Loyalty programs have come of age and now constitute the backbone of numerous industries. Loyalty programs are known to have contributed much towards the growth of both B2C and B2B marketplaces. This loyalty concept has largely been explored by mass marketers and the brands targeted by them. These brands have even gained much out of these programs while researching on their dedicated customer base.
Is retention better than acquisition?
A number of industry surveys have projected that about 60% of the customers that participate in loyalty programs have experienced huge profits with their online purchases. A majority of the industry experts are of the view that these programs form a key aspect of any marketing model. They tend to view investing in these programs as truly worthwhile and consider it as a key component of their marketing mix. Targeted retention has been a major shift from the traditional method of mass acquisition. Customers have largely benefitted from such a shift as all loyalty programs are now dealing with the challenges hampering customer retention. Their primary objective is to turn the one-time users into “loyal” customers.
A business imperative like that of “loyalty” persists within a competitive market. The traditional selling concept has evolved with time and this has turned “loyalty” into an important factor of late. Much to the delight of consumers, these loyalty programs exist even in the dental industry. In order to expand the efficacy of market offers, loyalty programs, and advanced communicative platform, the modern marketers are making the most of consumer interactions, insights, data and touch-points to help in the evolution of Loyalty from an old point-based model to an advanced marketing model.
In an attempt to ensure long-term business achievements, every brand has to generate a customer database based on their research of customer trends. They must consider factors like customer interaction, engagement, and loyalty while developing their business models as it provides them with more insight into the future. Most of these brands lookout for new means that help them improve consumer engagement. The B2C programs even yield more opportunities for the customer to earn more rewards and achieve more savings from their purchases. All customers are now being able to maximize the benefits of their loyalty programs as the latest engagement technologies are now in use.
Measuring customer engagement
Consumers are always looking for additional benefits and they feel happier when they’re filled with surprises. The top-rated engagement channels are frequented by market research companies through MaxDiff Analysis and similar surveys as they encourage customers to participate and share their queries. All the loyalty attempts are directed in a way to assist customers in achieving the right mix of rewards by engaging in long conversations and toughening their bond with the desired brand.
Loyalty programs cease to be based on points anymore. Communicative marketing platforms tend to measure even the slightest changes in the consumer behavior and utilize their data-centric marketing model towards forming a destination called “Loyalty”. Challenges are often posed by consumers that respond mainly to hard-discount programs or point-based programs of a more generous nature. Alternatively, some buyers have started preferring the soft benefits that they gain out of these loyalty programs. In this era of globalization, it has become much smoother for consumers to share their preferences with their choicest brands more than ever before. The latest breed of loyalty programs has maximized interactive communication to a large extent simply by initiating an improvement of reward-levels and access points.
