CustomerVoice

Customer Loyalty Programs

Customer loyalty programs are considered innovative ways to create customer loyalty. Unfortunately, customers have plenty of customer loyalty programs to choose from, which can often dilute their value. A 2005 study by JupiterResearch found that nearly two-thirds of all retailers that have an online presence will have a formal customer loyalty program in place within a year. These customer loyalty programs often provide frequent shopper discounts, point systems and coupons that are designed to lure customers back to the store as often as possible.

Unfortunately, many industry experts are divided on whether the large expense of introducing and managing a customer loyalty program are worth it. Regardless of the type of customer loyalty program, organizations still need to provide a convenient and effective way to communicate with their customers. Statistics show that frustrated customers who don't see a way to give meaningful feedback will simply never do business with a company again—and likely spread negative feedback among their associates. Feedback systems have proven to be effective customer loyalty programs. When organizations take the time to listen, analyze and respond to customer feedback, often, the result is a much more loyal customer.

The Active Listening System by Allegiance is a suite of Web-based feedback tools that can help increase customer retention and loyalty. Organizations can use the Allegiance system to gather feedback about their customer loyalty programs, as well as their products and services. As a result, rather than creating customer loyalty programs based upon what they believe customers want, they can develop programs that are tailored to the specific needs of their customers.

Learn how to effectively use customer loyalty programs