Drivers to Customer Loyalty Programs

Loyalty Marketing Strategies Part 2

Utilize data collected from (Point-of-Sale) P-O-S exchanges:

  • Analyze customer data to create specific offers targeted to newly acquired customers. Additional offers may increase product attachment or cross-category realization to drive brand awareness and more importantly, brand loyalty.
  • Create predictive models to identify customers that would tend to accept “limited-time-only” promotions. These models also increase one-to-one marketing efforts to other targeted customers that fit the model profile, and indicate customers that may shop with a competitor.

4 key drivers of loyalty program satisfaction (Scott Robinson and Bob MacDonald with Martz Loyalty Marketing)

Robinson and McDonald surveyed more than 6000 people in 30 national loyalty programs across six industry sectors.

  1. Vital and Appropriate Communication – A little more than 90% of members want contact from loyalty programs, 53% perceive communication from loyalty programs as relevant. 57% of members read everything they get from rewards programs for which they have enrolled while 12% of respondents report that the amount of communication is too much. Research displays clearly that members require to be informed of the program rules, updates, and what they as a member are able to glean from the program.
  1. Utilize Multiple Channels – 96% of participants in the survey report wanting communication and 46% want communication in at least three channels. 73% want mobile devices to interact with loyalty programs. However only 37% see mobile devices as the primary loyalty channel. People using mobile devices are most likely to download loyalty apps. Members dedicated to loyalty programs want communication on member terms and require a various access points that members direct.
  1. Show Awareness of Customer Preferences – 69% of respondents find personalized offers based on purchasing habits desirable. 62% prefer to drive themselves. These participants want offers based on preferences that are managed by the participant. Both of these groups want rewards earned and applied to items and services that are highly regarded.
  1. Demonstrate Congruency in Values – Brand loyalty is an offshoot of brand preference and leads to brand advocacy. There is a strong relationship between a customers’ personal and brand values. 40% of survey participants see their favorite company’s brand values to be one in the same with their own values. Therefore, consumers who perceive their values in alignment with a company’s brand values are much more satisfied with that particular company’s loyalty programs.

Undoubtedly you recognize this traditional branding strategy. Successful brands reflect and emulate the personality, values, voice, and beliefs of the company’s best customers. Focusing on content and messaging that resonates with program participants is essential for a loyalty marketing program to be successful.

Possibly the trend will move more toward consumers being active in helping to co-create content and devise tactics that mirror who customers are and what they as consumers believe in deeply.

Considering the on-the-go pace in which we live, loyalty is a constantly shifting target. however new data offers fresh insights, approaches, and tactics that may help create, capture, and apply the desire for connection, recognition, reward, and passion in each person.

Here’s the takeaway –

Earning a customer’s loyalty is more difficult now than ever because attention spans are shorter, patience is decreasing, consumers are inundated with thousands of messages a day, and your company’s competition is potentially more visible and accessible than ever before.

Therefore, building a loyal customer base starts with acquiring the right customers. A firm’s chances of building a good relationship with customers are greater from the outset when loyalty programs are utilized because there are common interests between company and customer. The key to long-term success lies in demonstrating value to the customer and building on the foundation established with a properly integrated customer loyalty strategy.