What makes a Customer Loyalty Program Successful

Today I want to share what are key criteria to creating a successful loyalty program and why it works for Tesco! This is based on information I learned from reading the book, Scoring Points! What do you think? Do you agree?!

What makes a successful loyalty program

1) The loyalty program has to be regarded as a strategic tool of the business.
2) It has to reflect the brand’s core strength.
3) It has to be tailored to the brand.
4) It has to reinforce and support the perceptions of the brand it is building loyalty in.
5) It has to be LOVED by the business.

Why it works for Tesco:

1) It fulfills their mission statement of creating value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty.
2) It ties in with their brand positioning of ‘every little helps’.
3) They don’t treat it as an alternative to creating other types of value, like great customer service, but as a program that helps build and support the brand.

I agree that there would appear to an excellent link between the branding and the program from what I have learned about Tesco. Doesn't any strategy need to be embraced by the business, if it's truly going to be successful, Vs just another attempt by the business to execute the latest trend, like shopper marketing, for example ; ).

Love to hear your comments!

Source:
Humby,C, Hunt,T, Phillips, T. Scoring Points, How Tesco continues to win customer loyalty.Kogan Page 2009