Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

Learnings from Waitrose's hot drinks loyalty scheme

This is an example of a loyalty scheme that has attracted a lot of attention - especially around its level of success, impact on profits and customer satisfaction. Some have argued the supermarket chain failed to incorporate any mechanisms in the planning stage, to prevent the programme being abused by newly acquired customers, while others claimed the values and culture of its current customer base have been neglected.

The Grass Roots Group recently conducted research which revealed that more than half of consumers (55%) cited loyalty rewards as an important factor when staying with a provider, and 23% have even switched to a new provider because of its customer loyalty scheme. This highlights the importance of getting it right. The role played by good insight, planning and strategy before implementing a customer loyalty or retention scheme should not be underestimated in order to avoid fire-fighting when a programme becomes too big or opposes the aim of business growth - evidenced by Waitrose giving away one million cups to its 5.6m customers a week, at its peak.

With figures suggesting that the cost of customer acquisition is five times greater than keeping an existing customer happy, it is imperative that brands do not avoid putting in the effort and deploying tactics to ensure customers don't stray and that brand loyalty isn't compromised. It is therefore important to get the balance right between rewarding loyal customers and serving free coffee to the masses.

Utilise customer research
Focus on your existing customer research. These are the customers you want to reward for their loyalty after all. Consider the relevance of the scheme in mind to determine whether the angle is the most beneficial for your current consumers. You should consider whether the customer needs or wants something for free; the attraction of the scheme doesn't have to be reliant on financial savings for the customer. It can be viewed more as a gift for a customer's loyalty, and should not result in handing out freebies to everyone who walks through the door. Essentially is this reward really relevant for your customers, or is it tailored for everyone?

Consider a risk management plan
First, communicate schemes to your customers clearly, simply and upfront; consumers should know why it is that they are being rewarded and how they can obtain their prize - they shouldn't have to search through an extensive 'Terms and Conditions apply' blurb that's set to catch them out.

Install promotional risk management mechanics that will help stop the entire world catching onto the scheme straight away and then take advantage of the company's generosity. This can be achieved by limiting the advertising of the promotion, or tailoring it so only your current customer base can view the reward scheme in place, such as through a consumer mailing list.

Brands can also look into building in a redemption stage that relies on purchase, or simply only doing the promotions on specific days at specific times.

Ensure programmes are carefully targeted
Both new and existing customer bases should be taken into account when considering a reward scheme. Some programmes suffer in the basic 'compensation' approach to loyalty, which may be with good intentions motivated by a pure desire to say thank you, but every promotion or programme has the potential to alienate the most loyal customer if their needs and values aren't targeted and carefully considered.

When it comes to which industry does it best, supermarkets are leading the way in rewarding customer loyalty, with our research revealing more than half of us are part of these types of schemes and are reaping the benefits.

However, insurance companies are missing a trick by failing to capitalise on loyalty schemes to retain customers, with the vast majority of consumers (90%) unaware of whether their supplier even offers an incentive scheme.

"The loyalty scheme in place should satisfy the customers that regularly flock to your doors, before reaching out to entice a whole new wave of potential consumers that may or may not stick around," concluded Horsham. "By carefully targeting a scheme at the planning stages brands can ensure that they won't be left firefighting as a result of creating a programme which may not meet the original objective."

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)