Como's Rubén Recio Nogales on loyalty that actually works, frictionless data and why WhatsApp is coming for UK hospitality

<p>Loyalty used to mean a stamp card and a prayer. Not anymore. This week Chris sits down with Rubén Recio Nogales, VP of Business Development at Como (now Como Sense), to unpack what modern customer engagement really looks like, and why most operators are sitting on a goldmine of data they&#39;re not using.</p><p>Como describes itself as a data company that specialises in customer engagement. It sits between your operational side and your CRM, pulls in every transaction (identified or not) and surfaces the insights that actually move the needle. Think 3,000 lapsed members targeted in two clicks, or spotting the customers one stamp away from a reward who&#39;ll react to almost anything you send them.</p><p>Rubén and Chris get into penetration rates (why 15 to 30 percent is normal and how one client hit 80), why loyalty members consistently outspend everyone else, and the frontline staff who quietly make or break the whole thing. They also look ahead at WhatsApp marketing, automated segmentation, AI driven reporting, and the holy grail Live Nation are chasing: card tokenisation that identifies the guest with zero friction at the till.</p><p>Honest, practical and refreshingly free of hype. If you&#39;re an operator with data you don&#39;t know what to do with, this one&#39;s for you.</p><p><strong>Key talking points:</strong></p><ul><li>Why &quot;loyalty&quot; got a bad name, and what&#39;s changed</li><li>Penetration rate explained, and why 80 percent is wild</li><li>The two click campaign and reading customer behaviour</li><li>WhatsApp marketing: massive in the Middle East, heading to the UK</li><li>Card tokenisation and frictionless loyalty (the Live Nation play)</li><li>Where AI fits: segmentation, reporting and machine learning</li><li>Why your GM matters more than your software</li><li>When to change systems, and when to leave a good thing alone</li></ul><p><strong>Guest:</strong> Rubén Recio Nogales, VP of Business Development, Como<strong>Find Rubén:</strong> LinkedIn (Rubén Recio Nogales). Como are also on the <a href="https://www.wearestacked.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Stacked </a>marketplace.</p><p><strong>Chapters:</strong></p><ul><li>00:00 Intro and Lightspeed</li><li>01:05 Meet Rubén, single parenting and 19 year old cucumber dramas</li><li>02:18 Spain to the UK, an ice cream stall in Westfield</li><li>03:01 What Como actually does</li><li>04:25 Acquired by Global Payments, what the name means</li><li>05:09 The state of hospi