Four pillars of sustainability
Sustainability is a concept that has become increasingly important in recent years. It refers to the idea of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. To achieve this, four important pillars must be considered: Environmental protection, economic development, social justice and cultural diversity.
Digitization offers multiple opportunities within each of these four pillars by using resources in the most environmentally friendly but highly efficient way. Especially in marketing, brands and businesses have a wide range of new opportunities, for example for improved customer loyalty measures or the use of a digital loyalty card via app on the smartphone of customers.
Plastic cards and paper invoices: Water under the bridge!
Companies are increasingly recognizing the benefits of digital loyalty programs over traditional plastic or paper “loyalty cards,” including reducing environmental impact. A digital loyalty app eliminates the need for physical loyalty cards, reducing the amount of plastic waste. It also reduces the paper waste generated by miles of printed bills and other materials used when using traditional loyalty cards and offline payments at the checkout.
Paper and plastic waste: problems of global scale
Paper waste is a growing global problem. Each year, an estimated 300 million tons of paper and cardboard are produced worldwide, with only about half of this amount being recycled. This means that much of the world’s paper waste ends up in landfills or is incinerated, resulting in unnecessary environmental pollution. Sustainability is a different approach.
Plastic waste is an even bigger global problem than paper waste, with an estimated 8 million tons of plastic entering the world’s oceans every year. This pollution has a devastating impact on our environment and its inhabitants, and leads to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of marine and wild animals every year. Plastic particles have also been found in drinking water – this is also referred to as “microplastics”.
A loyalty app is an effective way for businesses to move away from plastic loyalty cards and paper bills. With a digital loyalty solution, customers can earn reward points every time they shop without having to carry a physical card or present a paper bill. Gone are the days of forgetting the plastic loyalty card at home and letting valuable loyalty points slip through your fingers yet again!
Customer Loyalty in the 21st Century – Discover Loyalty Program Solution
Providing potential customers with the right information at the right time and in the right place is an art. Digitalized customer communication supports this principle of action – through perfectly timed push notifications directly on the customer’s smartphone. This not only strengthens the direct relationship and thus the trust in the brand, but also specifically increases the customer retention rate. The more often a satisfied customer returns to the store for a repeat purchase, the more products he or she will purchase in the course of the “customer’s life”. By collecting loyalty points, customers can then recompense themselves for their loyalty in the form of rewards.
Want to know more? Check out our 80-second-clip explaining digital loyalty solutions from hello again!
