Some best and worst Loyalty Programs

Source: (Best and worst, 2014)

In this post we are going to discuss about two best and worst loyalty programs of some big organisations. Here are the two best loyalty program:

Starbucks: Reward Program

  Source: (Squarespace.com, n.d.)

This is one of the best programme in the market and it’s due to one big reason which is "free stuff". The basic idea behind the program is to “reward” a consumer for frequent visits. It included a free dink on the birthday and two Hours of free Wi-Fi per day, which went on to free refills and many more things.

Best buy: Reward zone

Source: (simicart.com, 2016)

Nearly two years ago, best buy was charging an annual fee for its free loyalty program which was known as ”reward zone”. This was one of the best program for big purchases like buying electronic products. The reward system got 1 point for each dollar they spent.  When the points earned reached a certain limit, they client got free shipping of the goods, extended return policy and many more perks. 

Now it is time for some of the loyalty programs which didn't live up to its expectations or were suspected and were put under scrutiny. Here are two such loyalty programs

Loyalty card of supermarkets

Source: (licdn.com, n.d.)

This may come up as a surprise to most of the readers but it is true. A research was conducted by Consumers against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN). In the research it was found that, supermarkets tend to increase the price of goods on loyalty cards by 28% to 71%.

Subway: The Sub club

Source: (asset-cache.net, n.d.)

Subway had one of the best reward programme named “The sub club”. In this reward programme a customer got a free sub once his card was filled with the stamps. Soon, with the time it was found out that it was very easy to counterfeit the stamps. Subway was also exposed as it couldn’t keep track record of its programme and soon this programme was withdrawn from the market.

I hope you all enjoyed reading the post. Share and comment down for more questions and to give feedbacks

Source: (Notte, 2010)

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from Squarespace.com: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/52ccee75e4b00bc0dba03f46/t/5444c58ee4b067cc717b4230/1413793167092/Starbucks+MSR

(n.d.). Retrieved from licdn.com: https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAALcAAAAJDRmYzY5YTdiLTdjNjUtNDY1ZS05YmJjLTRlZDMyOTE0OGIzNw.png

(n.d.). Retrieved from asset-cache.net: http://cache2.asset-cache.net/gc/53028102-information-relating-to-the-sub-club-customer-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=OCUJ5gVf7YdJQI2Xhkc2QEXciYJcibM8EV%2F5T63ojYUYKZ5H8AaowBYzNUw0waK8wDyVas2d%2FbB4nHxeoaZaVQ%3D%3D

(2016, February). Retrieved from simicart.com: https://www.simicart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/earnrewards_en.jpg

Best and worst. (2014, 03 29). Retrieved from http://www.prweb.com/: http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2014/03/29/11717358/tbm-best-worst-mattress-types-2014.png

Notte, J. (2010, June 25). Retrieved from Thestreet.com: https://www.thestreet.com/story/10788796/1/5-best-5-worst-customer-loyalty-programs.html

Disadvantages of Customer Loyalty Programs

Source: (macxdvd.com, n.d.)

We have discussed about the advantages of the customers but like everything it also has its disadvantages. Here is the list of the disadvantages of the loyalty programmes:

·   One thing with these programmes is that these programmes are being offered by everyone. The company you love will be using those and the competitors of the company would also be using these programmes. This has become like a necessity. A company needs to have a loyalty programme to have a loyal customer base.

Source: (redbubble.net, n.d.)

·   It is a necessity these days but it can’t be patented by any company. Any company can copy the programme of some other company by making some small modifications to it.

Source: (Moneygossips.com, n.d.)

· If you start up a new company and are providing the highest possible services but don’t have a loyalty programme whereas your competitor does. The products made by your company are of the highest quality and are on par or better than the product of your competitor. The customer will prefer the product of your rivals just because of the loyalty programme.

Source: (decidingfactor.us, 2013)

·  Other con of a loyalty program is that it is usually outsourced by the company. It means it is managed by some third- party, who keeps the personal information of the clients of the company. Those third parties can track a client’s activities anytime, like where the client shopped recently and many more.

               Source: (mysecuritysign.com, 2013)

·  The third parties who runs the loyalty programme sometimes share the private information of the client for surveys or other campaigns. In the world of internet, cybercrime is also very common. The hackers can take advantage of your personal information and the consequences can go very bad.

I hope you all enjoyed reading the post. Share and comment down for more questions and to give feedbacks

Source: (Disadvanatages of customer loyalty, 2012)

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from macxdvd.com: http://www.macxdvd.com/mac-dvd-video-converter-how-to/article-image/disadvantages.jpg

(n.d.). Retrieved from redbubble.net: http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.23218630.8712/sticker,375x360.u2.png

(n.d.). Retrieved from Moneygossips.com: http://i0.wp.com/www.moneygossips.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/copying-from-the-web.jpg

(2013). Retrieved from decidingfactor.us: http://decidingfactor.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TDF_Flat-Logo_FinalArt-01.png

(2013, February). Retrieved from mysecuritysign.com: http://www.mysecuritysign.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/You-Are-Under-Surveillance-Sign-K-7664.gif

Disadvanatages of customer loyalty. (2012, February). Retrieved from gtaggar.com: http://gtaggar.blogspot.ca/2012/02/disadvantages-of-customer-loyalty.html

Advantages of Customer Loyalty Programs

Source: (Business-opportunities.biz, 2015)

Customer Loyalty Programs are preferred by many big companies and it is due to the fact that it has a lot of advantages. Here is a list of advantages of the loyalty programs.

· These programs allow an organisation to put their focus on the best customers they have so that the customer satisfaction can be improved. Sometimes loyal customers are willing to pay more which will increase the cash flow to our business.

· These programs also help in bringing new customers to your company, maybe from the rival company or another segment of market. More new customers will come into the company if the programme offers a lot of value to them.

Source: (maxcdn.com, n.d.)

·  These programs also help in building up the relation between the company and the customer which may last for a life time. This also takes the consideration of your customer being taken away by your competitor out of the window.

·  Loyal customers also are like a marketing strategy without a lot of cost incurred. They recommend the company to other customers on every instance possible. A customer’s referral has more power to entice his family and friends than the advertisements or other marketing campaigns.

Source: (Shoptizen.co, 2015)

· Loyalty programmes also help in identification of the best customers of the company by placing spotlight on them. As they show the best clients, they are also very helpful in providing about the bad customers.

· These programmes also help in winning back the lost customers who were in the bracket of “good customers” but left the company due to some reasons. A company knows these customers and trust these people and vice-versa.

Source: (autovusolutioncs.com, n.d.)

I hope you all enjoyed reading the post. Share and comment down for more questions and to give feedbacks

Source: (thewisemarketer.com, 2010)

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from maxcdn.com: http://ngdata.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/customer-retention-benefits.jpg

(n.d.). Retrieved from autovusolutioncs.com: https://gb2.autovusolutions.com/WorkingFolder/27530/BlogPix/17/NotForgotton.jpg

(2010, August). Retrieved from thewisemarketer.com: http://www.thewisemarketer.com/features/read.asp?id=120

(2015, April). Retrieved from Business-opportunities.biz: http://www.business-opportunities.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/advantages-to-owning-a-business-562x463.jpg

(2015, March). Retrieved from Shoptizen.co: http://www.shoptizen.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Teaser-1.jpg