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HE RETAIL SECTOR IS ALL ABOUT
products, and many of those products carry brand
messages and brand names, so how can you add pro-
motional products to the mix without muddying the
waters? The best way seems to be to focus on the
programs that will help retailers boost their bottom lines while
ensuring ongoing customer loyalty and motivating the workforce.
Employee motivation, according to consulting firm The
Retail Management Advisors, is about increasing employee per-
formance or motivating for higher performance. To be effective,
it requires daily or monthly attention. For this reason, in-store
competitions, collaborative idea generation opportunities and
rewards programs are ideal.
Though monetary rewards for performance-based programs
seem ideal on the surface, RMA advises that more isn’t necessar-
ily better; how the award is applied is what matters. Additionally,
any criteria for such a program should be distinctly related to the
participants’ unique areas of responsibility. If a companywide
program is implemented, make an effort to tailor the plan to
each unique store and its employee base.
Where customers are key, brand recognition and loyalty pro-
grams can create remarkable returns. Focusing on relationships
not only helps bring customers into the fold of a loyalty program
but also helps keep them engaged in the program throughout its
life cycle. Moving beyond a simple “points for participation”
model and toward engaging loyalty-program members across
multiple channels creates a community for consumers that allows
for real-time interaction and feedback with a brand.
This community, in turn, helps consumers reveal their per-
sonal preferences and gain the access to exclusive products and
experiences they desire, in exchange for their brand loyalty. The
2014 Brand Loyalty Report from Bond Brand Loyalty, a loyalty
program services company under the Maritz (UPIC:
MARI0002) family of brands, offers the following best practices
for creating a successful program:
Identify goals.
Help retail clients determine what they want to
accomplish with the program. Make sure it embraces a strategy
that be used to drive results.
Evaluate existing programs.
Does a retailer have a program
that needs revamping, or one that needs to be shuttered in
favor of a new approach? Look for components that have res-
onated with end users, and keep them on the table for future
program incorporation.
Understand customer expectations.
Retail clients should iden-
tify customer values and seek a program that is based on those
values. Successful loyalty strategies will be built around deliv-
ering on those values.
Execute—and listen.
A new program is only successful when
retail clients listen carefully to customer feedback. Keep track
of likes and dislikes on an ongoing basis.
Revise and personalize.
Use customer feedback to regularly
revise and revamp a retail client’s loyalty program. Consider
incorporating one-to-one messages and personalized offers so
users truly believe the brand is attentive to their individual
preferences.
Jen Alexander is an associate editor for
PPB.
T
28 •
PPB
• DECEMBER 2014
GROW
RING UP
RETAIL SUCCESS
IN-STORE PROMOTIONS AND
CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAMS
ARE THE TIP OF THE RETAIL INDUSTRY
ICEBERG.
By Jen Alexander
201412_Market To Market_PPB 2013 11/13/14 12:44 PM Page 28