The Loyalty Leap

Editorial Review

It’s a vexing situation for business leaders that one of our most valuable assets is also the least likely to be quantified. Of course it’s hard enough to identify our best customers, let alone know what moves them to choose one brand over another. If you were asked about your company’s profitability, you’d be able to produce income statements and quarterly reports. But if you were asked how loyal your customers are, could you back up the answer with a definitive formula or measure? As companies struggle to determine how loyal their customers are in this increasingly competitive market, the loyalty marketing industry is growing dramatically on a global scale. The fundamentals of loyalty marketing are relevant to everyone from retailers to credit card companies, from service companies to health care and now even to governments. True loyalty marketing transcends the programmatic experience that occupies the wallets of most consumers—make a purchase, earn a few points. The customer information and insights that arise from these loyalty programs is the fuel required to empower a new competitive platform.