For both retailers and marketers, it’s an exciting time for customer loyalty programs. Accelerating advances in technology are leading to a rapid expansion of customer data, a trend that will continue to grow and transform how companies and customers interact with each other over the next five years. While many retailers introduce loyalty programs with… Read More

Thanks to the emergence of location-based services such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and now Facebook Places, millions of users are recording their daily adventures and broadcasting digital breadcrumbs to their social graph. However, the brand value of a check-in on a location-based service is debatable, and its ROI unclear. Many brands have been trying to find value in experimental promotions, mostly… Read More

Every generation needs a new revolution, and loyalty marketers face a revolution of our own. We are at the crux of an historic moment—of financial, technological and social changes that are reshaping the entire industry. The challenges are daunting, the opportunities tantalizing, the keys to success not always clear. While no single plan guarantees success,… Read More

According to a study conducted by Bain & Co., although 80 percent of companies believe they offer a superior customer experience, only 8 percent of their customers agree. Based on a recent study of 200 companies worldwide, we’ve identified six steps to developing a fool-proof customer loyalty program. See the article about fool proofing loyalty… Read More

The advancement of mobile technology and the pervasiveness of smarter and commerce-ready mobile devices among customers are the top two pressures driving adoption and use of mobile retail or mobile channel initiatives. “The mobile channel is a necessary customer touch point that retailers will need to embrace as more customers turn to anytime anywhere shopping,”… Read More

In studying customer reward programs, Michael McCall, a consumer psychologist at Ithaca College, has found that they are not always so rewarding — for the customer or the business. McCall discussed with DMNews his June 2010 paper, “Building Customer Loyalty: Ten Principles for Designing an Effective Customer Reward Program,” which he co-wrote with Michigan State… Read More

According to a recent customer satisfaction study reported in this month’s the Harvard Business Review; the answer is probably “yes.” The idea that companies must “delight” their customers or “exceed customer expectations” has become so entrenched in business lore that it is rarely questioned. According to conventional wisdom, customers are more loyal to companies that… Read More

Companies can build a stronger bond with the consumer and drive customer loyalty by using social networking, an expert has suggested. Recent research commissioned by Siemens Enterprise Communications revealed 70 per cent of consumers would like to be able to use social media to interact with retailers. See the article about creating customer bonds… Read More

According to a survey conducted by “The Corporate Executive Board”, companies should not artificially raise expectations in their efforts to over-satisfy customers. The research suggests, and CEB advises, instead that reducing the level of effort a customer exerts in the service channel is a more effective path to customer loyalty. In fact, 96 percent of… Read More