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)

Brands need to show loyalty to earn customer loyalty

To catch a customer, you must think like a customer

The newly released study, "The Rules of NextGen Loyalty," reveals how Gen Z and Millennials have been empowered by unique experiences, technology, and the power of choice to engage brands and experience loyalty in truly new ways.

Conducted by Alliance Data's Analytics & Insights Institute, "The Rules of NextGen Loyalty" study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods including mobile diaries and digital app tracking to determine behaviors, follow-up one-on-one Skype conversations to provide context, and a survey to identify the differences, perspectives, and preferences among younger generations.

The progressive approach sheds light on the difference between what consumers say and what they do. To create insights that can help brands understand the market and tap into trends based on customer behavior, the study took a close look at what brand loyalty means to each of these segments:

• Older Millennials: Born 1982-1989
• Younger Millennials: Born 1990-1997
• Generation Z: Born 1998-2010

Some highlights from the report:

• Loyalty is earned. Understanding the role of and influences on choice is more important than ever before
  63% of younger consumers agree they have many choices of where to shop, so a brand must show them loyalty to earn their business. Once brands recognize the unique motivations of Gen Z and Millennials, they have taken the critical first step in building deep brand connectivity and earning lasting loyalty.
• Loyalty is complex. Traditionally, loyalty has been viewed as one-dimensional. Yet, loyalty is anything but simple. Research shows when it comes to life loyalty and brand loyalty, a continuum emerges spanning a range from functional to emotional. Different types of loyalty span the continuum from traditional, mostly functional loyalty, to brand love, emotional loyalty. Re-thinking a brand's approach to loyalty means understanding that true loyalty requires a combination of function and emotion.
• Loyalty is fragile. Today's younger consumers are increasingly unforgiving. They are empowered by instant access and greater choice to want more and "put up" with less. In fact, 76% of younger consumers only give brands two to three chances before they stop shopping them. One in three consumers said nothing could be done when asked what a brand could do to win them back.
• Loyalty is multifaceted. Brands have typically viewed loyalty through a transactional lens. But NextGen loyalty is a combination of transaction (function) and emotion - traditional brand loyalty and brand love loyalty. Transactions aren't the only indicators of loyalty. Brands must understand customers' unique needs and think differently about measuring loyalty. Some consumers want the basics while others need more.

Alliance Data is releasing the results of its "The Rules of NextGen Loyalty" study during this year's Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas. To access deeper insights into NextGen Loyalty, visit http://KnowMoreSellMore.com/NextGenLoyalty

"This study really unpacks the shopping and loyalty preferences of today's youngest consumer segment," said Shannon Andrick, vice president of marketing advancement for Alliance Data's card services business. "One-to-one conversations with real people supported by in-depth research has provided a unique view into the mindset of today's youngest generations and what they expect from brand relationships. The loyalty landscape has truly shifted from brands driving loyalty to brands earning loyalty."

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)