As popular as loyalty programs are, they alone are not enough to ensure customer loyalty. Over the past two years, as companies face new challenges involving transparency from social media, inconsistency in delivering customer experiences across channels, and a price-focused economy, customer loyalty has become increasingly tenuous.

As important as our social nature is, within just the past few years technology has injected it with steroids. We are being transformed into a dynamic and robust network of electronically connected people in a worldwide, always-on festival of creating and sharing, collaborating, editing, publishing, uploading, entertaining, critiquing, commenting, helping, learning, and having fun. This has immense implication for how we make technological progress, because progress owes much more to our social nature than to our knowledge or intelligence, per se.

A smart data strategy is the key to today’s successful direct marketing efforts. It’s necessary in the planning of every campaign and throughout the campaign lifecycle, since results are continually evaluated, interpreted, and acted on. This cycle of learning is critical for addressing two clear objectives: improving business results (the best return) and increasing knowledge (important new insights). Only through continuous learning can subsequent campaigns build upon existing success to improve results.

Just as online shopping lured consumers away from brick-and-mortar stores and to the web, the mobile revolution is attracting shoppers to the convenience of buying products via their iPhones, Blackberries, Androids, and a host of other mobile devices.

As popular as loyalty programs are, they alone are not enough to ensure customer loyalty. Over the past two years, as companies face new challenges involving transparency from social media, inconsistency in delivering customer experiences across channels, and a price-focused economy, customer loyalty has become increasingly tenuous.