How Loyal Are Consumers? Retailers Lead, TV Service Providers Lag In Loyalty

Bruce Temkin, Vice President & Principal Analyst at Forrester Research just published research called How Loyal Are Consumers? Not Very that examines the loyalty that consumers have with 113 large firms across 12 industries: airlines, banks, cell phone service providers, credit card providers, hotels, insurance firms, Internet service providers, investment firms, medical insurance companies, PC manufacturers, retailers, and TV service providers.

We asked 4,500+ US consumers about three areas of loyalty:

1. Willingness to consider the provider for another purchase
2. Reluctance to switch business away from the provider
3. Likelihood to recommend the provider to a friend or colleague

Here are some of the industry-level findings (in terms of the percentage of loyal customers):

• Willingness-to-repurchase
  • Leaders: Retailers (89%) and Insurers (82%)
  • Laggards: TV Service Providers (69%) and ISPs (73%)
• Reluctance-to-switch
  • Leaders: Retailers (80%) and Investment Firms (73%)
  • Laggards: Airlines (62%) and TV Service Providers (63%)
• Likelihood-to-recommend
  • Leaders: Retailers (81%) and Insurers (75%)
  • Laggards: TV Service Providers (59%) and Health Plans (60%)

Source : Customer Experience Matters

Brand Loyalty and Economic Recession Influence Teen and Young Adult Consumer Behavior

Euro RSCG Discovery, the North American data analytics, CRM and behavioral marketing
agency network of Euro RSCG Worldwide, today announced a new study of teen and young
adult consumers, ages 13 to 21, found that consumer behavior among females in this
age group has shifted more than that of males in the economic recession.  The
study also found brand loyalty is increasingly important among this age group,
as a majority of teenagers and young adults (73%) shop at a set group of
stores.

"There is an immense opportunity for gender-specific behavioral marketing that
will engage teens and young adults in this recession, especially when it
targets those that spend their own money," said Zain Raj, CEO of Euro RSCG
Discovery and Global Practice Leader, Retail Brands of Euro RSCG Worldwide.
"Although the economy is impacting teen consumers, and particularly young
women, loyalty patterns indicate that marketers stand to benefit most from
advertising brand value and finding new ways to become part of this age
group's brand rituals."

According to the survey, female teens and young adults are more worried about
the economy (92% v. 87%) and are more likely to engage in money-saving
activities (41% v. 35%) than males.  Compared to one year ago, nearly half of
females in this age group are looking for sales (48%) and staying home (51%)
more often, compared to fewer than 43% of males in both categories.

The males surveyed were more likely to report not being affected by the
economic slowdown (15% v. 7%) and that the relationships they have with the
stores they shop at have grown stronger over the last year.  In fact,
significantly more males than females always (6% v. 3%) or usually (26% v.
17%) buy brand name clothing at full retail price.  Almost half (48%) of the
males polled buy high-end brands just as often, and nearly one-third (29%)
spend money on entertainment more often. 

However, males are more likely to shop for one item at a time (42% v. 33%) and
to think of clothing as seasonal (19% v. 13%).  They are also far less likely
to seek information from media, catalogs and the Web for their purchase
decisions.

"Now more than ever, it is important for brands to capitalize on the
relationships they have with this younger audience," said Raj.  "While young
consumers are becoming more conscientious about their purchases, they still
return to the stores and brands they are familiar with when it comes time to
buy."

The survey revealed the best opportunity to target the younger generation of
consumers is in stores, despite a high proliferation of internet and social
network use among this age group.  The study found that more than 70% of
teenagers and young adults research and make purchases in stores.  In
addition, stores were the most prominent source of fashion purchase
information, compared to word of mouth (53%), catalogs (37%), magazines (23%),
online (20%) and TV (17%).

The study, based on an online survey of 1000 teens aged 13 to 21, was
conducted in partnership with American Student List, the nation's leading
provider of student and youth marketing data and part of the Euro RSCG
Discovery network. Data was weighted to be geographically representative.

Source : Euro RSCG Discovery

SOURCE  Euro RSCG Worldwide

Mise en place simple d'un programme de fidélisation

Fidéliser un client, c'est créer une relation de confiance. Un programme de fidélisation, c'est une arme de séduction massive. Un programme de fidélisation permet de comprendre les habitudes et comportements d'achats de vos consommateurs : valeurs des achats effectués, produits et services achetés et la fréquence d'achat.

Lorsque votre compréhension des habitudes de consommations de vos consommateurs est maîtrisée, vous pouvez alors communiquer de façon optimale. Vos interactions seront pertinentes, car, elles seront basées leurs besoins et leurs désirs.

Avant de mettre en place un programme de fidélisation, vous devez considérer les éléments suivants :

Rétention de vos clients
Tout type d'entreprise est concernée par la rétention de sa clientèle. Des solutions pour les petites entreprises sont disponibles, via le Web et Internet. Une entreprise telle que FanBox simplifie le processus d'implantation et de lancement de votre programme de fidélisation ou de carte-cadeau.

Une mise en marché ciblée vers vos clients les plus rentables se traduira par un retour sur investissement plus élevé que des efforts de recrutement de nouvelles clientèles.

Vos clients ne sont pas tous égaux
Votre entreprise doit concentrer ses efforts sur ses clients contribuant le plus à votre chiffre
d'affaires. Une base de données contenant les informations transactionnelles aide grandement à identifier les clients les plus profitables et développer des avantages et privilèges propres à vos clients loyaux.

Quels sont vos objectifs?
La première chose à faire, avant la mise en place d'un programme de fidélisation, c'est de fixer un ou des objectifs. Ex. :

• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients achètent plus souvent?
• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients achètent plus d'un produit ou service?
• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients achètent des produits ou services complémentaires?
• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients achètent des produits à plus forte marge ou à valeurs ajoutées?
• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients réfèrent des nouveaux clients

Les objectifs varieront selon votre type de produits ou service et votre secteur de marché.

Simple d'utilisation
Il est important que votre programme de fidélisation soit simple et que la récompense soit atteignable. Une prime inatteignable peut générer un effet négatif sur votre entreprise et du même coup, affaiblir le lien de confiance entre vous et vos clients.

Mesure des résultats
Il est primordial de mesurer les résultats de votre programme de fidélisation, afin de déterminer si ce dernier à un effet positif sur la rentabilité de votre entreprise. Ex:

• Ai-je atteint mes objectifs?
• Est-ce que les bénéfices sont supérieurs aux coûts du programme?
• Ai-je augmenté le taux de satisfaction de mes clients?
• Est-ce que mes clients me refirent des nouveaux prospects?

Soft drink bottle caps become loyalty tokens

Drinkers of Jarritos soft drinks in the US are being given the opportunity to turn in their bottle caps for prizes ranging from music downloads to HDTVs, through a new loyalty rewards promotion called Club Jarritos. Club Jarritos begins this month as a points-under-the-cap promotion through the Jarritos, Mineragua, and Jarritos Kids brands.

Anyone aged 13 or over can redeem points for prizes including CDs, Chivas T-Shirts, Voit soccer balls, and unique jewellery. Other rewards include gift cards for retailers such as JCPenney, Best Buy, and The Home Depot, as well as movie tickets, MP3 players, and even money transfers via MoneyGram. The promotion is being supported using Spanish-language radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet, and alternative media (such as e-blasts and text messaging). Details are available to consumers through the Club Jarritos bi-lingual web site as well as through in-store displays.

Source : The Wise Marketer

Segmenting on Loyalty - Television viewing data

In Simulmedia’s ongoing analysis of second-by-second television viewing data, we’re learning more about how people choose the programs they watch and how they watch the programs they choose. Some of the most surprising insights we’ve uncovered relate to people’s loyalty to programming.

Approaching loyalty through our personal television watching experience, we start with the programs to which we are loyal, the programs we eagerly await each week. In light of our attitude toward those programs, we can’t help think that everybody that watches our programs is like us, that our programs’ audiences are as devoted as we are.

Extending to other programs, we think that all programs have a similarly loyal audience. All these other programs that we’re not watching, they have their loyal audiences. Other viewers are making dates to watch these programs and are eagerly awaiting their start times.

Dominant promotional strategy bolsters this perspective on television viewing. Networks focus their marketing efforts on their loyal “core” audience - typically a demographic. By concentrating their promotional arsenal in their own programming, networks endeavor to extend their core audience’s viewing to the next program. If network’s loyal core audience is consistent and large, then the standard promotional strategy makes sense.

It turns out that we’re wrong.

Program loyalty is the exception, not the rule. Only a minority of a program’s viewers is faithful and watches every installment. Most of any program’s audience is just passing through. They tune in to a program once or twice in the course of a season, and then go their merry way.

Source and long text : Simulmedia

New Research Examines Escalating Competition in Bank Rewards/Loyalty Sector

A new report from Mercator Advisory Group's Retail Banking Practice, Weaponizing Loyalty: New Schemes Bolster Bank Competitiveness offers an in-depth examination of bank loyalty initiatives vitally relevant in today's banking environment.

These new rewards/loyalty initiatives are supported by a new crop of loyalty vendors offering financial institutions, and their merchant partners, the ability to parse bank customer transactional data to craft customized rewards across a spectrum of deposit products.

These services will change the competitive landscape of the retail banking industry. By year end 2010, Mercator Advisory Group predicts that 360º relationship-based loyalty programs will be the New Normal within the banking industry and that merchant funded co-branding, deposit account-based rewards programs and promotion individuation will become the hallmarks of these programs.

Source : Loyalty 360