Merkle, part of Dentsu, has partnered with Airship and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. They created a “mobile-first loyalty accelerator” solution. This tool combines mobile signals, real-time interactions, and loyalty programs. It helps brands use Salesforce’s Loyalty Management tool effectively.
What’s New
This initiative brings together three main platforms:
Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s Loyalty Management: A strong base for earning and using loyalty at various touchpoints.
Airship’s mobile-first platform enhances customer experience. It enables real-time, personalized interactions via apps, websites, mobile wallets, push notifications, and in-store experiences.
Merkle’s expertise in data, identity, and orchestration helps create and launch loyalty journeys focused on mobile. They use first-party data and mobile signals for this purpose.
David Novak, Global Head of CRM at Merkle, stated:
“A mobile-first loyalty approach is essential for marketers. It creates signal-based experiences for modern consumers who are always on the go.”
This partnership lets brands improve loyalty programs for mobile actions. These include app usage, mobile wallet transactions, and push notifications. As a result, brands can enter the market faster and stay relevant.
Implications for the Marketing Automation Industry
This development is crucial for the marketing automation field:
Mobile Signals Become Key Data Loyalty programs used to rely on email, CRM, or web channels. Now, mobile signals are essential. Now, mobile signals, like app behaviors and push interactions, are vital for loyalty. Marketing automation must adapt to capture these mobile actions in real time.
Real-Time Orchestration Across Channels By combining mobile data from Airship with Salesforce‘s loyalty engines and Merkle‘s orchestration, they create a seamless workflow. This workflow responds instantly to mobile events. Marketing automation systems need to work smoothly on all channels: mobile, wallet, app, web, and in-store.
Vendor Consolidation & Platform Ecosystems. Marketers are growing increasingly frustrated with the challenge of integrating multiple solutions. This partnership shows a move toward integrated ecosystems. These ecosystems blend loyalty, mobile, and orchestration. To stay competitive, marketing automation vendors can focus on partnerships or all-in-one solutions.
Also Read: Openforce Launches AI-Driven Vendor Portal for Independent Contractors
Experience-First Loyalty Strategy Loyalty is shifting focus. Now, it’s about experience, not just points. Marketing automation should provide backend mechanics and front-end tools. These include mobile wallets, push flows, and real-time triggers. Platforms that prioritize experience automation will lead the way.
Impact on Businesses Operating in this Industry
For brands, marketing teams, vendor partners, and automation providers, this launch has major impacts:
For Brands & Marketers:
Accelerated Time-to-Value: Begin loyalty journeys promptly using templates and mobile-friendly tools.
Improved Engagement: Engaging consumers on mobile boosts relevance and strengthens brand connections.
Mobile-First Loyalty: Brands using mobile-first loyalty automation will surpass those with old systems.
For Marketing Automation & Technology Providers:
Vendors need to support mobile wallets, push notifications, and real-time orchestration. This will help them stay relevant.
Data and Identity Shift: Success depends on fixing identities and handling mobile signals. This drives more investment in data platforms.
New Partnerships & Ecosystems: Providers might need to team up with mobile engagement vendors like Airship and loyalty experts like Salesforce to create complete solutions.
For Consultancy & Service Firms:
Agencies that focus on mobile-first loyalty experiences and data strategies will be in high demand.
Brands that want standard loyalty automation might choose to hire experts. This can improve their mobile capabilities.
Looking Ahead: What Businesses Should Do
To stay competitive in marketing automation, companies should take these steps:
Check mobile signal readiness. Are you tracking app behaviors? What about wallet engagements and push flows? If not, invest in improvements.
Upgrade loyalty programs: See if your platform supports mobile wallets and real-time triggers. If it doesn’t, you might be falling behind.
Focus on orchestration, not just automation. Make sure your automation stack can manage mobile signals. It should also execute journeys across channels in real time.
Identify platform synergies: Seek vendors or partners that provide mobile, loyalty, and automation solutions together.
Design for a smooth mobile experience: Loyalty now happens on mobile devices. So, think mobile-first and ensure consistency across all channels.
Conclusion
Merkle is teaming up with Airship and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. This partnership is changing loyalty programs and marketing automation. Brands that leverage mobile signals and automate real-time loyalty interactions will differentiate themselves. In marketing automation, success depends on smooth, mobile-first, and real-time customer journeys. Data and orchestration guide these journeys.