Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
Loyalty360 is the association for customer loyalty. We bring together the best loyalty-focused professionals from technology and service suppliers and brands under one roof. Through Loyalty360, these professionals find invaluable resources, networking opportunities and guidance provided by internal thought leaders and brands/suppliers on the cutting edge of customer loyalty.
Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Jessica Starnes on the Success of Weigel's’ My Weigel's Rewards Program
In the competitive world of convenience stores, where speed and service reign supreme, customer loyalty programs are becoming a pivotal factor in brand success. Weigel's, a family-owned convenience store chain based in East Tennessee, is setting a high standard with its innovative loyalty program, My Weigel's Rewards. With 85 locations and a commitment to quality products, exceptional service, and community engagement, Weigel's continues to expand, creating lasting connections with its customers. At the heart of this success is Jessica Starnes, the Director of Loyalty at Weigel's, who has been with the company for over 16 years, driving the evolution of its loyalty program.
Welcome back to our Leaders in Customer Loyalty series, the Brand Stories edition. It's great to have you with us every.
Speaker 2:Thursday.
Speaker 1:As you know, consumer buying patterns are changing. Engaging with technology companies has evolved as well, especially as more individuals and small businesses operate from home. Expectations from computer manufacturers vary significantly across customer segments. For small business buyers, needs can range from a single printer to multiple devices, or from a few computers to a whole entire office setup. Understanding these diverse requirements is crucial to providing the right service and fostering deeper customer loyalty. As the world's leading provider of personal computers, lenovo recognizes the importance of customer engagement. The my Lenovo Rewards program plays a vital role in the brand's continued success. Jamie Linville, the Senior Manager of Digital and Brand, works diligently to maximize the program's value for Lenovo's audiences. Today, we'll explore what makes Lenovo's customer loyalty program so successful and how it continues to deepen relationships with its customers. Jamie, nice to meet you. Thanks for taking the time to join us.
Speaker 2:How are you, I'm well thanks.
Speaker 1:Good For those who may have not seen our interview last year. Can you give us a short introduction to Lenovo, a little bit about how the company was started?
Speaker 2:The backstory really came from an origination in the 80s through a variety of acquisitions, specifically the IBM personal Computing Division that was purchased in 2005, which really led the way for us to be the number one global PC manufacturer in the world. We have headquarters in Beijing as well as in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our purpose really is based in our Smarter Technology for All brand guidelines. The smarter really is around innovation and innovative solutions. Technology is our hardware, software and solutions, and then for all is really around citizenship and what technology can do for humanity.
Speaker 1:Can you tell us a little bit more about your role within the company, how you got to where you are today and maybe some positions that led up to this role?
Speaker 2:Sure, I grew up in the analog world, analog agency world specifically.
Speaker 2:So one of my very first jobs was at a brand agency and we were literally creating logos and bought with a production designer that would do it by hand and then digitize, and we were also transferring over websites like brochures to websites, so my job was literally typing in content from a brochure into QuarkXPress. So if you are old enough to know what QuarkXPress is, then you're my people. But so I've always had agency and brand roles and grown up as digital became a huge piece of how we operate in marketing and I moved over to Lenovo about five years ago and I have done a variety of roles, but really my experience in telling stories and really creating authentic digital experiences that resonate with businesses is really how I've ended up as the B2B brand manager senior manager, so I'm responsible in North America for all of our external facing campaigns to the business audience one of which is Evolve Small, which is what you kind of interviewed on last year and, I think, what we'll talk about a little bit more today.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I'm not sure if you are familiar with Donald Miller's Story Brand. It's a book that it's one of the most impactful books I've ever read from a marketing perspective. It talks about how to tell a story and making sure the customer is focused on the story. And just the only reason I bring it up is last night I stumbled upon that version 2.0 was out.
Speaker 2:Oh, awesome, I'll look for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's one of the best books I've probably top three books I've ever read from marketing and behavioral science perspective.
Speaker 2:So, and you were talking about storytelling- yeah, I'll look it up and hopefully there's some things that we're doing that ties into that already. If not, there's always something to learn.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm sure you will. I'm sure there are for sure. So when you look at kind of the industry, all industries right now, a great deal of disruption, change, keeping up with change can be a big challenge. It can be part of, you know, a marketer's job now keeping up with technology, keeping up with the pace of change. So you know, when you look at some of the challenges or opportunities you face within your role at Lenovo, you know what keeps you up at night.
Speaker 2:I'm a really good sleeper, so very few things keep me up at night. Last night was my dogs and my child, but for the most part I fall asleep. But if I am awakened, what I try to really focus on are the things that I can control. Right, and right now, what I can control is how my campaigns can keep up with that pace of change. Right, because what does keep it is this. Authentic storytelling really requires being at the forefront of the needs of the customer, and if I am too busy telling the story of a customer using kind of analog technology or not up with the pace of change, we as a company also look like we're falling behind. So really keeping things like production schedules on track but also making sure we're opportunistic in opportunities to kind of be at the forefront of some of that change.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. When you look at kind of the macroeconomic changes that are going on right now, tariffs, no tariffs, just kind of kind of keeping up with it, it's a big challenge here in our brand community just knowing how to even keep pace Within the industry, the high-tech industry, the PC market. Are there some macroeconomic trends that you're focused on?
Speaker 2:We really are leaning in, like everybody else, into AI and how it impacts our own business as well as our customers, how we're integrating into our technology and really helping customers learn how to use it and benefit their business. Digital transformation overall right, while AI is being talked about a ton, there are still a number of businesses that are still really just looking for ways to use technologies and services and solutions to help their business, and so really finding the needs of the customer in that is really important. And that is employee experience overall, so digital employee experience across the board. So those are the industry trends I'm paying attention to and really trying to keep pace, trying to figure out what is noise and what is real and where where customers sit in that so that we can help them along their journey.
Speaker 2:Because you know, I, I, I market to businesses, but to say that you know one message will resonate with all small businesses is naive, because every business is at a different stage of technology adoption and so really looking for ways to create authentic and memorable user experiences as well and that's the other piece of kind of keeping pace of the industry it's also who my decision makers are right.
Speaker 2:So there's big macro technology industry changes. But there's also industry changes that I look at as a marketer and who I'm marketing to, and one of the most compelling things that I'm seeing that's really changed how we market, especially in brand, is the rise of Gen X into business decision making roles right. We have to really look at how to change our customer experiences and user experiences for technology natives, right, because things have changed substantially. Then, on top of that, when it comes to branding, it used to be something that I've seen as a trend that's resonating not just through, I'd say, the purpose you stand for externally, but what you as a company also stand for, and that's why something like our for all part of our purpose is so important in integrating that into what we do.
Speaker 1:So are you seeing a big impact for purpose right now, because that's something that it's kind of kind of pulled back.
Speaker 2:We've seen more. Well, it's supposed to be right, like with the geo, economic and geopolitical environment that we're in environment that we're in, yeah, but it's still resonating. And purpose, I think, can be interpreted a lot of different ways. But I think it's really around authenticity, right, like are you schlepping products or are you providing services and solutions that are meaningful? Right, and so the purpose can be a little squishier, right. It's not just purpose I'm helping a bunch of companies outside of the kind of P&L, right, but it's the ways you do it right. It's listening, it's customized experiences and it's really it's that you stand for more than just what you're selling. Right, and that's the customization.
Speaker 1:No, I definitely. There's definitely kind of an impetus to make sure that there's alignment between what customers want and the product offering and being a good steward. But corporate social responsibility is something that brands talk a good deal about, but it's one of those things where I think many brands still do it because they have to do it versus truly being authentic, as you've mentioned being authentic to your brand. I always give an example of PetSmart. Petsmart has had about nine million pets adopted through their their pet adoption program and they rarely talk about it, right. But then you have some others brands that kind of come up with something that's, you know, charitably, a charitable focus or kind of kind of from a corporate social responsibility perspective recycling shoes, potentially right. There's some big shoe realtors do that. You know it's something they came up with because their PR company.
Speaker 2:They came up with this being totally authentic and you know, on brand, I think that the reality is is that it can't just be something over here, right? And I think that what? When I talk about purpose marketing, what I've really done is lean back a little bit and paid attention to what my company talks about, stands for what I see with their own sustainability and ESG initiatives, and then try and infuse that into what I do, as opposed to market what they do. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so when I talk about authenticity and purpose, it's really hearing what it is we truly stand for and then integrating that into my marketing messages as opposed to marketing what we stand for. It's a little bit of a nuance, but it's something that I've done for the last couple of years and it really has demonstrable impact in what we're seeing by way of our reputation scores, as well as just our innovation and awareness overall, and we'll see. We'll see how that changes over the next few years with the climate that we're in, but that's it's something, at least in the past two years, has made a real difference across our business initiatives.
Speaker 1:Excellent. So, when you look at customer loyalty, what does customer loyalty mean to you and to Lenovo?
Speaker 2:I think it's really around creating the reciprocal value, right. It's this ecosystem of exchange, right, because we have to give something to get something and they have to really experience things in ways that really have meaning to them. So it's customized users, user experiences, but also something that really can be manufactured. So it feels customized, almost Right. So enough user scenarios in order to kind of make that applicable. Also, we're going to start with that. Okay, customer loyal is really around ecosystem of reciprocal value. Of course, we have products, we have warranties, and that provides value at some point. But we also, through our integrated programs and really omni-channel view on how we talk to and respond to our customers, have training. We create communities in which they are able to combine and share information and really create their own value by the opportunities that we provide for them through something like our Lenovo Pro community and the Evolves Flow initiatives. And, looking ahead, I think AI is really going to help inform and create more immersive experiences, and those are things that we're working on.
Speaker 1:Okay, excellent. When you look at the my Lenovo Rewards program, how does that fit into your overall vision for customer loyalty?
Speaker 2:I think it's one of the channels in which we support customers, right, it's one of the most accessible, but not everybody is going to want to be part of that community, so I think it's a matter of offering it up and having it available along with traditional customer service responses. And, again, we focus across the board on creating content and experiences more than just rewards. Right, it's not just an exchange of reward for more technology, but training community as well as just resource guides overall and making introductions so that they can help each other as much as we can help them.
Speaker 1:That makes perfect sense. When you look at customer loyalty within our community, the focus within the organization is very important right now Understanding how others marketing operations view the customer loyalty program, the kind of marketing efforts they have, and how is customer loyalty prioritized within Lenovo and Lenovo.
Speaker 2:I think that you know when we, when we just I, I'm a marketer so I can tell you by way of the marketing point of view. You know it costs a gazillion dollars to get a new customer, $5 to keep yours. I mean, the numbers are maybe a little off, but the research is out there, right, and so much of what we do is try and create ways to include and reuse the experiences that are there for the customers. We use data right. Customer feedback becomes really important in that we can. You know there's research that's done up front, but then there's data that really is used to really inform how we create and optimize our programs. So we listen to what they want and try and create experiences that match that.
Speaker 1:Excellent. You talked about kind of the evolution of the program, the customer loyalty program, as well as you kind of hinted at the Evolve Small initiatives. You know you look at your customer loyalty, customer experience efforts. You talk about how holistically and integrated they are. You know how look at your customer loyalty, customer experience efforts. You talk about how holistically and integrated they are. You know how have they evolved, how do you see them evolving, going forward?
Speaker 2:Again, I think the integration of AI in really exponentially increasing the ability to serve those different scenarios and customer like really in personalized experiences right, using AI to help develop and manufacture those experiences in authentic ways right. So right now we're trying to keep up with the pace of how and what we see our opportunities within different business segments, et cetera. But resources are finite and the best way to keep up with that is to really use our own AI as well as external AI scenarios in order to infuse that together. I think what we've learned so far is that we can't let go of the human side of our programs, especially something like Evolve Small. So really finding that balance between the humanity and authenticity of the experiences we create for customers, but really finding a way to emulate the best parts of it through technology.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Well, when you look at AI, that's a very front and center discussion within our community as well. We actually had a peer group that met this week and they were talking about new technologies and AI was one of those, and many brands they don't have the opportunity that Lenovo has to have internal AI right. So there's consternation with using the co-pilot or a chat GTP in the manner that data may not be private, right? So how do you anonymize data if you're going to use chat GTP, Because everything kind of goes to the entity and becomes their property. So there's big concerns around that. How do you?
Speaker 1:And then, another thing with AI, too, that we've continued to hear is that you have to have a larger team to run it right, Because you want to make sure the models are right, that the personalization, the segmentation, the optimization processes are you know quote unquote checked. So that takes away for some of the efficiencies. When you look at AI and other technologies, how do you leverage the right technology to enhance customer experience, customer loyalty, and does being a technology powerhouse help in that effort?
Speaker 2:I would say yes and no right. How do we do it? We, a little bit at a time test, learn, grow, use the data, try it out Like we're. We're trying and failing all the time, but we have to continue to try and find what that sweet spot is right, because of all the things you talked about. We have to do it intentionally and just as well as the small businesses, right as I look forth to our grant winners and creating AI packages for our grant winners specifically, we're really trying to find customized ways to help their business where they are right now.
Speaker 2:One business like step one was migration. Right, they had to move off of one system to another in order to make it happen and make it useful, and so I think there's a promise of it like really solving huge problems, but there's also an opportunity to start integrating it into smaller use cases. Here's how to make my inbox a little bit more effective. Here's a way to draft an email. So it's like using and creating iterative experiences so that people are a lot more comfortable with it, as well as who we are, right, so we're creating our own, we're using other people's just like any other tech powerhouse, but at the same time we are creating and really focusing on making sure that there's humanity and citizenship in how we use technology and what we use it for and how we share that with our customers. So we're training and learning along the way.
Speaker 1:Excellent when you look at emotional loyalty. How is Lenovo looking at emotional loyalty? What does it mean to you and your organization?
Speaker 2:When I look at why and how emotion develops relationships, if there's not an emotional connection with that, it becomes, it's just transactional. And so when I look at the value of what loyalty is, it must be manifest in some level of an emotion, and I think, frankly, that's part of the reason our purpose-based campaigns do so well, because they're integrated into an emotional experience as opposed to. You know, that's marketing 101 as well.
Speaker 1:Absolutely at the Evolve Small program. One of the things we see within the market right now is there's a kind of search for value pretty consistently within our members. Whether it's grocery or whether it's a quick service restaurant, they want to have more value, create more value for the customer, more value for the customer loyalty program within the organization. So when you look at the Evolve Small program, how does it kind of drive value, drive reciprocity, drive that engagement that you've been talking?
Speaker 2:about. So Evolve Small really has a variety of elements, but at its foundation is a grant, and when I say grant, the grant includes a technology package, it includes a financial package, mental service support as well as community involvement. And so immediately, we provide value by, you know, creating an environment in which people can apply for a grant and receive it. But more than that, there are a lot of people who don't get to win Right than that, there are a lot of people who don't get to win right. They don't like, but as part of becoming like, once you become part of the Evolve Small community and our Lenovo Pro community, because they become one and the same we provide a variety of resources for free, right. That's when I lean into things like our resource guide. We have webinars. This year, we've focused a ton of our webinars in series on AI and AI use cases, those basic 101s how do I use AI to help scrub my inbox, how do I really basic 101, and that's all free as part of this community. And so when I look at how Evolve Small has changed over time, it started as we spent, you know, a good fraction of the campaign to create a face right. The face of the campaign was Queen Latifah for quite some time, and when we look at the investment change over time, what I was able to do by one, you know, taking advantage of where we were in the luxury of having a campaign that existed that long is, instead of spending money on the face, being a third party influencer.
Speaker 2:The face of Evolve Small is now the face of our customers. The face of Evolve Small is now the face of our customers, and so in creating a campaign in which they receive our technology, they also get their own voice through our marketing. So we double up in our marketing efforts by helping them have their own voice in our advertising, if that makes sense. And then we follow our stories. Our VARs are part of those stories, right?
Speaker 2:So when I start thinking about the value of a program, it extends to our community partners, our VARs, it extends through our sports partnerships, and so it really is. How do we take this model of storytelling and technology for good and help kind of pay it forward almost? And that's really why that program is as successful as it is is because the voice of the customer is what makes it more effective, and I've got data that shows that too. Right, we've got all this data about how, when we had a major influencer as the face of the campaign, increased awareness by X. But you know what? I've maintained that awareness by shifting to the voice of the customer and I'm also increasing my site engagement. Right, I have more form fills, I have more like three times the amount of time on site, because what I'm doing and what we've done with the program is made the customer the hero of the campaign.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:And by customer, I mean customers right, so not just a single one.
Speaker 1:No, and getting back to that story, that's a big component of that too. Is making the customer the hero of the story, right? Yeah, I mean it's pretty basic right, but it's working.
Speaker 2:But I think the important part and what we've been able to do because our technology and our teams are as strong as they are, is I don't have to manufacture what the story is right Like. I can trust my teams and our technology to do amazing things and capture that right. My job has actually become a lot easier because I can lean in on what it is we as a company do well and then just making sure I've got it captured and that I share that.
Speaker 1:Excellent. And when you look at the program, the Evolve Small program, the Customer Loyalty program what are two or three things that you're most proud of?
Speaker 2:I'm really proud of actually being able to help right, instead of a campaign being over here and then customer support and experiences over here. I love that we've been able to integrate that. I also am really proud of the internal branding that it has and the community within Lenovo that it's created right. It's one of the most integrated programs we have across a really large organization. I have people every year that volunteer right.
Speaker 2:When you think of being resource constrained, I have one person that runs this program for the most part and I had to do it along with my other job while she was on maternity. The only way this campaign lives is that people across the organization get to be part of it and because we do compelling things with it, people raise their hands to do a second job, to become a brand ambassador for the Evolve Small program and they become the extension of the marketing and sales team in coordination and the longevity overall Because we have such a fluid environment in which we have to operate the longevity of this campaign is something to be really proud of too, but it's iterated over time, so this iteration of a celebrity face into the customer.
Speaker 2:Storytelling is fantastic. What I love about it is it didn't just feel good to do, but it's really fun to be able to show the receipts right To say you know what? We took a chance at putting the customer stories forward, especially in our advertising, and it works better than this celebrity.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Perfect, and it's great hearing about the program, some of the things that you're working on, and now we have our wonderful quickfire question round.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:A word or a short phrase. So what word or short phrase do you use to inspire others?
Speaker 2:I, by way of inspiration, I use the phrase always in beta. It's kind of like fail fast, but instead of it being this notion of failure, it's a notion of iteration. So I love really leaning into. We're always in beta, we're always trying new things and we will always move forward and iterate and optimize.
Speaker 1:Excellent. You know what is your least favorite word that others use? Asap, there you go. What excites you at work?
Speaker 2:My people, the people I get to work with every day.
Speaker 1:Excellent. And what do you find tiresome, either at home or at work?
Speaker 2:Churn.
Speaker 1:Okay, is there a book that you read that you'd like to recommend to your colleagues?
Speaker 2:Well, as we started the call, I've had many colleagues out on maternity, so the book that I have shared the most is Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Which is a children's book. What is your favorite food? Sushi. Okay. What profession other than what you would like is there? Would you like to attempt, other than the one you currently have right now?
Speaker 2:Impact investing.
Speaker 1:Okay, and what do you enjoy? That you often don't get a chance to do Podcasts. There you go, and who is responsible for the person you are today?
Speaker 2:My grandma.
Speaker 1:Okay, excellent, and how do you want to be?
Speaker 2:remembered by friends and family.
Speaker 1:Authentic, perfect. Well, that's great Well, jamie, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today. It was very interesting to learn more about the Lenovo of all small program and getting an update on the my Rewards program. Looking forward to learning more about you and the efforts you have throughout the rest of the year and thank you very much for taking the time to share with us today.
Speaker 2:Thank you, take care.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and thank you everyone else for taking the time to listen. Make sure you join us back every Thursday for our Leaders and Customer Loyalty Brand Stories edition. And until then, have a wonderful week and we'll see you soon. Thank you edition. Until then, have a wonderful week and we'll see you soon, thank you.