How to Maintain and Sustain CUSTOMERS
Many industries are characterized by the fight not only to attract customers but also to retain their continuing support once captured. An example of using information to enhance customer bonding
and improve competitiveness is customer loyalty schemes. These schemes have long been a feature of marketing programs, with a recent example being Air Miles. There has been a large growth in the number and type of firms offering loyalty programs.
and improve competitiveness is customer loyalty schemes. These schemes have long been a feature of marketing programs, with a recent example being Air Miles. There has been a large growth in the number and type of firms offering loyalty programs.
These range from bookstores, such as WH Smith in Britain, which has a sophisticated database of millions of customers, through to credit card companies and telephone operators such as MCI in the USA, which pioneered the friends and family discount. For MCI, this single measure, undertaken with relatively modest advertising expenditure (5 percent of the market leader, AT&T), resulted in its
market share growing by 4 percent despite fierce competition. The inventiveness of loyalty programs is constantly surprising, revealing the brand values of the companies and the threat they pose to competitors. For example, Virgin Atlantic introduced an ingenious loyalty scheme for customer bonding, to reduce the time that it takes to get new customers.
What should be maintain:
• Create customer loyalty schemes to encourage repeat business
and build up a positive brand image among your client base.
• Focus on your competitors when creating a loyalty program.
What are they offering, and what can you offer that is better and
more enticing for the customer?
• Be creative with loyalty programs and other methods of customer
bonding. It is an area with many possibilities for innovation—
take advantage of them.
• Ask customer-facing employees how best to enhance customer
loyalty.
market share growing by 4 percent despite fierce competition. The inventiveness of loyalty programs is constantly surprising, revealing the brand values of the companies and the threat they pose to competitors. For example, Virgin Atlantic introduced an ingenious loyalty scheme for customer bonding, to reduce the time that it takes to get new customers.
What should be maintain:
• Create customer loyalty schemes to encourage repeat business
and build up a positive brand image among your client base.
• Focus on your competitors when creating a loyalty program.
What are they offering, and what can you offer that is better and
more enticing for the customer?
• Be creative with loyalty programs and other methods of customer
bonding. It is an area with many possibilities for innovation—
take advantage of them.
• Ask customer-facing employees how best to enhance customer
loyalty.
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