Eurostar’s current loyalty programmes were launched in 1997 (Eurostar Frequent Traveller) and 2009 (Eurostar Plus Points). Satisfaction with the programmes was low with only 52% and 56% of customers respectively giving It a top-3 score. Therefore there was strong desire amongst the existing members to see an improved programme, with more opportunities to earn and spend points, additional programme features and more points promotions. It was my job working alongside the Head of data planning and analytics to provide the structure and reasoning behind a new and revitalized loyalty scheme.

Brief

I started by jotting down some notes on the brief. It's important to capture as much information as possible in the early stages - by any means possible so that it's crystal clear what needs to be done.

Competitor research

The real challenge here was that Eurostar doesn't actually have any train based competitors because they completely own that space in the market. I broadened my horizons to the likes of Easyjet, KLM, and British Airways but also looked at other lifestyle brands that the archetypal Eurostar customer might come into contact with on a day to day basis - e.g. the Intercontinental Hotel Group. Lastly, I assimilated the findings compiled by a research agency had conducted for Eurostar, based on their customers. 

Loyalty learnings

The aforementioned research put me in a strong position to produce key 'loyalty learnings' which I brought to the client workshop and used as thought starters.

Client workshop

Being the lead UX on this project meant I had the privilege of running through the experience loop with the client and working with them to map out the current loyalty journey with pain points and areas of opportunity (colloquially 'clouds and stars'). Before beginning I printed on some initial thinking and behavioural theory to kick-start people's thinking and also help me if I had mind blanks in the workshop. It was important for me to encourage conversation and maintain discussion momentum within the group so as not to stall and lose attention spans. The output was the creation of an effective experience loop and further thinking to the side of this photo which gave me a lot to take back and process. 

Following the workshop I ran a pattern spotting exercise, finding the overarching themes. These were

• Engagement = sharing the data
• Participation = sharing of experiences
• More travel = Eurostar is the preferred method of travel to even more destinations across Europe

Here are the experience pillars I created in the post-workshop analysis, and the notes that I had bucketed to get to those outcomes. At this point it really began to cement the direction of the loyalty scheme and a strong identity was forming.