Shakespeare famously claimed that names are unimportant, that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Clearly, he wasn’t in marketing. The marketing world has long recognized the power of names. However, a new study from the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Council shows that the majority of marketers fail to use customized communication in their loyalty programs. Meanwhile, consumers in such loyal customer clubs are clamoring for more tailored interactions. Just what’s in a name? And can personalization increase engagement? In addition to tackling these questions, this article will review the CMO Council’s loyalty study and propose research techniques for increasing ROI on loyalty programs.
Posts Tagged ‘customer loyalty’
Maximize Your Loyalty Strategy: Personalize Customer Communication
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010Reward Programs: Are they Effective for Creating Engaged Customers?
Monday, August 31st, 2009Most Americans are members of at least one loyalty program, if not several. Whether they carry around a R.E.I. dividend, a key chain tab for their grocery store, or a card for their airline, Americans love to get a little something extra for their patronage—and loyalty programs claim to give it to them. The American love for loyalty programs is strong, even in the recession. As loyalty research firm COLLOQUY’s Rick Ferguson put it, “Despite the recession, more consumers across all demographic segments are participating in rewards programs than ever before.” In fact, COLLOQUY found a 25% increase in American loyalty program memberships since 2006. So, reward programs are popular, but are they effective from a business perspective?
The Customer Engagement Boost: Why your customers’ emotions matter
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Adam Smith, the grandfather of capitalist economic thought, believed that the nature of the marketplace naturally guides consumers to seek the best product at the best price. As Smith wrote, an item’s “real price …is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.” Using these traditional economic theories, traditional business plans aim to provide a product of comparable quality for a lower manufacturing cost, thereby enjoying a higher profit margin. However, as manufacturing costs have dropped and consumer spending has skyrocketed in the last few decades, consumers no longer depend solely on price and quality to dictate what they buy. In today’s market, consumers are usually more engaged by emotional motivation than rational drivers.
Growing Customers into Advocates
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009In Managing the Customer Experience: Turning Customers into Advocates, authors Shaun Smith and Joe Wheeler trace the evolution of the customer experience. In the 1920s and ‘30s, for instance, consumers were happy to just put food on the table. Good prices ruled. As American consumers earned more, each generation expected more from the companies they patronized. As Smith and Wheeler write, “Each generation of consumers has enhanced the buying experience. Consumers are willing to pay an increasingly large premium for the extra value presented by each succeeding one. Evolution rules.” We are in “The Age of Experience,” Smith and Wheeler claim, when how customers feel determines their loyalty to a certain brand.
Don’t Drop The Ball On Customer Surveys
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Most companies are realizing that it is not enough to simply have customers complete a satisfaction survey in order to have them feel like their feedback has been heard. A disengaged or dissatisfied customer will only become an engaged or returning customer if they have the ability to voice their concerns AND they feel that those concerns are actively heard and addressed. It is the follow up on customer surveys that many companies fail to address. It must be stressed that it is not enough to just use customer feedback to retool and adjust internal practices. The customer must also feel like that feedback comes back to benefit them. When customers gets validation that their concerns are heard, then a company will truly see a growth in customer loyalty.