Customer Loyalty: Can You Buy it?

Cutomer Loyalty smallIn the retail world, customer loyalty is a fickle beast – hard to garner, easy to lose. So, when we saw a recent CPG Marketing Trends article which took an interesting look at this elusive element of successful retail strategy, we couldn’t help but comment.

The article, titled ‘Can You Buy Customer Loyalty,’ takes an in-depth look at the concept of customer loyalty from a loyalty program perspective. Loyalty programs have, over the last few years, grown in importance for many retailers looking to take control of a very un-loyal market. According to the article, the loyalty program approach to customer loyalty is two-pronged – “first create a brand loyal customer and secondly reward that customer for exclusively buying from the brand.” So, does this approach mean retailers can actually buy customer loyalty?

Looking at a study done in 2013 by fast.Map, the article suggests no, loyalty can’t be bought – at least not loyalty that lasts. Why? According to the study, “20% of consumers said they would switch loyalties if offered a better loyalty program by a competitor. 33% of those surveyed use loyalty programs to try out and buy from brands they wouldn’t normally use and a full 96% of consumers would be tempted to switch allegiances to a competitor for a good price promotion.”

So, while you can effectively use a loyalty program to tempt customers to try your brand, or switch from a competitors’, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll stay. Check out the full article here: http://www.cpgtrends.com/2014/06/can-you-buy-customer-loyalty/.

Loyalty programs have become an integral part of many retailers’ strategies for building customer loyalty – but they can’t be the only part. In order to keep customers coming back, you need to provide more than just a monetary incentive. A pleasant shopping experience, great customer service, and well-stocked shelves all work towards getting customers through the door – a loyalty program alone just can’t achieve the same results.

Want some help getting those customer loyalty numbers up? Marketsupport can help. Call us today at 1-877-421-5081.

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