In today’s increasingly competitive retail landscape, marketers are continually searching for the most effective way to attract and retain customers. But standing out and being noticed on the shelves, in the aisles and along e-pathways is getting harder and harder. Consumers are bombarded by generic offers and deals, and now tend to tune out the cacophony. Led by millennials, they expect brands to engage them in ways that show a true understanding of their needs – and offer more value in order to ensure their time, money and loyalty.
Loyal, repeat customers are the foundation on which profitable businesses are built, but in order to cultivate such loyalty, brands have to create mutually beneficial relationships that inspire customers to advance from an initial transaction (the sale of a product or service) towards regular interaction. Along this loyalty continuum, three key components play important roles in a brand’s efforts to cultivate long-term allegiance: Promotions, Continuity Initiatives, and Loyalty Programs. In order to help our brand and agency partners better understand these core elements and their particular strengths and weaknesses, we’ve put together a marketer’s guide to the Promotion-to-Loyalty Continuum.