Building Customer Loyalty A tale in 7 steps

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1. The Shape Shifter

Lawrence of Arabia didnt always ride a camel! Your customers will constantly surprise you Customer Knowledge is competitive advantage
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Leveraging Customer Knowledge

Scoring and segmentation, propensity models, churn analysis, satisfaction scores, lifetime value metrics, Store scoring, market basket, exceptions

Notes: Theres a load of analytical approaches beyond RFM for retailers wishing to leverage customer knowledge. Not all of these appear to be easy to adopt and marketers shun analytics more out of a lack of understanding of what it can do for them. Get the experts in, listen to them youll find that theres ROI in it for you.

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2. The Painter

Customer flight is inevitable unless you can paint yourself into their picture Build fences, increase their switching cost Bottomline: Get your concept right
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Getting the concept right Objectives, metrics, software, membership, tiers, rules & processes, earnburn, rewards, benefits, communication, helpdesk, partners, ROI, budgets
Notes Building a loyalty program concept requires not just sound strategic thinking, but loads of rigor. The success lies in being able to detail out solutions to over 100 decision points that a loyalty program concept needs to cover. You cannot be reacting to situations as they happen!
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3. The Card Magician

Its more than a card trick Loyalty programs are a proven way to capture customer data and prevent customer flight Its about building relationships and increasing LTV, not just launching a card
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The Loyalty Card

Smart card, RFID, Mag stripe, bar code card, affinity cards, card variants, cobranded cards, card readers, carding

Notes The loyalty card is the most familiar face of a loyalty program. There are many options here as well, but the key point is that launching a card does not a loyalty program make. This space is littered with failed programs that were launched as a card and little else.

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4. The Neuromancer

If marketing and IT dont shake hands, you might as well hang up your loyalty boots Technology integration is crucial to success
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IT and the Prorgam Loyalty software, CRM software, analytical CRM software, marketing database, POS integration, liability tracking, points banking, campaign mgmt
Notes The software on which your program depends needs to be designed carefully, and should handle all aspects of your program. Retail POS solutions often offer a basic loyalty module these are usually inadequate! The point: Dont design your program to fit the software.

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5. The Band

You need superheroes skilled in marketing, technology, and analytics It takes teams that are nurtured and last It takes patience and top management buy in
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The Loyalty manager Loyalty manager, loyalty agency, CRM consultant, IT team, Software developer, events & promotions team, rewards team, creative agency...
Notes The team that drives the program internally needs to be composed of skills that are difficult to find in any market. Direct marketing, CRM and Loyalty skills need to be nurtured and the team needs top management support. Importantly, you will need to rely on the right partners to come in with specific skills.

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6. The Campaigner

Loyalty programs throw up a wealth of data driven campaigns Good campaign management allows you to handle hundreds of segments and communications simultaneously
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Campaign Management Campaign calendar, welcome kit, statements, coupons, daypart based, cross sell, activation, churn prevention, win-back, relationship building
Notes Campaign management practices are better established amongst the banks than retailers, but here is where the real pay-off is. Leverage campaign management tools as they will allow you to run hundreds of targeted campaigns which really do pay off, as compared to a few festival offers and generic promotions.

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7. The Timekeeper

Building loyalty takes money, time and patience Assume it will take you 2-3 years to truly reap benefits Youre in it for the long run, arent you?
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A matter of patience Points liability, breakage, ROI, enrolment, member base, activity levels, satisfaction scores, incremental revenues, wallet share, referrals
Notes Set expectations right. To launch a program AND expect a jump in sales within 6 months is pushing it. Building up a quality member base (no mass enrolments), setting up the back end, campaign management these all take time and effort, and the metrics to measure success take time to show the returns.

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To Summarize
1. Customers shape-shift 2. You need to paint yourself into their world with a good concept 3. Loyalty programs are more than card magic 4. You need to get marketing and IT in sync 5. The team needs top management buy in 6. The pay off is in the data led campaigns 7. The pay off comes with patience

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Cartesian Consulting
www.cartesianconsulting.com
Sandeep Mittal (BE - Pune Univ, IIM-Cal): The Business Head of Cartesian, Sandeep has 7 years of varied experience spanning CRM, analytics, loyalty program management, direct marketing and website development. With past stints as an entrepreneur heading a technology startup and a music portal, Sandeep spearheads the Cartesian practice. Sandeep can be reached at smittal@cartesianconsulting.com

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