How Ben Bellasi saved a Salesforce loyalty programme
A global travel services organisation had already invested in Salesforce Loyalty Cloud. The brief seemed clear: assess the existing Salesforce setup and advise on implementation.
But Ben Bellasi, one of changemaker’s trusted Salesforce associates, identified a deeper issue. The business was not yet operating a true loyalty model. It was still largely working from a subscription model.
The work shifted the conversation from platform configuration to business readiness, helping the organisation understand what needed to change across product, process, data and culture before Salesforce could deliver value.
Outcomes
Right problem identified
before costly implementation began
Business model reframed
from subscription to loyalty
Four teams aligned
across product, marketing, technology and architecture
The client context
The organisation provided airport lounge access and travel benefits through two main routes.
The first was direct to customer. Individuals could buy lounge access through a subscription style model.
The second was through banks and credit card providers. Customers received lounge access as part of their card benefits, often as part of a wider loyalty proposition.
Because the organisation’s service was part of its customers’ loyalty schemes, there was an assumption that the business itself was already operating a loyalty model.
Ben quickly identified that this was not the case.
The business was part of loyalty propositions run by other organisations. But its own model was still largely subscription based.
That difference was critical.
The real issue
Salesforce Loyalty Cloud can support a loyalty model, but the business first needs to have one.
A loyalty model is not just a set of customer entitlements. It needs clear rules, customer behaviours, points, rewards, redemption routes, product logic, data structures and operational processes.
In this case, customers were largely buying access or receiving entitlements. They either used those entitlements or lost them.
That is very different from a loyalty model where behaviour is encouraged, rewarded, measured and built into the customer relationship.
This meant the original brief was too narrow.
The question was not simply:
“How do we implement Salesforce Loyalty Cloud?”
The better question was:
“What needs to change across the business before Salesforce Loyalty Cloud can deliver value?”
That shift changed the whole programme of work.
Our Approach
- Reviewed the existing Salesforce environment including functionality, customisations and data structures
- Assessed how Loyalty Cloud would need to work alongside Revenue Cloud and wider lead to cash processes
- Helped the business understand the difference between a subscription model and a true loyalty model
- Moved the conversation from platform configuration to business readiness across product, marketing, technology and architecture teams
The cultural challenge
The most difficult part of the project was not the technology.
It was the culture around the decision.
The business had already bought the platform. People expected an implementation plan. Internal teams were working within existing structures and assumptions.
Ben had to help stakeholders step back and see that the organisation was not yet ready to implement the platform in the way originally intended.
That required careful influence.
It meant challenging assumptions without alienating people. It meant moving outside the original technical box and engaging wider teams who needed to be part of the decision.
This is where good change management matters.
Technology transformation does not succeed because the system is powerful. It succeeds when the organisation understands what needs to change and brings the right people into that change early enough.
How Ben Belassi helped a global travel business rethink its Salesforce transformation before implementation
Ben Belassi is one of changemaker’s trusted Salesforce associates and a highly experienced Salesforce Architect & Leader. He is often the first person we speak to when a business needs to understand how Salesforce can support real business change, not just system delivery.
Ben brings deep Salesforce expertise, but his value goes beyond platform knowledge. He understands how technology, people, process and culture need to work together if transformation is going to land properly.
That distinction mattered in this project.
A global travel services organisation had already invested in Salesforce Loyalty Cloud. The original brief was to assess the existing Salesforce setup and advise on how to implement the new platform.
On paper, this looked like a Salesforce implementation project.
In reality, it became a business transformation and change management challenge.
The difference it made
Right problem identified
before costly implementation began
Business model reframed
from subscription to loyalty
Four teams aligned
across product, marketing, technology and architecture
The work helped the organisation avoid treating a wider business change challenge as a simple system implementation.
Ben’s assessment showed that the business needed to rethink its product structure, customer journeys, data model, points logic, redemption process and operating model before Salesforce Loyalty Cloud could deliver the intended value.
The project continued internally after Ben’s involvement, but his work gave the architecture and delivery teams a clearer view of the challenge.
It also helped validate a key point: the existing business processes could not simply be lifted into Loyalty Cloud without wider change.
That clarity mattered.
A rushed implementation may have created more cost, more complexity and more frustration. Ben helped the business see the risk before it became embedded.
What leaders can learn
- Are we clear on the business model we operate today?
- Are we clear on the business model we want to move towards?
- Do our products, processes, data and teams support that future model?
- Have product, marketing, technology, finance and operations been involved early enough?
- Are we implementing software, or are we changing how the business works?
Core takeaway
Ben’s value was not just in knowing Salesforce.
It was in knowing when Salesforce was not the first problem to solve.
That is the difference between experience and wisdom. Experience helps you understand the system. Wisdom helps you see whether the business is ready for the change.
Our insight
Real transformation isn’t just about the tech, it’s about the people using it.
By listening deeply, solving genuine problems, and structuring change around human behaviour, we achieved a grade A digital transformation: meaningful, measurable, results that will stick around for the long term.
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