3 is exactly the same thing. Whether we like

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it or not,

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the world is moving towards Web3 and it is coming and coming at a very fast

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pace. And

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the biggest difference is today when you look at the entire components around

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the Web2,

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it is all about centralized stuff. You talk about a database of the centralized

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, you talk

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about information of the centralized. The advance of Web3 and blockchain makes

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it completely

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decentralized. So you really are not a single owner of the data. The data is

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there when

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and it needs to be a little bit. And that makes the huge difference between

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what is Web2

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versus Web3. It is all about security, transparency and making sure that the

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right level of information

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is available to people in the same ecosystem.

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>> I think you probably simplified for everyone who has been wondering a little

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bit more about

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it. That simple explanation is really powerful. Along the similar lines, what

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would you say

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has been the most exciting innovation in loyalty that you have seen in the last

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12 months or

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so? >> I will tell you one thing. Innovation is not about only technology. I

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think it is

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how one is able to use the technology to fulfill a business or a commercial

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value. In terms

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of loyalty, it is predominantly engagement, stickiness and also in terms of the

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technology,

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it is how easy one is able to utilize the technology.

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So when I say about innovation, my feeling is that I have seen a lot of new

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things happening

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in the world. Obviously, you talk about Starbucks coming out with an NFT based,

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I would say,

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loyalty program. But it is predominantly for the newer generation. But if you

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look at something

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that we are all looking to do is to ensure that people somehow are able to

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relate to a

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particular program on their daily spends, everyday actions. And more and more,

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I see

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payment link offers, card linking, account linking. I have started to now

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become the norm.

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We are just working with one of the leading airlines in the Star Alliance. And

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you would

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not believe that their engagement with their US and UK members were just 1.56

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times a year.

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Just imagine 1.56 times a year. If you can move that to 1.56 times a day, that

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is innovation.

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And there, you do not need just technology. You need to really understand what

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is a member's

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lifestyle. What does they really want to do? And then play with that. The

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technology would

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only aid you to fulfill the direction. But without understanding what you would

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like to

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be and innovation will just fail.

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You've almost taken the words out of my mouth around innovations, not just

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about technology.

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I think a lot of people misunderstand that. And what you've said is just making

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the members

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lives easier at the end of the day. Those small little changes that address the

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business

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strategy is what it's all about.

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Great. So let's finish off on the last question again. I don't think I'm

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anywhere near close

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to stumping you on this. So what's your personal best loyalty experience you've

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had?

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I would say there were many loyalty experiences that I would like to talk about

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. But I was

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simply amazed. One of my recent trips before COVID to China, and I was staying

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at one of

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the hidden properties, you would not believe they've had taken every, every

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inch of information

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that I had provided to them. Right from knowing what kind of pillows I want to

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what kind of

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of of drinks I actually take to the kind of launch access that I want to do to

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make sure

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that my events and meetings are in place, even ensuring that they had placed a

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multi charger

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just in case I needed to have a spare one. So that is the kind of loyalty that

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drives

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a I would say incremental stickiness and repeat purchase. I haven't seen that

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kind of work

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been done by any other program ever. So that was really something that was

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fantastic. I

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even called up my wife and said, you know, that probably as much as you know me

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, this

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guy is no me. That's what you can imagine. That well, it was one way also very

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good.

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But on the other side, it also shows the power of data that if you really

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understand the

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member and you analyze the data, then you can have the universe of one, which

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is basically

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me in this case. And they really, really made sure that they needed and knew

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everything

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about brilliant. Lovely. Yeah, but that's cool. It's not creepy. You know, that

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's the

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use of data in a really powerful way, not a creepy way. So beautiful example

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means more

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than a few points, right? It's a lot more powerful than that. Amazing. Great.

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Well,

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you sailed through that. I think we might have to do it again in a few months

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and make

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it a bit harder. Who would you like to tag for the blind loyalty challenge? I

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would definitely

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send him a note to my dear friend Steve Arsenal. He's based in the US. And I'm

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sure he would

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love to be on your show next time around. He would love to do. And telling me

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that he

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is incredible. He has almost four decades of loyalty experience and comes from

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both the

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innovation industry working across the globe just as I would do. And he's

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phenomenal. You

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would love to speak for him. Yeah, amazing. Well, we can get four decades

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of experience down to seven minutes. Well, I look forward to that. Can John,

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thank you

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so much. It's such a pleasure to have you on the blind loyalty challenge. Well

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done.

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Thank you very much, Abanda. Love it. Have a good day.

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