• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 8, 2015

That may sound like the kind of existential question you wouldn’t expect to hear at an email marketing summit, but that’s what “beyond the coupon” panel moderator TowerData CEO Phil Davis, asked to wrap things up.

“Free shipping,” chimed DealNews CEO Daniel de Grandpre, citing the success of Amazon Prime and it’s copycats.

“Make it easy,” added Roxanne Joe, Director, Marketing Strategy, Orchard Supply Hardware, echoing the success of Amazon Prime. “The easier you can make it, the easier to explain the benefits,” the more successful it will be.

“There’s a lot to be said about status and unique experiences,” said Epsilon’s Dino Michetti. “We’re in a ‘me society,’ everybody is into what’s in it for them.”

“Customization,” said Sasha Williams, Director of Customer Loyalty at NBA basketball team The Pacers. She cited the NBA’s successful “chose your own adventure loyalty packages,” which enable fans to customize or choose their own packages.

To moderator Davis, the future of loyalty is all about the “data.

“You’re getting a ton of awesome data,” he added, citing the airline industry’s loyalty programs as best case examples.