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Retail Master Sumit 2025: Driving emotional engagement 

What if we all focussed on loyalty and customer engagement as an emotional relationship, and not as something based solely around a transaction?  💬

In a keynote speech at the Retail Masters Summit in Madrid, we shared thoughts on how the industry is evolving and took away a lot of reflections from the different perspectives, experiences and challenges that leading retailers discussed. 

Despite the fierce competitive environment, geopolitical and economic uncertainty, and a consumer population saturated with offers or discounts, we are even more convinced that the real key lies not just in the quantity of members who may initially sign up to a loyalty programme or to receive a newsletter, but in the quality and value of the engagement that is achieved, maintained and developed with them. 

For us, loyalty is not just about rewarding a transaction. It is about consistently building relevance, value, empathy, trust and emotion.

During his presentation, our CEO Antony Jones talked about how we support over 100 million secure loyalty interactions across the globe, integrating physical and digital channels in real time to create fluid, personalised and meaningful experiences for the customer. Transactions obviously matter as outcomes for all brands, but even more important, at a time of tightening margins, is what they can represent: the development of authentic, valuable and sustainable customer relationships.

The real challenge is not just to capture, but to maintain, develop and strengthen the value of each customer interaction. Speaking their language, recognizing them as an individual, and building connections and value that really matter. Technology has a critical role to play in building this customer experience, but we also believe passionately in it as an enabler of human potential and employee engagement to optimise that very experience. 

Thank you to everyone who came to listen, discuss and share. We take away much more than a great day meeting, listening to and understanding the amazing professionals from this fantastic sector: we take inspiration to continue developing what we do every day.  

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The Growing Role of Gamification in Education

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From Playtime to Practicality: What Video Games Can Teach Us

The year was 2006, and in Nepal, a 20-day curfew was imposed. I was just 10 years old back then, blissfully unaware of the political turmoil unfolding around me. To my delight, school was closed, and like most kids my age, the lack of homework felt like a mini-vacation—a rare treat, especially since online classes were non-existent at that time!

By coincidence, just three days before the curfew began, I had purchased two video games purely based on their intriguing covers with no idea what to expect: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Silent Hill 2. During those 20 days of confinement at home, I immersed myself in both titles and finished both games. And so, my passion for video games was born.

Looking back on my years of playing video games, I have come to realise that they are more than just entertainment; they provide valuable guidance for our personal and professional lives. So, the next time you play a game, remember it’s not just about having fun; you might learn something that can help you in the real world!

Critical Thinking:

Critical thinking is an essential skill developed through gameplay, as many video games place players in situations that require careful evaluation and rapid decision-making. Players frequently encounter intricate challenges where they need to analyse information or consider possible outcomes. For example, strategy games often demand that players manage resources, predict their opponents’ actions, and adapt their strategies accordingly. This ongoing cycle of refining tactics indirectly hones problem-solving abilities. In a business setting, these critical thinking skills are essential when it comes to making informed decisions, assessing risks, and developing effective strategies – all key skills whatever department you’re in.

Innovation and Creativity:

Video games are everyday reminders and representation of innovation and creativity that companies are capable of, with each new release propelling the industry to constantly evolve and compete for better. Developers explore new gameplay mechanics, narrative styles, and immersive technologies, expanding the boundaries to enhance player engagement. This spirit of innovation creates an environment where creative thinking is essential. Companies can implement similar approaches by promoting collaborative brainstorming sessions, valuing diverse perspectives and ideas, and encouraging calculated risks. Through creativity, businesses can create distinctive products, draw in loyal audiences, and maintain competitiveness in a fast-changing market. In its best moments, the gaming industry illustrates how innovation can lead to remarkable results and inspire fresh perspectives.

Storytelling:

Outstanding video games are celebrated for their engaging storytelling, which captivates players and enriches their experiences. Through immersive narratives, games forge emotional bonds that resonate with audiences. Storytelling is a great tool to leverage to connect with customers on a personal level, enabling them to relate back to the brand’s values and mission. Strong storytelling helps a brand stand out in a competitive marketplace, making a product, company or message more memorable to audiences. By incorporating genuine narratives, that tune into genuine user needs into marketing approaches, companies can ignite interest, strengthen connections, and foster loyalty with their audience, all helping to enhance their brand identity.

Emotional Engagement:

Much like the golden era of advertising, games are effective mediums for evoking strong emotions, with realistic dialogues, unforgettable characters, or immersive gameplay experiences. Emotional engagement to build stronger connections with their customers. By appealing to feelings like joy, nostalgia, or even personal challenges, companies can create impactful experiences that resonate personally. A famous study in 2014 revealed that consumers are more likely to spend money on brands that evoke nostalgia, and this marketing phenomena is only accelerating post pandemic. Understanding and addressing the emotional needs of their audience enables companies to cultivate loyalty and trust. By designing campaigns that evoke emotions—whether through storytelling, visuals, or community involvement—businesses stand out, encouraging lasting relationships and increasing the likelihood of a customer’s return.

Learn Quickly by Embracing Failure:

Many games embody a “fail fast, learn fast” approach, prompting players to experiment, make mistakes, and retry without the fear of serious repercussions. This iterative process cultivates resilience and creativity, as players gain insights from their failures to refine their strategies. Businesses can take on a similar perspective by regarding setbacks as important learning moments rather than failures. Fostering a culture of experimentation enables teams to innovate and adapt swiftly. By examining mistakes and applying those lessons, companies can improve their products and services. This strategy encourages ongoing improvement and agility, ultimately leading to increased success and a more engaged workforce.

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Enhance Employee Engagement at Every Stage of their Journey

Employee engagement is not something that happens by chance; it is the result of a combination of interconnected factors that influence what people feel, think, and do in their daily work life. Creating a culture of engagement not only improves performance but also strengthens the emotional bonds between employees and the company. But how can we achieve this effectively?

In this blog, we will explore strategies to create meaningful experiences that positively impact employees from their first contact with the company to their professional development.

The Employee Journey: Every Stage Matters

From the moment an employee accepts a job offer, their experience within the company begins to shape their level of engagement. Every stage— the first day, the first few weeks, and their ongoing development—is an opportunity to create a lasting emotional connection. The key is to ensure employees feel:

  • Valued
  • Supported
  • Inspired
  • With a clear purpose

An environment that cares for these aspects not only improves individual performance but also strengthens the sense of belonging and collective motivation.

Strategies to Foster Engagement

Here are some effective ways to create a fulfilling work experience for your employees:

  1. Provide tools and support:
    Ensure that employees have the necessary resources to carry out their tasks effectively. The lack of adequate tools or support can lead to frustration and demotivation.
  2. Recognize and celebrate achievements:
    Valuing efforts, even small successes, boosts self-esteem and a sense of purpose. A simple “great job” can have a significant impact.
  3. Offer inspiring challenges:
    Proposing challenges that align with employees’ personal and professional development helps them grow and reach their full potential.

To better understand how these elements come together, it’s helpful to visualize the Employee Journey. This graphic represents the different stages an employee goes through and how we can positively influence each one.

 

👉 Click here to view the Employee Journey in more detail and download it for reference.

When employee engagement is genuine, they not only work more efficiently, but they also feel part of something bigger. Even if they don’t stay with the company forever, a positive experience will turn them into brand ambassadors. When they leave, they may speak highly of the company or even consider returning in the future.

Wouldn’t it be ideal if everyone who passes through your organization leaves with a positive impression?

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Motivait collaborates with InfoRETAIL to drive growth in the sector

On November 14th, the 3rd Annual “Mass Consumption and Retail” Conference, organized by Revista infoRETAIL was held at the Eurostars Madrid Tower Hotel. The event focused on key trends shaping the future of the sector, including advancements in artificial intelligence and the growing importance of emotional loyalty.

Our participation offered a valuable opportunity to engage with attendees, sharing perspectives on the latest trends and the current state of the retail industry in Spain. Together, we explored strategies to address emerging challenges and discussed the tools available to drive growth and adapt to the evolving behaviors of employees and consumers alike.

Motivait at InfoRetail 2024 Motivait at InfoRetail 2024

Our CEO, Antony Jones, emphasized the critical role of emotional connections in fostering deeper customer engagement and long-term loyalty. He also highlighted the importance of empowering employees by enhancing their motivation, engagement, and performance, while prioritising the retention of top talent—a vital asset for any retail business.

Furthermore, he explored how digital solutions can help brands build value-driven relationships, rooted in emotion and delivered through memorable experiences that amplify brand growth and customer affinity.

We thank Jesús Lozano and the entire InfoRETAIL and Ágora teams for delivering an exceptional event. It provided a great opportunity to exchange ideas and connect with professionals who, like Motivait, are leading the transformation of the sector.

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The Power of Pre-Boarding

Let’s talk about the often-overlooked period between someone accepting a job offer and the first day in the role: the pre-boarding experience. Here’s why it’s crucial and the tangible benefits it brings to both new hires and organisations:

  • Engaged from the start: Build on the excitement and enthusiasm from the recruitment process and start to build a sense of belonging before they even start their new role.
  • Accelerated ramp-up: Using the time between acceptance of the offer and the start date allows new hires to hit the ground running and shortens the time to productivity.
  • Cultural immersion: Pre-boarding offers an opportunity to introduce new hires to the company’s culture, values, and mission, helping them understand what makes the organisation tick and show how they can start to contribute to its success.
  • Connection with new colleagues: An opportunity to build important and valuable relationships prior to joining can lead to a smoother integration into the team.
  • Reduced stress and uncertainty: Reinforce the new hire’s decision to join and help alleviate any doubts by providing a clear narrative for them as they prepare for their first day.
  • Retention and Loyalty: It makes new hires feel valued and appreciated. This early investment in their success can optimise loyalty, commitment and retention.
  • Brand enhancement: A positive pre-boarding experience contributes to a strong employer brand, which is crucial for attracting, engaging, and retaining talent.

By recognising the importance of the pre-boarding experience and leveraging it to its full potential, organisations can set new hires up for success quickly, minimise the risk of early attrition, drive engagement, enhance their brand and achieve greater organisational success.

If you are looking for creative and effective ways to build an exceptional pre-boarding experience then here at Motivait, we can help.

We design, develop and deliver digital experiences to enhance employee knowledge, connections and engagement.

TALK TO US

 

 

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Unlocking Success: Enhancing your new hire onboarding

It’s not just a nice to have – it’s a crucial first step towards success. Here’s why enhancing your onboarding experience for new hires matters more than ever.  

  • Setting the Scene: Providing the foundation for their journey within your organisation and re-enforcing their decision to join. 
  • Accelerating Integration: Immersing them into your company culture, processes, and team dynamics reducing time to productivity and improving their feeling of belonging.  
  • Making it personal: A relevant, personalised experience making them feel special and important and showing that your company really cares about them.   
  • Equipping them for early impact: By providing the necessary tools, resources, training and support, you can empower them quickly to focus on the business goals.  
  • Retention: A positive onboarding experience is more likely to help them feel engaged and loyal to the organisation, reducing the risk of early attrition.   
  • Making connections: It isn’t just about what you know -it’s about fostering relationships in the business encouraging team building, knowledge sharing and collaboration.  
  • Brand development: They will tell their friends, family, contacts and ex-colleagues developing the company’s brand in the market and making it easier to hire.    

 Don’t underestimate the power and value of the onboarding experience. It really can make a difference.

We design, develop and deliver digital experiences to enhance employee knowledge, connections and engagement.

TALK TO US

 

 

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Modern Love Loyalty: Beyond a Loyalty Programme

Is your company’s loyalty program still effective? Are you keeping up with the changing expectations of your customers? Our habits have shifted, and so have the needs and preferences guiding our affinity towards a particular brand. It’s no longer merely about conducting transactions; now, we must cultivate profound and meaningful connections with our customers, based in trust, understanding, and value. Customers are no longer satisfied with mere products; they crave experiences that not only resolve their issues or meet their needs but also resonate with their personal values.

Genuine loyalty entails a thorough understanding of our customers—comprehending their desires, tastes, and trends. It means being attuned to their interests, sharing our values, and making them an integral part of our narrative. By establishing this emotional and personal connection, we forge bonds that extend far beyond a simple transaction.

Thanks to technology, we now have the ability to comprehend our customers in ways previously unimaginable. By identifying purchasing patterns, offering real-time relevant promotions, and crafting personalised deals, we can make our customers feel unique and valued. Smart customisation is the key in creating excellent experiences that genuinely matter.

At Motivait, our pursuit extends beyond mere customer loyalty; it’s an ongoing journey. We firmly believe in building enduring relationships, where every interaction holds significance, and every relationship possesses profound value. We strive to fulfil the desires of our clients’ customers, ensuring that their consumers not only fall in love with their brand but that this affection endures over time.

 

Are you looking to enhance the ways customers connect with your brand?

We are experts in innovative Customer Engagement & Loyalty – with over 40 million active users across more than 50 countries enjoying our digital solutions. Explore what we could do for you.

CONTACT US

 

 

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Unlocking the Power of Employee Development: Potential Challenges and Solutions

In our previous blog ‘Unlocking the Power of Employee Development: Strategies for Success’ we looked at the importance of learning and development programmes in organisations for improving employee engagement, retention and productivity. However, the reality is, many organisations don’t provide the right tools or opportunities either because it feels hard to know where or how to begin, or because it falls low down on the priority list. According to the CIPD only 29% organisations claimed to have a clear learning and development plan for their employees.

This lack of investment in employee development can have a significant impact on contentment throughout organisations. Sustainable employee engagement isn’t fostered through just one area, and there is evidence to support that employees prefer genuine gestures that speak to how their company wants to invest in improving their working experiences, rather than one-off adrenaline hits such as after work drinks or free tacos. A recent survey indicates that 58% of employees say that professional development contributes to their job satisfaction, meaning it is a crucial factor in supporting and retaining top talent.

To address this issue effectively, it is first important to understand and tackle the common obstacles that companies frequently face when investing in employee learning and development.

Overcoming common obstacles 

 

  • Leadership Support and Alignment: Gaining buy-in and support from top-level management is vital for successful employee development. Leaders should actively understand, promote and participate in learning initiatives, aligning them with the organisation’s strategic goals. Educating managers on the value of employee development, integrating it with talent management strategies, and regularly communicating success stories demonstrate the impact and generate support.  
  • Cost and Measurement: Optimising employee development on a large scale requires exploring options like e-learning platforms and virtual training programmes. But how do you build a case for budgeting for digital learning solutions? Establishing clear metrics, such as pre and post assessments and performance indicators, is crucial for measuring impact and value. Linking tangible learning to business objectives is essential to show evidence of the return on investment (ROI) of employee development. Well-equipped employees perform more confidently and well-informed employees understand the direction the business needs to go in.   
  • Time Constraints: To incorporate learning and development activities into employees’ regular work schedules, it is essential to empower employees to feel comfortable allocating or dedicating time to upskill or go through materials. Prioritising and integrating learning as part of employees’ performance objectives emphasises the importance of ongoing development, and also that the organisation understands that learning is part of the working day – not an additional responsibility. Offering flexible learning options, such as self-paced online courses, can also enable employees to learn at their own convenience without added pressure. 
  • Overcoming Resistance and Driving Change: Clear explanations of the benefits, addressing concerns through open communication, and providing training and support to familiarise employees with new learning methods or technologies can help alleviate resistance. Involving employees in the design and implementation of learning programmes increases engagement and acceptance.  
  • Lack of Resources and Infrastructure: Insufficient resources and infrastructure can pose a challenge to effective employee development. Organisations need to provide access to appropriate tools, technologies and learning resources. This includes investing in learning management systems, online libraries and relevant training materials. Allocating sufficient budget and resources to support employee development initiatives is crucial for overcoming this obstacle.  
  • Creating the desire for people to “want to” learn: Intrinsic motivation is the driving force that comes from within an individual. Mastery, as an intrinsic motivator, taps into the human desire for self-improvement, growth, and the satisfaction of personal achievement. It transcends external rewards and recognition, acting as a powerful force that drives individuals to pursue excellence for the sake of the journey itself. Organisations that understand the potency of mastery as an intrinsic motivator can harness this drive to foster a culture of continuous learning and achievement, ultimately leading to higher engagement, innovation, and personal fulfilment among their employees. 
  • Personalised learning paths: Effective learning programmes are not one-size-fits-all solutions. They are dynamic and personalized experiences that cater to the unique needs and motivations of individual learners. By understanding these factors, organisations can create learning environments that foster engagement, motivation, and effective knowledge and skills acquisition that can be utilised in work. Personalised learning needs to be a cornerstone of modern education and learning, ensuring that employees receive the support and resources they need to improve, develop, contribute and grow. 

 

Investing for Success in a Digital Era 

Investing in employee development is not just a strategic business decision; it’s an imperative and a commitment to the growth and success of individual employees. By embracing digitalisation, harnessing the power of AI and effectively using technology, organisations can create a culture of continuous learning, stay competitive, and position themselves as employers of choice. Digital learning has a huge part to play and organisations that prioritise and invest in their employees’ growth will benefit from highly skilled, motivated, committed, adaptable and performing individuals and teams delivering great business results.  

By proactively addressing these challenges, organisations can maximise the potential of their employees resulting in increased job satisfaction, improved retention rates and a skilled and engaged workforce delivering benefit to the business. Investing in employee development is a powerful driver for organisational success, fostering a culture of learning and growth that propels both individuals and the company forward.  

To explore how our solutions can enhance your learning and development initiatives, visit our website and embark on a journey of unlocking your employees’ potential.

 

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Motivait



UK Offices

Newcastle
The Core 5.22
Newcastle Helix
Bath Lane
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 5TF
+44 191 495 7340

Spain Offices

Madrid
Av. de Bruselas, 13
Ed. América
28108 Alcobendas
+34 91 425 86 57

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