Last week I was in Orlando for Loyalty Expo, and it was an excellent event all around.

At the conference, brands came together to discuss the latest trends, technology and strategies for increasing customer loyalty and engagement.  It was exciting to be part of a panel discussing how mobile can help in building customer engagement and loyalty.  My co-panelists and I gave some real-world tips to the loyalty industry on how its members can immediately leverage the mobile channel to extend current and future programs.

(If you’re interested, the full agenda for the event is available for download here.)

More and more brands are realizing how important it is to incorporate mobile into loyalty programs.  Coca-Cola recently told Mobile Marketer that, “the mobile channel is a key component of the brand’s loyalty and customer relationship management initiatives.”

The article goes on to discuss how “in this environment of hyper-choice, consumers are overwhelmed, but mobile loyalty programs give brands a way to stand out from the rest and inspire repeat business.”

As you may know, it’s seven to ten times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep an existing one.  Not to mention the fact that customers who belong to a loyalty program visit twice as often and spend an average as four times a much as those that are not in the program.  Adding mobile gives an entire new way to communicate with customers and simplify enrollment and engagement.  And any time you can make something easier, engagement goes up.

I’m hooked!  I can’t wait for Engagement Expo in the fall.