The best known loyalty plans are the point programs, widely used by airlines, hotels, banks, supermarkets, cinemas and restaurants.
Loyalty allows companies to have a solid relationship with their customers to establish a climate of trust. A loyal and satisfied clientele can increase a company's profits and give it an important position in the face of competition.
It is no longer enough to have satisfied consumers; It's imperative to get their loyalty. Faced this need, several companies have implemented loyalty programs with the aim of achieving a stable relationship with the users to convert each sale in the beginning of the next.
In the field of marketing, get the loyalty of a customer is more profitable than looking for a new one, since he already knows the brand and this represents lower costs in advertising and marketing for the company.
According to the GLOBAL study on loyalty programs, developed by the market research firm Nielsen, 4 out of 10 Colombians belong to loyalty programs: 3 out of 10 are enrolled from two to five programs and the remaining 16% only belongs to one. Respondents stated that the benefits or rewards that are most valuable to them are cash back (56 percent), discounts (47 percent), and free products (41 percent).
The Business center: the customer
Experts say the best way to get a customer's loyalty is to offer, in addition to a good product, the best user experience.
Fidelity can be rewarded with financial compensations such as coupons or gifts, discounts, free trainings, recognition and unique experiences. This allows the customer to feel that they receive an added value each time they buy in the same site or acquire the same product.
Nowadays, the best known loyalty plans are the points programs, widely used by airlines, hotels, banks, supermarkets, cinemas and restaurants. However, there are other market segments that are betting on this type of strategy in order to situate the client in the center of the business and to end the general tendency to privilege the recruitment activities above the loyalty tools.
One of the leading companies in business loyalty solutions is Avia Marketing, a marketing and tourism company with more than 15 years of experience that offers comprehensive consulting services, implementation, logistics and support to companies to create or strengthen loyalty programs.
According to Julián Santos, Commercial and Marketing Manager of Avia Marketing, "the company focuses on achieving success in its loyalty programs, where users have the best experience and gain customer loyalty the brand of our customers, offering diversity in the options of redemptions, fulfillment and quality in products and services. We are proud of our service levels with superior levels than those currently in the market."
It is clear that the market is constantly evolving and that is why it is important for brands to ensure, through loyalty, that customers always want to return and buy back.
It's a topic that needs constant updates. For example, it is not just needed to have the loyalty of a client, instead of have the loyalty of a community. In the modern economy, customers are part of groups and therefore act on them will exert a direct influence on people. In directions like this moves the current marketing.
A customer is loyal to a product or a brand if:
- Is highly satisfied with the characteristics of the product.
- Receives higher quality and service levels than expected.
- Redemption is attainable.
- Surpasses the integral experience, that is to say, that before, during and after the purchase it was positively surprised.
- The process of redemption is agile.
Source: Interview carried out by Revista Portfolio – El Tiempo, May 2018
