Loyalty marketing can deliver positive return on investment when properly executed. Through real-world examples, learn the methods and techniques successful businesses use to inspire loyalty and build profitable customer relationships.

1. Does loyalty really exist?
L o y a Lt y : a f e e L i n g o r a t t i t u d e o f
devoted attachment and affection.
– The AmericAn heriTAge DicTionAry
many people associate the As a customer, you hand off your You feel financially savvy and
quality of loyalty with their fami- clothing knowing it will come back good about your choice.
lies, close friends, even their just as you ask. he also may call
dogs. But loyalty plays a part in you by name, and ask about the But if you’re not the neighbor-
most of our daily activities. weather — small social gestures hood dentist, the only bank in
that make you feel recognized, town or the lowest-cost provider
the brand of toothpaste most of a service or item, how do you
comfortable and worthwhile.
of us use each morning prob- get customers to flock to your
ably is one we’ve used for years, the type of car you drive could
door and make your products
as maybe our coffee, bread, be the same one you’ve driven
part of their everyday lives?
soap and cleaning solutions. we since you were a teenager. In
generally order from the same this case, it could be the sense You inspire loyalty, creating
pizza delivery service, visit a dry of security it gives you. You’ve within them a reaction to your
cleaner whose face we know never had a breakdown in a name that is so positive it
and whose reputation we trust. toyota, for instance, and you’ve evolves into a strongly rooted
women search exhaustively for escaped a fender-bender with sense of connection.
the right hair stylist and once minimal damage or a more
they’ve found him or her, they serious accident with no injuries. In tough economic times, when
stick with that person, even the brand name engenders a consumers have more ways and
rave about him or her to friends. sense of trust. places to shop, gaining loyalty is
many of us drive the same make a tough proposition.
simpler factors play into your
of car throughout our lives. According to a new study by
purchasing decisions as well. the
Why? It’s the way it makes us contact solution you use may be comscore, the percentage
feel. the dry cleaner might be the cheapest one you’ve found that of brand loyal shoppers has
on the way to work, but he also does the job well. so why bother steadily declined across all cat-
engenders a sense of security. buying something more expensive? egories over the past two years.
|| ©2010 Customer InsIght group, InC. ph: 303.422.9758 www.CustomerInsIghtgroup.Com

2. Less than 50% zeroing in on those people, meijer stores
you will boost your bottom line
meijer, a midwestern super-
of shoppers in 2010 instead of eroding your margin
center retailer, proves a unique
reported purchasing with excess discounts.
method — voicemail marketing —
the brand they had once “Loyalty is built on both the can bring tremendous results.
been most loyal to. rational and the emotional,” said It is not telemarketing, said
the loyal customer values some- sallie Burnett, Ceo of Customer senior vice president of marketing
thing beyond the price tag. truly Insight group. “the customer’s Jeff handler. It’s a personal
loyal consumers will buy from rational side is drawn to good phone calls from the store to the
a retailer repeatedly, even if prices and the quality of the customer, reminding them of
they can find the same product product. the emotional, on the events or sales they may miss if
elsewhere at a better price, but other hand, is more about that they haven’t read the newspaper
recessionary times can affect sense of personal recognition, advertisements. negative
these purchase behaviors. of being treated differently than responses, in the form of people
anyone else. when the two sides who did not want the calls, were
most retailers, however, still meld together in the customer’s minimal, handler said. Best of
believe cost is key. mind, you’ve secured their loyalty.” all, the personal calls created
“even though 70 percent of cus- a strong bond between its
To keep customers happy, treat
tomers say poor service sent customers and the store.
them well: Communicate. win
them elsewhere, businesses the company’s return on its
them over and win them back.
believe price is the main cause investment was an impressive
treat them as individuals, by
for such losses,” writes Bob 200 percent.
knowing their tastes, behaviors,
thompson, Ceo of Customer
even their birthdays.
think Corporation.
In fact, discount prices can back-
fire because low-price shoppers “ e x e c u t i n g a s u c c e s s f u L L o y a Lt y p r o g r a m r e q u i r e s
often do not become loyal, profit- focusing your discounts, and your resources,
able customers. o n c u s t o m e r s y o u c a n a c t u a L Ly i m p a c t. ”
“Continued use of discount-ori-
ented offers tends to attract only
price-motivated shoppers, and Give them appreciation that while cell phone customers
when a lower price shows up non-loyalty-program members were not included in these
elsewhere, these customers will don’t receive to make them calls, meijer’s is now testing a
leave you,” writes matt griffin, feel valued: access to new program in which customers
associate editor of Catalog programs, private auctions or sign up to receive text-message
success. “when you overuse dis- invitations to members-only alerts about a subject on every-
counts, you actually encourage sales, trunk shows, new product one’s minds: gas prices.
disloyalty because the customers testing, participation in an elite “If you signed up for this
will come back only when you president’s Council that provides program, you would get a gas
offer the best price.” feedback and insight. these alert that says, ‘gas prices will
small things cost companies increase before 1 p.m.’,” handler
executing a successful loyalty
little but pay big dividends by said. the alert gives customers
program requires focusing your
deepening customer loyalty. time to fill up before the higher
discounts, and your resources,
price takes effect.
on customers you can actually here are some companies that
impact. these typically aren’t make it work and the methods “It’s a service we’re offering. You
price-oriented shoppers. By they’ve chosen: decide if you wish to play or not,”
|| ©2010 Customer InsIght group, InC. ph: 303.422.9758 www.CustomerInsIghtgroup.Com

3. handler said. “It’s a combination target fills for them. seniors are the
of the right application with the primary benefactors here.
target’s reDcard program
right messaging device.”
rewards shoppers with some with programs like these, target
discounts, but because it’s moves far beyond the product-
things remembered
already considered a low-cost based drivers on which similar
things remembered’s niche store, target has taken the discount stores focus, making
market could have been con-
unique approach of engendering multi-generational connections.
sidered both a blessing and a
loyalty through community
curse. Brides and bridesmaids All of this good will gets plenty of
involvement with its take Charge
frequently purchase its person- press, furthering the store’s repu-
of education program.
alized, classic gifts. the chal- tation as a community member,
lenge was that these customers through the program, shoppers not just a major corporation
breezed in, spent heavily and can choose the school they want seeking to fatten its bottom line.
didn’t return after the weddings their money to benefit. target, in
getting to the level of
By getting to know the bridal turn, donates 1 percent of that
customer intimacy required
customer, the company changed customer’s in-store and online
for a successful loyalty program
the dynamic of the customer purchases to the school.
means digging deep through
relationship and turned the tide this creates a multi-level con- reams of data to create mes-
on the one-time pattern. things nection among the store, the sages that are relevant to your
remembered personalized its mar- customer and the community. best customers.
keting based on the type of gifts By shopping at target, these cus-
and date of purchase. By referring But the rewards are great. Just as
tomers feel they truly are making
to individuals past purchases — we choose the same household
a difference.
making the customer feel noticed items based on familiarity and our
and worthy of the company’s atten- Its pharmacy rewards program positive experiences with them,
tion — the company then intro- offers regular customers 10 truly loyal customers will time and
duced one-time purchasers to its percent off a day’s shopping after again choose you and your prod-
wide array of gift items. every tenth prescription target ucts without a second thought.
s a L L i e B u r n e t t – strategist. Leader. innovator.
With over 20 years’ experience in strategic marketing, sales management and customer
relationship management, Customer Insight Group founder Sallie Burnett has built her
vanguard reputation by crafting solid customer-centric strategies that drive bottom-line
success for her clients. Renowned for her out-of-the-box thinking and wealth of experi-
ence, she’s been sought out by many of the nation’s top companies to engage, keep and
grow their customer relationships at every point along their customer relationship journey.
Her insight results in better aligned sales, service and marketing, while generating the
Sallie Burnett greatest return on investment based on the voice and value of the customer.
president, Ceo
Customer Insight group
twitter.com/sallieburnett c u s t o m e r i n s i g h t g r o u p, i n c .
Customer Insight Group is a strategic marketing company that uses customer information
to help its clients engage in successful and profitable long-term relationships with each
and every customer. It provides marketing strategy, customer research, data analysis,
program development, implementation and refinement of customer-centric programs
including: loyalty, social media, customer engagement, retention, win-back and new
customer acquisition.
671 Secrest Circle
1
Arvada, CO 80007
ph: 303.422.9758 Customer relationships — engage.Keep.grow.
|| ©2010 Customer InsIght group, InC. ph: 303.422.9758 www.CustomerInsIghtgroup.Com