Having a loyal customer base is one sure-fire way to effectively compete in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace, but too often loyalty is viewed as a card, program or an initiative. Loyalty is not something you do—loyalty has to be earned, repeatedly and consistently over time.
<p>By: Pat Walsh, Chief Business Development Officer, and Vice President of Supply Chain, Food Marketing Institute<br /> <img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/photos-for-staff-use/check-out/20151208-fmi-189r-web.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=8cbd9a6f_1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="20151208-FMI-189r-WEB" title="20151208-FMI-189r-WEB" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p> <p>Having a loyal customer base is one sure-fire way to effectively compete in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace, but too often loyalty is viewed as a card, program or an initiative. Loyalty is not something you do—loyalty has to be earned, repeatedly and consistently over time.</p> <p>The best way to earn the loyalty of customers is for retailers to satisfy customer needs better than the competition. After all, if a shopper has all their needs satisfied by a single retailer then why would they choose to shop elsewhere?</p> <p>Retailers need to take a more holistic approach to loyalty than simply viewing it as the domain of the loyalty team. Retailers need to look at loyalty in 3D, meaning:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Loyalty as a strategy</strong> – Defining, measuring and allocating resources to earn customer loyalty.</li> <li><strong>Loyalty as an outcome</strong> – Understanding and satisfying customer needs and preferences across all elements of a shopper’s path to purchase.</li> <li><strong>Loyalty as a program</strong> – Delivering a meaningful value proposition to shoppers while attaching a unique customer identifier to as many transactions as possible.</li> </ul> <p>If retailers take a 3D approach to earning customer loyalty they will maximize their chances of building a loyal customer base that will allow them to compete and thrive on a sustainable basis</p> <p><em>Attendees of this year’s </em><a href="http://www.fmi.org/midwinter"><em>Midwinter Executive Conference</em></a><em> can join two sessions on loyalty:</em></p> <ul> <li><strong><em>Rapid Lightening Round</em></strong><em>- hear insights into recent loyalty research on Saturday, January 27<sup>th</sup>, 4:00 – 6:00 in the Keynote session</em></li> <li><strong><em>Next-Generation Loyalty: Get it Right in Food Retailing</em></strong><em> - a round-table discussion on how loyalty means different things to different generations on Sunday, January 28<sup>th</sup> at 1:30 p.m. </em></li> </ul> <p><em>Learn more in the <a href="https://www.fmi.org/midwinter-conference/agenda/agenda-at-a-glance">agenda</a> and at <a href="http://www.fmi.org/Midwinter">www.FMI.org/Midwinter</a>. </em></p> <br />
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