1to1 Media, Mila D''Antonio
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
While loyalty is a strategic imperative for many companies, others still view it as a one-time approach rather than a journey that spans customers' lifecycles and takes into account their preferences and purchasing histories.
According to survey findings released yesterday from ACI Worldwide, more than 2 in 5 consumers have had a negative experience with a customer loyalty program and although three out of four Americans are members of at least one retail loyalty card program, 85 percent of members report that they haven't heard from their loyalty program since the day they signed up.
Likewise, 81 percent say they don't even know the benefits of the program or how and when they will receive rewards.
Additional findings include:
• 62 percent join retail loyalty programs so they can get discounts on the things they buy most, yet only about 36 percent received a reward or promotion that made them come back to the store again, and 27 percent of consumers complain they have received a reward or promotion for something they would never buy.
• Only 27 percent of Americans have received a loyalty program reward or promotion that made them feel like they were valued as a customer.
• 81 percent of American loyalty program members are enrolled in a program that they don't completely understand.
The goal of any loyalty program is to drive customer engagement, but the survey shows that marketers are neglecting a valuable mechanism to engage customers with relevant offers, communicate updates, and collect rich feedback.
Stop neglecting this valuable channel and start using it the way it was intended--to make customer feel appreciated, valued, and satisfied.