Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
#390: David’s Bridal: Cultivating the Next Generation of Customers by Prioritizing Emotional Loyalty Efforts
Emotional loyalty is one of the most important facets of customer loyalty. Understanding what drives it and being able to leverage it throughout all the brand touchpoints is important—and extremely challenging.
David’s Bridal focuses on supporting the moments that matter to its customers. The brand endeavors to help customers enjoy these deeply emotional experiences and has developed holistic loyalty programs such as David’s Bridal Diamond and Diamond High to address the opportunities before them.
In this podcast, Loyalty360 CEO Mark Johnson talks to Dave Feldman, Chief Marketing Officer at David’s Bridal, about the brand’s loyalty programs and offerings. Feldman also touches on how providing customers with incredible value helps make the process of planning for “once-in-a-lifetime” events as stress-free as possible, as well as how a focus on next generation customer loyalty supports Diamond High and, ultimately, Diamond loyalty.
Emotional loyalty is one of the most important facets of customer loyalty today. Understanding what drives emotional loyalty and being able to leverage it through all of the brand's touchpoints is quite important, but it can be extremely challenging. Homecoming, prom and one's wedding day are three of the most emotive days in one's life. They are filled with consternation, stress and other emotions. Yet being able to harness the positive attributes can be challenging. Late in 2023, in our yearly report on emotional loyalty, Multi360 saw that 80% of brands felt they have emotionally loyal customers, but their laxest standard definition and understanding of what a truly emotionally loyal customer is.
Speaker 1:David's Bridal is at the fulcrum of emotional loyalty. They are focused on creating moments that matter with their customers and allowing their customers to enjoy these emotional moments, such as prom and their wedding, and have developed holistic programs, such as the David Bridal's Diamond and Diamond High programs, to address the opportunities before them. We are fortunate today to have Dave Feldman, who is the Chief Marketing Officer at David Bridle. He's going to share their story. David, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm doing great. Thanks so much for having me, absolutely.
Speaker 1:For those who may not be familiar, which I'm sure it's very few, can you give us a short introduction to David's Bridal and tell us about your role within the company and your experience in customer loyalty? Great to know that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, of course. So, as some of you might be aware, david's Bridal is the premier authority on all things wedding and special occasions. The extent that we found that over one third of all brides have actually bought their wedding dress at David's in 2024. 55% of all brides plan to visit David's Bridal to shop for their dress. So you know we are very much on the radar of all things brides when they're on their amazing wedding journey. You know we initially started as a single Florida bridal salon back in 1950, and now we've become an international destination beyond bridal. Even so, you know, weddings, proms, quinceañeras and more, and I joined David's Bridal about nine months ago as our. You know, I'm now our chief marketing officer. I oversee all of our brand, our traffic, you know, making sure everyone has an amazing experience when they come to our site or to our stores, as well as our loyalty program, which I'm really excited to chat with you guys about.
Speaker 1:Excellent, the David Bridal Diamond Loyalty Program. Can you tell us a little bit more about the program, how it works, how it was designed and how customers engage with the program?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, of course. Diamond Loyalty is the industry's only loyalty program where we give almost 3 million members perks and deals to save every time they shop, and the best part is that it's easy and free to join. We developed Diamond Loyalty more or less to reimagine the way friends and family members can contribute to weddings, so it's really super easy for customers to engage with what we've kind of found and the reason how this all came to life was that 62% of all women who attend a wedding are buying something new to wear to that wedding, and so we wanted to make sure to capitalize on that. And that really was the impetus to launch this program to make the bride the center of the framework where everyone's purchase feed into the bride's account. So really there's a lot of different aspects to diamond loyalty and happy to chat through that. There's diamond bride, there's diamond high, which we recently launched. So diamond bride for our actual bride and then her bridesmaids and Mother of the Bride and her key wedding party. And then there's Diamond High, which we just launched in the last few weeks, tailored around the high school student and going along the journey for her homecoming experience, as well as prom and so forth.
Speaker 2:I will say that the crowdsourcing model for Diamond Loyalty is pretty unique to David's.
Speaker 2:We walk our bride through every step of this journey, and so everyone is making purchases as part of her big day.
Speaker 2:And you know it's very simple and very easy to understand, where you earn one point for every dollar that you spend, and friends and family can help too.
Speaker 2:So the points add up pretty quickly, which is great, and anyone can sign up, whether you're a bride or a bridesmaid, wedding guest or a, as I mentioned earlier. And what's also great is that customers are engaged to join when shopping in-store and online and are encouraged to join to capitalize on amazing perks. So you know you're earning diamond points while you're shopping, you're receiving exclusive discounts and even access to gifts, including a free honeymoon or getaway. So you know we're really excited about this program. You know we've actually seen that we're really making some nice progress, especially between our Diamond Bride and we're in the last. For July alone, we saw a 20% increase in Diamond Bride Redemption. So you know we're really seeing some really nice trends. Diamond loyalty members actually have spent 2.15x more than non-Diamond members, so it's a loyalty program that we're really excited about and it's really just great to see that our members and our customers are really excited about as well.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. When you look at the new Diamond High Loyalty Program which is an extension to the Diamond Loyalty Program, you talked a little bit about the benefits. How do you view that as a way to increase enrollment, getting the customers potentially involved with the brand earlier and offering some benefits to the high schoolers themselves? I know last time we spoke with you we talked a little bit about kind of your vision or not you but David Spraddle with their vision for the program. You know how do you see it evolving or driving loyalty going forward?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So let me break that into a couple of different buckets there. So let's first talk about, like, the why, and then we can talk about the actual benefits itself and so, like, it's really important for us to give back and engage with our younger customers and one of our main goals with Diamond High is that our younger shoppers mature and turn into wedding guests and then bridesmaids and even brides down the line and you know they'll reflect on their experience receiving awesome perks throughout the Diamond High experience and then look to evolve themselves in the overarching program, including other segments of the program, like Diamond Bride down the line. So we really do view this as an amazing way to serve our customer at their youth, like to make sure that they get everything they possibly can imagine when they're that age and that they had such an amazing experience and such an emotionally positive experience with our brand that of course, they'll want to then continue that as they go throughout their entire bridal journey down the line.
Speaker 2:Now, as far as Diamond High goes, as you mentioned, it's an extension of our Diamond Loyalty Program. It kind of works as so forth. One is that anyone who enters automatically gets 10% off their homecoming dresses, and then what we kind of say is they get 10% off all the rest, and all the rest includes accessories, shoes and alterations for the big night, and so they can also beyond that. So you know that's a pretty good deal Get 10% off your dress, 10% off accessories, shoes and alterations. But they also can then earn their way to fabulous free a goodie bag or a special swag and even a free getaway. Plus, enjoy perks, including gifts from, you know, well-loved brands like some of our amazing partners, like the Black Tux or Shutterfly and more and so like. I think we all just know how pivotal the high school experiences are, like homecoming, fall ball, etc. So we just really want to make sure that our younger customers feel supported and welcome when shopping at David's Excellent.
Speaker 1:So when you look at the customers changing, the expectations of customers are changing, rapidly evolving. That's a discussion we have within our brand community. We had a paper we did at the end of last year that looked at the future of customer multi-program, including ways to engage and drive loyalty with younger shoppers. You know it seems like you're very committed to understanding the needs and aspirations of the younger generation and with the Diamond High program. So how are you committed to, or what are you doing to engage youth during some of these memorable times in their lives?
Speaker 2:Yeah, look. I mean, I think next generation customer loyalty means everything to us in addition to supporting the needs of our current loyalty customers as well. So when we think of our teen shoppers looking for prom and homecoming options now, we also think ahead to the future in hopes that they'll return for their wedding dress one day. So, like we really just kind of what I was saying earlier. We really view this as our first amazing opportunity to serve our future brides with everything they need for their immediate homecoming needs, their high school needs and so forth. And so because we know that the next generation is the future and so we're constantly evolving our offerings to meet their needs.
Speaker 2:So Diamond High is a really great example of we know that when you're going to homecoming, you don't need just a dress. You also need your shoes, you need your accessories, you need to get your dress altered and so forth. So we really wanted to create a compelling opportunity to serve all of her needs all into one and hopefully provide such an amazing experience that she'll want to return for future occasions down the line. And as far as, like, how do we engage and appeal to this customer? Like, look for us, that's kind of what we're all about. It's really about keeping a pulse on the industry trends and the latest demands of our younger shoppers, and we're confident with, like the amazing dresses that we have to offer, that we're doing just that.
Speaker 1:Okay, you discussed or you brought up a little bit the partnerships that you have with Black Tux and Shutterfly. Many brands are looking to create partnerships that are aligned. It can create value for both the brand or more than two brands in the partnership. Big discussion at the last little of the expo in regard to how to make them work, how to create alignment. When you look at partnerships, what do they mean to your organization? When you look at partnerships, what do they mean to your organization and how do you go about finding the most beneficial partnership, not only for yourself but also for the brand partner?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, it's a great question.
Speaker 2:Like I think we are really intentional with the partners who we partner with, and what matters most to us is, like, the authenticity found in those who we partner with.
Speaker 2:Like we want to really make sure that whoever we align our brand with meets and exceeds the expectations that any of our customers would have as far as who they would want to associate our brand with, and so if that means that it takes a lengthy amount of time for a partnership to come to fruition, then it's worth it to us, so long as a partnership is authentic and represents our brand values and mission and creates added perks for our customers. That, like you, you know that our customers are getting something meaningful as part of this partnership experience. And so, like we greatly value our amazing partnerships whether it's through shutterfly, the black tux, signet, uh, p-mall and some of our other amazing partners because they all they help us provide to our loyal members some of their amazing offerings. It's a very um simpatico relationship where it's just, it's all key aspects of the bridal journey and it all makes sense from a brand value standpoint.
Speaker 1:Okay, you talked a little about personalization. That's another area that's very relevant, germane to our audience as well making sure that you have data on the customer. You can leverage it in a way and action on it in a kind of a very tailored fashion. Can you speak to David Bridle's vision for personalization and how it plays a role in your overall customer loyalty and engagement efforts?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, of course, we're all about personalization, whether through our loyalty offerings or even our products. And, to be honest, that's kind of why we offer Diamond High and Diamond Bride under our overarching Diamond Loyalty program to specifically support customers in whatever stage of life she might be on. So when signing up for Diamond Loyalty, customers will also be asked like what event role are you signing up for? So, are you signing up as a bride, a bridesmaid? Are you signing up for prom or for homecoming, and when their event is, so that we can offer customized offerings based on how they answer those questions. And so you know, even earlier this year I mentioned personalizationmallcom. We launched our partnership with them to marry our offerings with over 40,000 customizable items and exclusive designs, so brides and their friends and families can add their own details to a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Speaker 2:So that's like a very specific example, like beyond some of our more tailored offerings, where we actually now have a partner who can give you literally customizable aspects of your wedding celebration. And so, in addition to that, we also offer Pearl by David's, which is our industry-leading marketplace and one-stop shop for all things wedding planning and so on. Pearl brides can search for vendors, create vision boards and checklists, kickstart a wedding website, create a registry on all in one app, creating a truly seamless and personalized wedding planning experience. So what we're really focused on is allowing a customized approach for any aspect of the wedding lifecycle, whether it's through buying a dress through some of our partners, through the wedding itself and then actually the planning of the wedding in totality. So, whether that's through Pearl, through one of our partners or through our loyalty programs, we really, really make sure that everyone's getting a curated and personalized experience whenever she decides to interact with David's.
Speaker 1:Excellent. You touched on a little bit. Emotional loyalty is very top of mind for brands as well Can be quite challenging to drive emotional loyalty. There's not kind of a shared definition of what emotional loyalty is. Metrics can be challenging measurement but obviously high school prom homecoming are very emotive. In Cajuns Wedding day I'm not sure if there's any more emotive day there is the significant emotional experiences. How does David Bridal spark and cultivate emotional loyalty with their customers, with your customers?
Speaker 2:no, it's a great question.
Speaker 2:Look, I think, at david's we really recognize just it's kind of what you're alluding to right the stress that can come with some of life's most important and pivotal events, like a wedding, and I don't think there is a more stressful day than a wedding day.
Speaker 2:Speaking from personal experience as well as know even my wife's personal experience, and so, like, our goal is to provide our customers with incredible value and rewards, to help make the process as stress free as possible and so that they can enjoy the most positive emotions that these events elicit, so that they really can just focus on having an amazing time and letting some of the intricacies and planning details really take a backseat, because it's already been done in a very harmonious fashion and, like as you kind of mentioned, like we know, weddings can be emotional and parents endure a similar feeling when sending their kids off to prom or for homecoming, and so we're here to make that process as joyous as possible by removing the stress where we can, and then we also cultivate like an emotional loyalty by functioning as a place for inclusivity.
Speaker 2:Regardless of size, shape, style or budget, we offer something for every type of bride to feel beautiful and confident. So we really take that aspect of the emotional journey super seriously, because this is just such an emotional touchstone of our brides' lives that we really want to make sure or our prom goers' lives, whatever it might be that we really want to make this as stress-free as possible.
Speaker 1:Okay, excellent when you look at customer loyalty and some of the brands that you engage with. Are there brands that you respect or find engaged with emotionally, potentially from a brand experience, brand loyalty perspective, and what do you like about their offerings?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no for sure. Like I can speak from experience where, just as a consumer, like I think Starbucks does a really great job as far as really gamifying the Starbucks shopping experience. I feel, like you know I go to Starbucks a couple times a week but what I really like about it is that, you know, every day I check and there's a new offer of what I might be able to get or a discount I might be able to get. And it's done also in a very like whimsy fun way where it's all very lighthearted and kind of leans into their brand in a very compelling way, which is something that you know as you know, working now at David's, we're trying to elicit as far as like, how can we make our loyalty experience even just more fun and easier to use on a day to day basis? So I think they do a great job.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, like I think there's there's just so many, so many great loyalty programs out there. Honestly, like I'm wearing a Detroit hat, I'm a Detroit Lions season ticket holder and so like they offer some amazing loyalty benefits that really are tailored to my fandom, which is something that I take very emotionally serious. And like I think some of those, some of those tactics that they can use are transferable, regardless of whatever industry that you might be in. Like how do we tap into the emotional self of the customer to further fervent their dedication and loyalty to the brand, and so I think it really can work across multiple different types of categories. It's really more so how you communicate on a level that's going to engage the emotional reaction.
Speaker 1:Excellent and your team. You know what can Loyalty360 do to help you and your team with your customer loyalty efforts. You know what kind of insight or what would you like from Loyalty360?
Speaker 2:Really sharing personal stories, I think help really bring and touch on the emotional heartstrings as far as what's resonating, what's not resonating. So really being able to go deep in that regard I think is very valuable. And then also look, I think we're also just seeing so much insight and help for just industry trends as far as what customers are engaging with, the type of offers that are working, the type of offers that are not working and so forth, so we can really make sure that we are ahead of the curve as far as what our loyalty offerings are. So I think those would be a couple of key elements that would be great.
Speaker 1:Excellent, well, thank you very much for that. Now we have our quickfire questions. We'd like to keep these to a word or a short phrase. Uh, first one what is your favorite word? Schmaltz, schmaltz, okay, excellent. Well, what is your least favorite?
Speaker 2:word. Oh man. Uh, I think my least favorite word would be persimmon okay excellent what excites you? Um, oh, this is gonna be sound so corny, but my, my kids excite me, like you know, every day, seeing them learn a new thing, whatever it might be, a new activity, a new hobby, that that very much excites me excellent, uh, what do you?
Speaker 2:find tiresome. Um, my kids also, I find to be tiresome. So far I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old. I have my hands full. But you know it's a bit of a double-edged sword sometimes.
Speaker 1:Excellent. What is better a humorous wedding toast or a serious, emotional one?
Speaker 2:Wow. You know I am one whose heartstrings can be tugged pretty quickly. I've been known to get emotional even watching like the Bachelor or Love Island. So I would say an emotional, serious, well-done wedding toast can really do the job for me.
Speaker 1:Excellent, and is there a book that you're a fan of that you'd like to recommend to colleagues or industry associates?
Speaker 2:I would say kind of sticking on the kids theme I was referencing earlier, I'm a big fan of the book the Giving Tree. I think there's a lot of real life lessons you can learn as far as how to be selfless but not too selfless, and how to build relationships in a very specific way but also showing some concerns, if you kind of take advantage of those types of things. So, whether it's colleagues or friends, whoever it might be, I think there's a lot of great life lessons that you can learn from such a small, simple book.
Speaker 1:Excellent. And if you weren't in the current profession you are now, is there a profession that you would like to try?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd love to be general manager of an NFL team. There you go.
Speaker 1:Detroit Lions, I would assume. There you go, there you go when you look at things that you used to enjoy. Get a lot of time to do that. You may not get as much time today to do. What would something be that you would like to do?
Speaker 2:more of. I would love to play more tennis. I just find like there's something really special about kind of being by yourself on your side of the court and like the success and failures that you have is like directly tied to you. There's something very powerful about that and very like meditative about just being alone in that regard. So I would whether it's for my body or for my brain I would love to play more tennis.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Who inspired you to become the person that you are today?
Speaker 2:To be honest, probably my parents, Like they are. They're really great role models. They really set great values for me and I think they helped pave the way for who I am today.
Speaker 1:Excellent, and how do you want to be remembered by friends and family?
Speaker 2:As a mensch, as a good person, okay, great.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you very much, Dave, for taking the time to speak with us today. It was great getting to know a little bit more about you, your passion for the Detroit Lions and also the passion for the industry that came across pretty significantly. So that was great to hear, and looking forward to hearing more from you and your team regarding your customer loyalty efforts going forward. So thank you.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much, mark. Really appreciate the opportunity in the forum and really wish everyone goes. Check out davidsbridalcom and learn more about Diamond Loyalty, diamond Bride and Diamond High. Thank you so much. This has been great.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Thank you everyone for taking time to listen. Make sure you join us back for another edition of our Leaders in Customer Mobility series soon. Until then, have a wonderful day.