Category — Loyalty Programs
Turning Lemons into Marketing Lemonade
The economic environment is scary. If the possibility of a $700 billion bailout isn’t frightening enough, our area is out of gas.
Station after station has bags over the nozzles, indicating that there is no fuel available. When a tanker arrives, lines quickly form, snaking through neighborhoods or blocking major highways. Some places had waits of two hours or more. Others called law enforcement to break up fights.
But then there’s Sam’s Club. Yes, you read it correctly: Sam’s Club. The sibling of Walmart, the little organization that we love to bash. Instead of price gouging, limiting purchases, and using public resources, their team worked out a plan.
The price of gas at Sam’s was $3.78 today. This compares to $4.79 at other stations. [Read more →]
Are You Building Relationships or Bribing Customers?
If you ask any marketing director, loyalty programs are a function of marketing. If you ask any long term customer, why they are loyal, service, quality, and responsiveness top the list.
Customer loyalty is more than retention and frequency of purchase. It is strength of conviction that motivates a customer to be personally devoted to a specific brand or company.
Loyalty programs such as bonus points or discounts can encourage customer retention and purchase frequency, but can not generate loyalty alone. Loyalty is generated by the knowledge that a company or brand will consistently meet or exceed the customer’s expectations. It is a rare customer that will say, “The service is horrible, but they have a great loyalty program.” [Read more →]
Dear Jane Customer, It has been nice knowing you.
Dear Jane,
We value you as a customer, but you don’t provide enough business to justify the few bytes your information occupies on our server. We are providing this opportunity for you to keep your frequent flyer miles. Since you haven’t flown with us for a while, you have 30 days to use the travel miles you have earned.
If you don’t use the points within the deadline, you will be allowed to purchase them back at a rate that costs as much or more than a full price ticket to some destinations.
Sincerely,
Your Airline Friends
Maybe I’m wrong, but aren’t frequent flyer programs supposed to encourage customer loyalty? Airlines and other companies expect customers to be faithful and choose their services over the competition, because they provide an opportunity for free flight. Then, they change the rules at their discretion. Loyalty, between company and customer, is a two way street. It requires both parties to be committed to each other. [Read more →]
