Ledger, Statement and Shop
To bring the idea of atomic rewards to life, there is a need for three building blocks: a headless system that works as a ledger, a credit-debit statement that shows latest activity, and a shop for redemptions of the rewards earned. Let’s call them Mu Ledger, Mu Statement and Mu Shop, respectively.
The Mu Ledger is a headless system (set of APIs) that developers can integrate into any system. All it needs to store is an individual’s connected identities (email address, mobile number) , and the activity (addition of Mu for actions, and redemptions). No front-end is needed. A developer should be easily able to add Mu into any customer journey or push message.
The Mu Ledger maintains the state for each user – think of these as the WAR states. W is the What’s It state – a user who has no idea about Mu can click on it and learn more. Then comes A for Activate – where a user confirms identities and now can track the Mu earnings. Once the activation is done, then the user can Redeem (the ‘R’) Mu at any time via the Mu Shop.
In an email, the Subject can convey the Total Mu Count – thus testifying to the legitimacy of the email as one with rewards.
The footer in the email can carry the image with a count that updates in real-time along with the info on one of the three states.
The Mu Statement offers a view on the recent Mu-earning actions:
It is never more than a click away, and thus offers real-time feedback on one’s actions. (Ever tried knowing how many credit card points you have?)
The Mu Shop is the third pillar of the atomic rewards system. It offers instant redemption and is accessible from the Mu Statement. The Mu Shop will need to have attractive options to ensure that earning Mu can be truly beneficial. One way to do this is to offer unique digital products and experiences not easily available elsewhere – rather than just discount offers which force a user to spend cash and make a new purchase. The Mu Shop will be a key determinant in the success of the atomic rewards idea.
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To summarise: Atomic Rewards is an idea whose time has come. It is the answer to the problem of attention recession that confronts every marketer. Attention and engagement need as much focus as marketers are doing with customer journeys, onsite and in-app experiences, and transactions. These Mu moments can be the secret to engineering profitable customers for life.
