
In episode six of “Verify This,” Lucie MacNeill, Product Marketing Lead at Condatis, interviews Harry Lalor, Vice President of Enterprise Strategy and Corporate Development at Sheer ID. They discuss the pivotal role of identity verification in driving brand loyalty through hyper-personalisation.
Harry shares his journey, starting 12 years ago with Sheer ID, a company founded by Jake Weatherly and David Sheer. Previously, he worked with large companies bringing new technologies to market, including commercialising the Internet and web-based services. Harry unpacks SheerID’s role in effectively and securely verifying the identities of individuals affiliated to particular communities in order to offer personalised discounts and benefits.
Driving Brand Loyalty
Sheer ID specialises in identity verification for commerce, helping brands connect with specific consumer communities. Harry explains that Sheer ID doesn’t just verify the individual’s identity but identifies their role or status, such as being a student, teacher, or military member in a very simple way. This allows brands to offer exclusive benefits, fostering a stronger emotional connection and loyalty with consumers.
How Sheer ID Works
Harry illustrates the process using an example: verifying college students for a 50% software discount. By accessing over 200,000 sources of credentials globally, Sheer ID can confirm an individual’s status and offer personalised benefits during the purchase flow. This helps clients attract new customers and retain them by creating a unique and valuable relationship.
Lucie touches on SheerID’s statistic that 65% of consumers feel more emotionally connected to brands offering exclusive deals. Harry elaborates that by asking for personal information with explicit permission and delivering personalised benefits, brands build trust and loyalty. Additionally, Sheer ID’s fraud prevention strategies include analysing data patterns, limiting benefit usage, and employing government-issued ID scans and selfies to verify identities and protect brands. This is particularly beneficial for brands wanting to offer such significant benefits such as the software discount mentioned.
Harry goes on to share a case where an airline created exclusive benefits for college students, such as a specialised lounge unique to their preferences. By establishing that students would likely desire a different travel experience to business or family travellers, the airline was able to exclusively target this audience and create a starkly different experience for them. This level of personalisation made the brand more appealing to students, showing how targeted identity verification can enhance customer experience and thus loyalty towards that specific brand. He also notes that major streaming services have also successfully used Sheer ID to offer discounted subscriptions to students, identifying pricing strategies affiliated with life stages. Noting this level of granularity has subsequently lead to high conversion rates once students graduate and start paying full price thanks to establishing an emotional connection between brand and customer. The discussion leads to highlighting the importance of enriching customer profiles through decentralized identity solutions. Emphasising that knowing detailed customer preferences allows brands to offer more relevant and impactful benefits, enhancing loyalty programs and overall customer satisfaction. Innovative Uses and Industry Applications
The Future and Challenges
Addressing the rising concerns about deepfakes and AI, Harry acknowledges their potential in improving fraud detection and enhancing verification processes. He suggests that while technology evolves, maintaining explicit consent and robust verification remains crucial to ensure trust and security.
The conversation wraps up by underscoring the transformative potential of identity verification in building brand loyalty and enhancing customer relationships through hyper-personalisation and targeted benefits.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube |
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