The Power of Loyalty. Roger Brooks B.

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      So what’s your company doing to improve the complete buying experience? What’s your strategy for acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones? How can you increase the profitability of your customers’ transactions? The short answer to these questions is this: Initiate a loyalty strategy.

      If you follow the basic principles of the loyalty cycle, the success of your loyalty program will speak for itself. Your loyal customers will frequent you more often and increase spending, which will lead to greater profitability. And you’re never too large or too small to launch a loyalty program. Whether you have three stores or 300, a bakery or a bank, you can design a loyalty program that complements your current business strategy.

      Below is a brief description of each principle within the loyalty cycle. An expanded version of each principle is found in Essential Steps 6 through 10.

       1. Identify Customers

      All loyalty programs must have a means of identifying customers. Initiate a process to identify your customers, and assign a unique identifier to each (i.e., loyalty card, payment instrument, e-mail address, etc.). The loyalty program identifier is the linchpin to your program.

       2. Track Spending

      Once an identifier is in place, you now have the means to track spending. Numerous loyalty applications can do this. Talk to your point-of-sale provider, credit card processor, or IT department to research and implement reliable and stable loyalty tracking software.

       3. Motivate Behavior

      Identifying your customers and tracking their spending provide an ideal platform for motivating customer behavior. After compiling a minimum of two to three months of historical data, you can start to analyze the data, market directly to your loyal customers, and aim to change their purchasing behavior.

       4. Reward Performance

      People like to be rewarded for their performance. If the reward has a high perceived value, then your customer will more likely take action.

       5. Measure Results

      All of the previous steps are irrelevant if you can’t measure results. Loyalty programs evolve based on the success of individual promotions and campaigns within your strategy. Once you can measure the results of each promotion, you can measure the success of your loyalty strategy.

      Over time, a well-thought-out loyalty strategy can pay itself back and provide a true return on investment (ROI). Once you put the tools in place to initiate the five principles of the loyalty cycle, your loyalty program will provide the basic foundation for you to nurture customers, build the program, and reap the benefits.

      The 1st ESSENTIAL STEP to Build a Successful Customer Loyalty Strategy is to RECOGNIZE THAT LOYALTY IS ALL AROUND YOU; IT’S EVERYWHERE LOYALTY!

      Everywhere Loyalty describes the consumer-driven world you live in. If you look close enough, loyalty is visible everywhere you go and part of everything you do.

      Everywhere Loyalty refers to the coffee shop you frequent, the bank you deposit with, the restaurants you dine in, the real estate agent you buy from, the pharmacy you choose—and all of the other touch points and places you patronize in between because they are the best fit for you. You remain loyal because there’s something about each one of them that keeps you coming back. The reason you remain loyal may be price or it may be the product or even the person you interact with, but each of these places provides some sort of motivation for you to keep coming back, some sort of motivation for you to remain loyal.

      Think about it. For the most part, you have endless choices when it comes to making purchases. It’s not always easy choosing which restaurant, office supply house, home improvement store, or gas station to patronize. There are so many options today that choosing where you spend your hard-earned dollars can sometimes be overwhelming. But you do ultimately choose—be it for location, convenience, price, or any other motivator. You choose for a reason that can likely be traced back to the personal reasons you remain loyal. Oftentimes, you may even choose because you participate in a loyalty program and feel attached in that way.

      Businesses have been trying for decades to master the art of earning and then maintaining a customer’s loyalty. Some businesses have truly mastered the art, but most have not. How many companies do you do business with that can improve their sales process, customer service, or delivery of their product or service? Most companies have room for improvement. Improving business practices leads to greater customer loyalty, which is a task that many companies work very hard to achieve. If the magic formula is found, constant maintenance and dedication are required to retain such high service levels to keep customers loyal.

      You all participate in loyalty programs in one form or another. More than likely you currently participate in one or more of the following programs: airline, hotel, grocery, pharmacy, sporting goods, credit card, bookstore, office supply, restaurant, gas station, department store, coffee shop, shoe store, etc. If you want to get a more detailed listing of the specific programs you are enrolled in, simply look in your wallet or hold up your key chain. That should provide a friendly reminder.

      Why is loyalty, and loyalty strategy in particular, such a big part of engaging customer behavior? Because at the end of the day, each consumer and each one of you want to feel appreciated and enjoy receiving a reward for your constant patronage. You enjoy being loyal, but you also enjoy receiving return benefits for your loyalty.

      DIFFICULT QUESTION: Why are there so many different loyalty programs?

      SIMPLE ANSWER: Because if administered properly, loyalty programs work. Here’s why:

      Loyalty programs provide a competitive advantage.

      Loyalty programs are a “hook” to keep customers coming back.

      Loyalty programs help identify your most profitable customers.

      Loyalty programs can positively alter purchasing behavior.

      Loyalty programs help lead to more profitable customers.

      I’d like you to take a quick test. To demonstrate loyalty in its purist form, I’m going to list ten products or brands I am most loyal to. On a scrap piece of paper or on the blank lines next to mine, I’d like you to do the same. List TEN products or brands you’re most loyal to.

      Show your list to three people you have a close relationship with. As they are reading through the list, ask them who the list represents. I guarantee you’ll receive the same answer from all three people. “I think of you,” they’ll say.

      It’s remarkable how such a simple exercise can define the essence of the products and brands you are most loyal to. It defines the person you are as a consumer and most likely represents СКАЧАТЬ